NBA GMs don't like Warriors' chances this season

NBA general managers may not think the Warriors are a real threat to win a championship this season, but they’re still big believers in Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

The league’s top decision-makers are calling Curry the best point guard and best pure shooter, while Green was named the most versatile defender and the NBA’s second-toughest player.

With Kevin Durant gone and no Klay Thompson for at least half the season, like many fans and league observers, the men actually running NBA teams don’t see Golden State as a title threat. NBA.com’s annual GM survey shows the Warriors as just the sixth-best team in the Western Conference, and there’s only one GM who’s predicting the Warriors as champions.

And, no, Bob Myers of the Warriors wasn’t the one casting a vote for his team, since GMs were not allowed to vote for their own team in the anonymous survey released Thursday.

The Los Angeles Clippers, with the additions of superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, are the favorites to win their first NBA title. The Clippers received 46% of the vote and the Milwaukee Bucks were next at 36%. The LeBron James-Anthony Davis Lakers duo has made title believers out of just 11% of the GMs surveyed.

Last year, the Warriors were the overwhelming title favorites with 87% of the vote.

Curry received all but three of the 29 votes for top point guard - ahead of Damian Lillard and James - and tied Leonard and Davis as runners-up to the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo for MVP favorite.

Oakland native Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers was voted the best leader among players, edging Curry 41% to 38%.

Only Steven Adams of the Thunder is tougher than Green, according to GMs, who also gave Green 38% of the vote for most versatile defender - ahead of Leonard (31%) and Antetokounmpo (21%).

Meanwhile, Warriors coach Steve Kerr received two votes to finish in fourth place behind the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich (55%), the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra (17%) and the Bucks’ Mike Budenholzer (10%) for best head coach in the NBA.

But Kerr was the winner in the “Which head coach runs the best offense?” query, garnering 38% of the vote - Budenholzer, the Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni and the Blazers’ Terry Stotts tied for second with 14% each.