http://www.realgm.com/src_feature/63/20050420/the_gms_of_the_year/ The GM's Of The Year 20th April, 2005 - 5:29 am Check out #1 - !!! 10. Danny Ainge Few GM’s have the courage to atone for mistakes that they make, creating further mistakes. Reacquiring Antoine Walker seemed unfathomable last year, but it has given Ainge a division title. He also had an effective draft with Al Jefferson. Ainge also has the good fortune of being in the NBA’s weakest division, which counterbalance the weight of all those championship banners hanging from the rafters. 9. Donnie Walsh The Stephen Jackson-Al Harrington trade was one of the best pure trades made in the last few years. Most teams make trades in this era for salary cap purposes, but not this one. Acquiring Jackson prior to Reggie Miller’s final season, instead of after it, makes the transition process that much smoother. Walsh has also provided impeccable leadership in light of the Ron Artest suspension. It is clear that he has Artest’s best interests squarely in mind at all times and that basketball comes second. 8. John Paxson How often does a 4th seed have four starters who are key contributors to your team’s success? Hardly ever. The draft which yielded Ben Gordon, Luol Deng (acquired on a draft day trade), and Chris Duhon is the best since the Warriors drafted Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy and Gilbert Arenas. Paxson will have another pivotal summer, as he must make decisions on Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler. 7. RC Buford Picking up Nazr Mohammed and Glenn Robinson have strengthened the Spurs frontcourt and somehow he was able to unload the contract of Malik Rose in the process. Buford has no problem sacrificing first round draft choices, as he knows that they will be late rounders each and every season. 6. Rod Thorn Eyebrows were raised when he traded Kenyon Martin to the Nuggets and they were raised even higher when he traded for Vince Carter after it appeared as though he would trade Jason Kidd at any second, but it has worked out well for the Nets. Carter has had a renaissance and they have quickly reloaded. 5. Ernie Grunfeld The summers of 2003 and 2004 saw both the Warriors and the Mavericks unload the max contract of Antawn Jamison, but Grunfeld took the consistent Tar Heel and he became an All-Star. If they still had Jerry Stackhouse, the Wizards would not be a playoff team. 4. Chris Mullin The contracts he gave to Derek Fisher and Adonal Foyle are still way too big, but in a very short time, he has done something that hasn’t been done since the prime of his playing career; create valid optimism in Golden State. Baron Davis is one of the top two or three point guards in the NBA and everyone knew it, but only Mullin was willing to take a risk on him. Before Davis was acquired, the Warriors had some talented pieces, but no leader. Davis instantly became that leader and took it upon himself to make all of his teammates better. 3. Joe Dumars Nothing says that you’re a good GM like having a championship ring on your finger and Dumars has put himself in position to put another one on there. It was no lock that Rasheed Wallace would stay in Detroit; he did that. They needed to replace Okur; he did that with McDyess. They needed another high quality point guard; he did that by trading for Carlos Arroyo. 2. Bryan Colangelo A major rebuilding mode appeared imminent when Colangelo traded away Stephon Marbury, but that trade is clearly the turning point in the Suns’ franchise. Without that trade, Steve Nash would still be in Dallas and the Suns might still be in the lottery. He outspent Mark Cuban and won, few could say that. The Quentin Richardson signing also appeared to be unnecessary due to the presence of Joe Johnson, but that has worked out great for Colangelo as well. 1. Carroll Dawson Trader Carroll has had a busier year than any other GM in the NBA. The Tracy McGrady trade was certainly bold and a high risk maneuver, but it put Houston in position to compete for a title, rather than wallow in the no man’s land between the lottery and a low seed in the playoffs. Turning over the majority of your roster is always a big gamble, particularly when you are the GM of a playoff team, but Dawson’s risk is the reward of Houston.
Youu got to give the guy credit where credit is due. At first, i wondered what he was doing with some trades, I.E. Jim Jackson, but everthing fell into place and this team gelled very quickly.
I can't believe I once wrote on this board that we should consider firing Carroll Dawson. I want Carroll Dawson's baby right now!
Pretty good GM list. But it seems incomplete without Pat Riley and what he has done for the Heat. They brought in Shaq, D Jones, Mourning, Doleac and Laettner. And they are the #1 seed in the East. So Riley has to be somewhere on that list. Even thought it is only RealGM....still nice to see CD recognized. I wish more mainstream media would give CD some more credit for the moves he made.
Yes, I agree (also about Riles) -- however, I would also echo Will as I thought CD's run was done. CD needs more local love, as well as 'mainstream media'.
I agree. And claiming Mullin should be on the list is possibly very short-sighted. He acknowledges that Mullin gave Foyle and Fisher way too much money but uses the Baron Davis trade to defend his worthiness of the list. That's fine right now, but what if Baron Davis continues to suffer injury plagued season after injury plagued season? His leadership ability won't do the Warriors much good when he's sitting on the bench in street clothes. In short, I don't know that Mullin deserves to be on this list but I do know that Riley does. In fact, Carroll Dawson and Pat Riley were in a very similiar situation after their respective block buster trades. They had both acquired a true superstar to team up with their up and coming superstar, and they both sacrificed depth in the process. However, I actually thought the McGrady trade was the safer move because McGrady is young enough CD would have plenty of time to fill in the holes. The Shaq trade on the other hand, seemed a bad move to me. I thought he was over-weight and on the downward spiral towards retirement. I didn't think he'd make them instant contenders and I didn't think they'd have time to fill in the holes around him if they were going to contend for a championship with Shaq. Well, I was wrong on both accounts. Shaq showed up in the best shape in years and Riley did nearly as masterful job at filling those holes as CD did. Undoubtely, he deserves to be near the top of this list.
