I had planned to write something on how the NBA’s MVP award could go to a bunch of different guys, depending on what you were looking for in your MVP… and then Ric Bucher stole my idea. Well, he didn’t so much steal as he just, you know… did it before I did, and probably better than I would have. But I promise I would’ve left out the goofy acronyms.

But yeah, I don’t think real highly of the MVP’s award. If they insist on giving it out before the conclusion of the NBA Finals, then I just don’t think it means a whole lot. But I’ll play along… here’s a couple of guys that I don’t think should win it.

LeBron James. I don’t think there’s any category, either quantitative or qualitative, where LeBron is at the absolute top. Now, 31 points, 7 boards, and 6 rebounds is a beautiful stat line. But he is not (yet) the most dominant player in the game. He is not (yet) a great leader. He’s made some strides in terms of being clutch, but it wasn’t long ago that he was actively hiding from the ball down the stretch. If the Cavs were 65-12, maybe we could talk, but the Cavs are a slightly-better-than-average Eastern Conference playoff team, and LeBron is just not yet spectacular enough or complete enough to overcome that, in terms of MVP consideration.

Steve Nash. I got hammered for this last year, and I’ll get hammered for it again… but I just don’t think Steve Nash is an MVP. Steve Nash is a great point guard, because Steve Nash is great. But Steve Nash has great numbers, and the Phoenix Suns have a great record, more because of Mike D’Antoni than because of Steve Nash. I firmly believe that, and I doubt I will be swayed. It’s the system. Now, Steve Nash would certainly be a great point guard on any team… but in any kind of a traditional NBA system, his numbers would be a lot like Jason Kidd’s right now, but with a better shooting percentage. And that really is outstanding. But it’s not MVP.

As evidence of the Phoenix system being responsible for a lot of Nash’s numbers, I give you Boris Diaw. Diaw did not go from 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists per game to 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game because he became that much better of a basketball player. It didn’t happen. What did happen, however, was that he found a coach who will use him in a way that no other NBA coach would’ve even considered. Viola, he gets to play to his skills, create matchup problems, and run the floor, and all the sudden, he’s an excellent player. That’s Mike D’Antoni.

And again, as I said, Nash is still a great, great, player. I do appreciate the way he sees the game and always makes a wise and accurate pass. He does make it possible for Phoenix to play the system that they do… and because of that, and his numbers, and Phoenix’s record, he’s an MVP contender. Not a winner, not a leading contender, but a contender.

And, here are guys who I could live with winning it, but until I get a definitive set of criteria, I couldn’t really tell you which one, and I really don’t care. But it is the most interesting MVP race in recent memory, and I’m curious to see who gets it.

First, there are people who believe that either Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan should win the MVP every year. I’m not at all opposed to this theory. You see it in the playoffs every year… a big man who can score in the post, command double or even triple teams, pass effectively, lead the team, etc… is the most valuable thing a team can have. Even though neither of them is having a particularly outstanding year, I do still totally buy that one of them should be the MVP. But they’re not going to be. And because of that, I’m eliminating fellow big men Elton Brand and Dirk Nowitzki (big in height only), simply because they’re big men who aren’t Tim Duncan or Shaq. It would be like having an outstanding individual performance award to be given to a member of a Motown singing group that consists of only African-American siblings, and then giving it to Randy Jackson.

Kobe Bryant. I still believe he could do more to help facilitate a complete offense, but… I mean, you just can’t argue with 35 points per game. At the same time that he’s a little ball-hoggy (in a different way than Stephon Marbury), imagine the Lakers without him. Imagine the Lakers with Lamar Odom as option #1. That team would not make the playoffs. This Lakers team is somewhere between a 4 and 6 seed, and it’s because Kobe just has the ability to ridiculous things on the court that no one else can do.

Chauncey Billups. He’s the floor general on the team that will have the league’s best record. He scores almost 19 a game, but he’s not just a scorer. He averages 8.7 assists per game, but he’s not just a set-up man. He’s got the league’s beat assist-to-turnover ratio (an eye-popping 4.07), he’s a great shooter, he makes great decisions with the ball and the tempo… and he plays outstanding defense. There’s just wouldn’t be any downside to Chauncey Billups being the MVP. He does everything you could ask for.

Sam Cassell. I know, this is a weird one… and he probably belongs in the category with Nash as a contender, but not a leading contender, or the winner. But there are special circumstances involved here… mainly the Clippers being good. That didn’t just happen because Sam Cassell is a good shooter. Sam Cassell was a big part of the reason that the entire mentality of the franchise was changed. His inclusion here can be summed up by Sam’s celebration when he hits a big shot… I’m sure you’ve seen it, but if not, Sam runs around taking exaggerated steps while his hands pretend to hold his imaginary giant balls.

Without those imaginary giant balls, I don’t think the Clippers are making the playoffs. I relate to you this story from an excellent Bill Simmons column last week about the Clippers…

Sensing one final chance at a big payday, as well as an opportunity to define his career, Sam grabbed the steering wheel from day one. He shouted to everyone that things were changing, that the Clippers wouldn’t be pushovers anymore. He started working on Brand, telling him over and over again that Brand was their horse, that he needed to carry them, that they would only go as far as he took them. During the team’s first official practice, when they were scrimmaging full-court, Mike Dunleavy stopped the proceedings for a water break. Everyone went to get a drink except Cassell and Mobley, who remained on the court to shoot free throws together. The next time, it happened again. And the next time. They never said a word, just kept shooting those free throws. Within a few days, nobody was getting water during water breaks; everyone remained on the court.

Seems like a little thing… but there were probably a dozen other little things like that that Sam did to convince the Clippers to believe in themselves and become a respectable franchise. If that’s not valuable, nothing is.