Another good read from Kelly Dwyer: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-top-10-NBA-general-managers-of-the-last-deca?urn=nba,191489 Our own resident genius cracked the top 10: I have to agree with his enthusiasm. Even though Yao is out, I'm looking forward to seeing how this Morey-assembled group of players will fare.
He's my favorite basketball journalist, and the fact that's he a Clutch Fan member is a bonus. Especially during these long, dreary days of summer, he's had some really interesting hoops discussion. His day-to-day following of the NBA is a must-read during the season as well.
Yep. Yahoo! is putting out a preview magazine for the upcoming season. I think its in bookstores now. He's written most of the team previews for it, I believe. Should be good reading. http://www.pfwstore.com/detail.aspx?ID=636
It was obvious Buford would be #1. One thing he didn't do that was smart was trade for Jason Kidd. I remember it was Parker for Kidd in the early stages of the Spurs run. Buford was smart not to trade Parker.
Having Danny Ainge on the list at all, let alone #4 is an EPIC FAIL. Especially when you have Portland in there, the same team who fleeced Danny out of Brandon Roye for Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff. Actually, they fleeced both Ainge and former Celtic teammate Kevin McHale out of Roye. Then, The Blazers stole Lamarcus Aldridge from Chicago. And how in the heck could Morey be in there at #10 and The Phoenix Friggin' Suns don't even make the list? Those guys shuffled and reshuffled the deck and only crashed and burned this year under a newer GM, Steve Kerr. They even have Dallas in there, who should be excluded simply for allowing Steve Nash to walk to Phoenix because he was "too old." This, the same team that then went out and traded and re-signed Jason Kidd to a big contract. In the end, it's damned amazing that Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, and Luis Scola could get you into a "Top 10 Coaches of the DECADE list..."
The Suns kept on selling their assets year after year, no? They could've had Luol Deng as the Joe Johnson replacement and Nate Robinson as the backup pg. And to answer your question rookie, yes when all you got for those three is a late 1st round pick, a 2nd round pick and crybaby pg from Greece
For anyone to be considered as a top GM of the last decade,they should have been around for the major part of it. Morey has done well,but he hasn't been around long enough IMO.
Someone explain number 5 to me (Otis Smith - Magic). I'm having a hard time understanding how he was 5th best of the decade.
The Magic owned the mass-hyped-and-crazed LeBron and Cavs last season and went to the Finals without their all-star Point Guard. And they look even better coming into the next season. Yes. Its all about the results.
Ainge made a lot of failed trades, but he did draft well. And he fleeced Minnesota and got a ring in addition to a run to the ECF earlier in the decade. Of course, the guy is still a douche.
You're not a top GM until your team gets out of the first round. Pritchard needs to be taken off that list.
Danny Ainge couldn't fleece a brown paper bag. He and McHale talked for years before finally pulling the trigger on that deal. Minnesota just couldn't decide if they wanted to rebuild and Ainge didn't want to give up Al Jefferson. In the end, had they not won the championship, it would still be talked about as an epic failure. But to truly understand the whole story, you have to go back to The Celtics BEFORE Ainge tookover as GM. The Jim O'Brien Celtics were an uptempo team, fun to watch, and had they not ran into Jason Kidd, would have made it to The Finals. Instead of adding a few pieces to cement that team, he dumped Antoine Walker for filler, and soon after O'Brien was gone. Had Minnesota not decided to give up Garnett, Ainge probably wouldn't even be GM anymore. Keep in mind that The Celtics could have had a team consisting of: Paul Pierce, Brandon Roye, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Al Jefferson. http://newsblaze.com/story/20070705105519snyd.nb/topstory.html
I still remember that dirtbag throwing the ball at Elie's face when he knew his Suns team were going to lose the series to us. Hence Robert Horry throwing a towel in his face later when Horry became a Sun and Ainge the coach.