Most Improved candidates for every team

The most wide open NBA award allows our imaginations to run wild.

Good morning. Let's basketball.

The NBA's Most Improved Player award is a tricky one to nail down because, unlike any other trophy the league hands out, the criteria is so nebulous. Here are the last 10 winners in reverse order. Try to find a pattern.

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker
• Dyson Daniels
• Tyrese Maxey
• Lauri Markkanen
• Ja Morant
• Julius Randle
• Brandon Ingram
• Pascal Siakam
• Victor Oladipo
• Giannis Antetokounmpo

These are mostly star-level talents or, at minimum, starters. But when you go through the league's teams there are not a lot of great candidates staring back here in the offseason. Winners tend to either launch up a level beyond expectations, thrive in a new role, thrive on a new team and otherwise gain more widespread appreciation. An increase in points per game is often a big trigger.

With that said, in this exercise we'll try to identify a candidate from each team. Some are stronger than others.

Atlanta Hawks: Jalen Johnson
I initially had Asa Newell here, but it would take serious unavailability in front of him to get enough minutes and attention to take it. Johnson made All-Star and All-NBA last season, but probably had some additional scoring volume to add (22 points per game last season), especially if Lu Dort takes a starting spot from 2016 MIP winner C.J. McCollum.

Boston Celtics: Baylor Scheierman
Mitchell Robinson is another option here that checks some boxes – bigger role, good team, offseason franchise change – but I don't see him as being a voluminous enough scorer to land there. Scheierman's role should explode with Jaylen Brown gone, either backing up Derrick White and Payton Pritchard (another candidate) or starting over the latter. Hugo Gonzalez is an option, too.

Brooklyn Nets: Day'Ron Sharpe
Egor Demin, a second-year lottery pick, is a decent option, but I like Sharpe's potential to embrace a starting role with Nic Claxton gone and put up better volume on high efficiency. His per-36 numbers have always looked really good, and Brooklyn is going to be interested in winning games due to their draft situation.

Charlotte Hornets: Brandon Miller
This is my league-wide favorite for the award. He's made serious leaps already as the Hornets have won more games, and the loss of LaMelo Ball should supercharge his role. I'm seeing a game into the mid-20s for per-game scoring, a 30% usage and, if things go well enough for Charlotte, some consideration for All-Star and maybe All-NBA.

Chicago Bulls: Matas Buzelis
Buzelis had a big statistical jump in Year 2 and stands to boost the numbers again in Year 3 as the clear-cut best player on the team (assuming Caleb Wilson doesn't immediately take the crown). His usage rate was still just under 23% last season; you'd like to see Tiago Splitter give Matas the reins like he did for Deni Avdija last season, which will require Buzelis to become a better passer and foul-drawer. One problem here (as well as for Sharpe): someone in the East has to lose games, and MIPs don't often come from really bad teams.