NBA General Managers voice their opinions on league and Raptors in preseason survey

In what's become an annual tradition, the NBA.com general manager survey was released on Tuesday. It's an interesting look into the minds of the men making the decisions in front offices because it allows them to voice their opinions in an unbiased manner. As is custom, GMs were not permitted to cast a vote for any players or personnel in their own organization.

Some of the results weren't surprising, such as LeBron James topping the list as the most widely agreed upon to win the MVP this season and Anthony Davis receiving an overwhelming amount of support (86.2 percent) as the player to build a new franchise around.

So, how did the Raps do? Often perceived as outsiders due to geographical location, Toronto was once again largely afterthoughts on the survey but that doesn't mean they were totally shut out. None of the Dinos placed in the top five in any category but they did get shown some love by the GMs.

Newly acquired swingman DeMarre Carroll received votes in the conversation of being one of the most underrated offseason acquisitions and ranking as one of the top perimeter defenders in the NBA. Assistant coach Nick Nurse was mentioned for being among the best assistants in the league, and Luis Scola was tabbed as an active player that will make a good head coach when he decides to call it a career.

But the most interesting note for hoops fans in the great white north can be found when the general managers were asked about the international scene. For the question "What country is most likely to challenge the U.S. for an Olympic or World Cup gold medal in the next 10 years?" 34.5 percent answered with Spain, 32.8 percent thought it was Canada, 19 percent said France and 6.9 percent voted Croatia. 

Considering how far the program has fallen off since its last Olympic appearance in the 2000, it's great to see them getting this type of respect on the world stage by some of the most influential minds in the sport. Everyone around the league has noticed the influx in young Canadian talent lately, but to put them up there with the perennially competitive Spaniards means the Canucks are being taken seriously as a threat to the dominant Americans in the years to come.

Which aspect of the survey did you find most interesting? Did any of the Raptors get snubbed? Let us know in the comments.