NBA: Top 5 candidates for Executive of the Year Award in 2017-18

As the 2017-18 NBA season approaches, it’s time to make some predictions about the end-of-season awards. Here are the top five candidates for Executive of the Year.

The NBA is a superstar-driven league, but with a few free agency exceptions, the cultivation of that talent boils down to smart management in the front office. From drafting to making good trades to free agency, managing a roster’s skill-set, salary cap sheet and locker room personalities all at once is not an easy job.

Though the NBA is mostly cyclical in terms of the power balance, the best general managers are able to keep their teams in the playoff picture year in and year out through proper management of their salary cap situation and close monitoring of how their players fit together.

Though it’s easily the least exciting honor of the NBA’s end-of-season awards, Executive of the Year is usually a pretty clear indicator of which team won the offseason and/or trade deadline. GMs at the beginning of the draft order usually have a pretty simple job in selecting the consensus top prospects, but where things really get interesting is around free agency and trade season.

Heading into the 2017-18 season, this offseason saw tons of star players and marquee free agents trade hands, setting up an unusually crowded race for the Executive of the Year. Here’s a look at the top five candidates for the award.