3 Picks for MVP

Chris Paul has the Hornets in the mix for the top seed in the West. Greg Nelson/SI

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I reached out to three NBA advance scouts for their MVP picks and -- no surprise -- they couldn't agree on anything. They are listed here in no particular order.

3. Chris Paul: "I don't think that team can do anything without him. He dominates the ball in a good way; he sets them up in a way that makes everybody on his team better. There's nobody on that team who can create his own scoring opportunities, because that's the way they were built. Tyson Chandler can't score unless he's dunking the ball. Peja Stojakovic has to catch and be spotted up to score; Mo [Peterson] is the same way. David West is the closest to being able to create a little bit of scoring, but not very often.

"Defensively, Paul can change the game when he puts pressure on the ball, and he's strong enough that he doesn't get posted up very often. He doesn't have a lot of deficiencies, though there are times when he doesn't play the best defense.

"Kobe's great, but you take Kobe off the Lakers and they could still win 20 games. I don't think New Orleans could win 20 without Paul. Then with Paul, I look at the other stuff -- the hassle of having the All-Star Game in New Orleans, and how he made the Hornets exciting to watch so that the people who do have money are coming out now to watch them play.''

2. Kevin Garnett: "I'm torn between him and Kobe Bryant. Kobe's had a hell of a year, but Garnett gets the edge because he went to a new team that really was poor last year. And he changed them, at both ends. I'm going with him not so much for his numbers that he's put up, but because he instills his will upon the rest of their roster and they've got to keep up with him. KG inspires the others more than he just outscores everybody.''

1. Kobe Bryant: "I'm picking him for what he means to his team, and I think he's the best player in the league too. If you were to put him in line with all of the other candidates, most people would pick him first to be on their team with everything that he brings. With the drive that he has, he won't allow anything but the top effort from his teammates. He sets the tone and he's not going to slack off, he's going to do whatever it takes to win, and you can see the dedication that the guy has. The numbers are there, and even before the trade [for Pau Gasol] he was willing them to win games that they probably shouldn't have won. When he needs to he'll turn it up on defense, and he understands the certain times of the game when he needs to really turn up his effort.

"As a playmaker, he has the experience and the recognition of what's going on, what defenses are doing to him. And he has the patience. Before, he would get more frustrated with his teammates, and there was a negative vibe going on -- he didn't truly trust his teammates and they were unsure themselves where they stood with him. It's like he's drawing everybody in now. He still has his moments of competitive outrage, but his intentions seem to be just to win. That's part of being a leader. He's not afraid to be disliked, but he is respected.''

2 Ways to resuscitate the Knicks

There isn't a team in the league that couldn't make the playoffs within two years. Here's how incoming personnel boss Walsh could return the Knicks to the postseason.

2. Make three decisions on the court.

• Pray for the Nos. 1 or 2 pick and use it to draft Memphis' Derrick Rose, who will provide electrifying and unselfish promise at point guard around which the team can grow.

• Unload Eddy Curry or Zach Randolph, and then feature the survivor up front along with David Lee and Malik Rose until an athletic shot-blocker can be found to fill out the frontcourt rotation.

• Bring back Stephon Marbury. He'll almost surely be playing for a new coach in the last year of his deal, which will ensure his best effort in pursuit of a new contract elsewhere. If the Knicks get Derrick Rose, they'll want to bring him off the bench anyway. By allowing Marbury's contract to expire, the Knicks -- in conjunction with a few other moves -- can be under the luxury tax in 2009, which will help create a new culture of accountability in which the organization will reward players based on performance.

1. Say goodbye to Isiah Thomas. It is in the best interests of everybody, especially owner James Dolan. I started the talk March 18 that Thomas could remain with the organization in association with his friend and mentor Walsh. Then earlier this week I was told by a league insider it appeared instead that Thomas would be receiving a healthy severance to leave the Knicks.

So long as the quality of his contract buyout isn't an issue, then Thomas needs to leave New York and get on with his life. There is nothing more he can do on behalf of the Knicks or his own legacy in New York, which Walsh will undoubtedly try to salvage by praising Thomas whenever possible.

Even if Walsh believes Thomas could help the Knicks in personnel matters and especially in the draft, I can't see that Thomas would want to subject himself or the Knicks to the continued abuse. I believe he wants Walsh and Dolan to succeed in New York. Thomas has to know that if he remains with the franchise in any capacity, then there will be endless speculation and gossip of divisions between him and the new regime.

I'm guessing the Knicks will say they have hired Walsh because he has a lot in common with Thomas. I've wondered how the Knicks decided on Walsh, because someone as secretive as Dolan probably isn't going to ask for a lot of outside opinions. The only conclusion I can reach is that Thomas incidentally talked Dolan into replacing him with Walsh. During his private conversations with Dolan over the last five years, I bet Thomas frequently referred back to his years with Walsh with the Pacers and all of the lessons he learned from Walsh. Doesn't that make sense? Dolan obviously respects Thomas' opinion, and so I'm sure that Thomas indirectly played a role in the decision to hire Walsh.

1 Last shot

Here's a stat I would like to see: When the home team begs the crowd to scream during a single possession by posting video of a phony "noise meter'' on the scoreboard (which, you may have noticed, happens to go up whether the crowd gets louder or not), I would bet that the idea backfires more often than not. My own feeling is that visitors shoot an altogether higher percentage than normal during that single possession because the noise forces them to focus. They take pride in shutting up the enemy, and the home team invariably rewards the visitors' ambitions by going silent the instant the ball goes through the basket. Every time this happens, it strikes me as one of the dumbest innovations in the marketing of the modern game.