Nearly half of the NBA’s general managers voted for the Heat as the team that had the best 2021 offseason, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes in his annual survey of the league’s GMs. Miami got 14 of 30 possible votes, while the Lakers picked up five votes. The Nets, Rockets and Wizards were the other teams picked by multiple GMs as having the best offseason.
The Heat’s acquisition of Kyle Lowry via sign-and-trade helped tip the scales in their favor. Asked which offseason player acquisition will make the biggest impact for his new team this season, GMs overwhelmingly chose Lowry — he received 23 of 30 votes. New Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook was the only other player to get multiple votes (five).
Although the Heat and Lakers received high marks from rival GMs for their work over the summer, neither club is considered the title favorite entering the 2021-22 season. That honor belongs to the Nets, which earned 22 votes from GMs for the team that will win the 2022 NBA Finals. The Lakers (five) and Bucks (three) were the only other teams to receive any votes.
Here are a few more of the most interesting responses from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:
More must-reads:
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