GMs pick Lakers, LeBron to repeat in 2010

NBA general managers predict repeats this season for the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.

The league executives who responded to the eighth annual NBA.com GM survey picked the Lakers to win another NBA title - though their opponent is unclear - and saw James as the runaway winner of another MVP award.

The Lakers received 61 percent of the votes to win the championship while Boston and Cleveland shared second place at 18 percent. The Celtics took 50 percent of the vote to capture the Eastern Conference crown and the Cavaliers 43 percent.

Orlando, the defending East champion, received only 7 percent to win the conference and no votes to earn its first championship. Dwight Howard, the Magic's All-Star center, played down the voting results.

"Those are general managers," Howard said during a call to promote the NBA Live 10 video game. "Those are guys who aren't playing basketball anymore, so of course they're going to pick their teams to win, and we understand that."

Other teams selected to win their divisions Tuesday included San Antonio in the Southwest and Portland edging Denver in the Northwest.

General managers were not permitted to vote for their own teams or players.

James drew 69 percent of the MVP vote, easily outdistancing 2008 winner Kobe Bryant (17 percent) and Howard (7 percent). James was chosen by 79 percent of GMs when asked which player they would sign if starting a franchise today.

Blake Griffin, the overall No. 1 draft choice of the Clippers, was picked by 79 percent to be rookie of the year.