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04-17-2008, 08:34 PM
This stood out to me the most, it really changed my opinion on the guy completely. The article was very interesting, but Simmons' always are.
There's a difference between genuine affection (the way Paul and his teammates interact) and contrived affection (the way Kobe and his teammates interact), and over everything else, that's why Paul gets the No. 2 spot on my ballot. He's the heart and soul of the Hornets. You could never say that about Kobe; he's too detached, too cut-throat, too willing to roll his eyes and hold an angry stare for that extra second every time something goes wrong. (With Kobe, the underlying implication is he's on your side … as long as you're playing well. Anyone who has watched him in person during the past few years knows exactly what I mean.) In fact, the most interesting thing about Paul's MVP campaign (as well as the campaign of the No. 1 guy on this list) is how vociferously his teammates have been lobbying for him. They just love the guy. When Paul appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last week, his teammates came to the show and sat in the audience to support him. After the show, when Kimmel asked him to film a comedy bit and Paul agreed, his teammates tagged along and attended the shoot instead of hitting the town. They all left together. I thought that was interesting. These are the stories I want to hear about my MVP candidates.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080416
He did pick Garnett as his MVP. I don't agree. I think it's LeBron because his team would be shutout for the entire season without him. All of the other teams have very good talent around their VP's (sans Hornets and David West maybe) but Lebron doesn't, he really doesn't. That, along with his rediculous talent and leadership at such a young age makes him the most valuable player in the league period.
There's a difference between genuine affection (the way Paul and his teammates interact) and contrived affection (the way Kobe and his teammates interact), and over everything else, that's why Paul gets the No. 2 spot on my ballot. He's the heart and soul of the Hornets. You could never say that about Kobe; he's too detached, too cut-throat, too willing to roll his eyes and hold an angry stare for that extra second every time something goes wrong. (With Kobe, the underlying implication is he's on your side … as long as you're playing well. Anyone who has watched him in person during the past few years knows exactly what I mean.) In fact, the most interesting thing about Paul's MVP campaign (as well as the campaign of the No. 1 guy on this list) is how vociferously his teammates have been lobbying for him. They just love the guy. When Paul appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last week, his teammates came to the show and sat in the audience to support him. After the show, when Kimmel asked him to film a comedy bit and Paul agreed, his teammates tagged along and attended the shoot instead of hitting the town. They all left together. I thought that was interesting. These are the stories I want to hear about my MVP candidates.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080416
He did pick Garnett as his MVP. I don't agree. I think it's LeBron because his team would be shutout for the entire season without him. All of the other teams have very good talent around their VP's (sans Hornets and David West maybe) but Lebron doesn't, he really doesn't. That, along with his rediculous talent and leadership at such a young age makes him the most valuable player in the league period.