http://www.nba.com/suns/news/colangelo_050517.html Suns President Bryan Colangelo Named NBA Executive of the Year Posted: May 17, 2005 Phoenix Suns President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo was named the NBA Executive of the Year today by The Sporting News. Colangelo built the Suns through a series of forward-thinking moves, beginning with the trade of All-Star guard Stephon Marbury to New York in order to create cap room in the summer of 2004, which allowed the Suns to sign the eventual 2004-05 NBA MVP Steve Nash, starter Quentin Richardson and key reserve Steven Hunter. The free agent pickups coupled with the midseason acquisitions of veterans swingman Jim Jackson and forward Walter McCarty, sparked the NBA’s third greatest turnaround in NBA history as the Suns finished a league-best 62-20 after a 29-53 record in 2003-04. Bryan, 39, joins his father, Jerry, as the only father and son to win the executive award. Jerry, the Suns Chairman and CEO, is a four-time winner (1993, ’89, ’81, ’76). The 16-year Suns executive beat out Miami Heat President Pat Riley and Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson. This is the third postseason award the Suns have won after Nash was named the NBA Most Valuable Player and Mike D’Antoni captured the NBA Coach of the Year award.
Colangelo deserves the award. But what did Riles do that CD didn't? And then CD did more! (What did Paxson do, BTW? besides trading Deke to CD, of course.)
Win more games? Make the playoffs for the first time? Nah...that doesn't matter, the EOY should go to whomever clears the most cap space right?
Paxson traded his 2005 first-rounder (21st pick) for Luol Deng, drafting two members of the all-rookie team. His second round pick started for 75 games at point guard, and he signed Nocioni out of Argentina. He had the guts to trade his leading scorer (Jamal Crawford) for cap relief for the bevy of rookies they have to re-sign, and ended up getting his starting center for the playoffs in the deal. He sent Deke to Houston for Pike, which was great for both teams. Pike couldn't get off the pine for Houston, but he contributed bigtime in Chicago. Deke was great for the Rockets all year, but pairing him with fellow non-shooter Tyson Chandler off the Bulls' bench would have killed that team. With Harrington, the Bulls had a mini-Eddy Curry to team with Chandler in reserve. The team had the third best record in the East, they're full of 22-25 year-olds, and they'll have over 20 million in cap space next summer. Not saying Colangelo wasn't the top exec, he deserves the award, but Paxson has been brilliant over the last 12 months. How many other playoff teams prominently feature four rookies?
Well, I think the Bulls had the talent to be successful earlier... I wouldn't attribute this season's success to brilliant roster moves. It's just that Krause loaded the team with headcases (the 19-year-old Ron Artest, Eddie Robinson, Marcus Fizer, Jamaal Crawford, Eddy Curry) that stunted their growth, and now most of those guys are gone. Unloading Crawford was brilliant, though. If he had done the same to Curry, Paxson would deserve the award.
So, Phoenix has the best executive, the best coach, and the MVP. You'd think they'd be leading the league by more than 3 games when they've got a corner on those positions. Each selection is defensible singly, but all three together you have to wonder if maybe each is unduly attributed the successes of the others.
CD got screwed if he didn't get at least third... Besides pulling off the biggest ass reaming in pro sports since the Hershel Walker deal, he signed Bob Sura and Mike James and traded for Mutumbo, Wesley, and Barry. That's six solid deals in a span of about six months...
My thoughts exactly. A 2-2 ties with the Mavs in the 2nd round? If these guys don't win it all, then all of those award become questionable, because clearly, with all 3, they should be one of the best teams ever, right?
I don't know about Houston 03-04, but he won games for the Bulls this year. I remember a home game against Charlotte and two road wins against Seattle and Orlando (don't remember the score in Seattle, but it came down to the last second, and the Magic game was a one-point win) where Pike saved the team's ass. Ask any Bulls fan, they loved the guy. One thing that Pax and Colangelo both did was give up on rosters that were spiraling towards a lifetime of mediocrity. Around the same time (December 2003), both of them said "f!ck this," and blew things up. That takes cojones, especially when your gig is on the line. Entering 2003-04, the Jamal/Jalen/Eddy Bulls and Marbury/Amare Suns were thought to be solid and potential 45-win playoff teams. Though their horrible starts helped influence the explosions, it takes werewithal and confidence to destroy those rosters on the fly.
Kneepad, I like your posts on other sites, but we would have been screwed in that Sonic game in SEA without Pike, and he was the best player on the floor with JP during those Bobcat wins, when nobody else showed up.
I know... I posted in part for comedic affect. I do think your statement "ask any Bulls fan, they loved the guy" may have been a little over the top, though. And I think, in hindsight, the Bulls may have been better served being able to bring Deke in off the bench in the playoffs-- but in fairness how many Bulls fans were even thinking playoffs last summer? Pike is/was a good vet to have on the bench, though. He's fills his role well, and is a good locker room guy.
You gotta have a scorer, and a defender, other wise you're going 3 on 5. Deke would have been brutal out there wih Tyson. Plus, we got AG. It would have been nicer to trade Deke for that mythical two guard who could defend. Also, have you seen Pike's wife? It's obvious that many, many people want to sex Piatkowski.
