Let's talk Front Office

[Texas Chuck]

So we have had some recent changes, Orlando most notably. And we have some guys clearly on the hot seat (Demps, McDonough), some that probably should be(Jackson, Rivers, GarPax) and some teams who may just feel its about time for a change(Presti, Nelson)

Or you may completely disagree with my choices. But I think these are things you have to think about when discussing what teams might or might not do. We saw the Orlando GM make some questionable moves last summer as he tried to keep his job. We've seen McDonough do the same, only to have his job saved temporarily by Booker.

I was inspired by NastyNas who stated emphatically that the Suns won't pay to move Tyson Chandler. And my first thought was yeah, what's the point. They are too early in the rebuild to care about moving contracts hoping to sign better players via FA. But then I thought we thought the same thing 2 years ago when they signed Chandler and hotly pursued LMA with many sources suggesting they came a close 2nd to the Spurs for him. So I don't think we could totally dismiss the idea of the Suns making a move to try and speed up the time-table not because its necessarily in the franchise's best interest, but because a guy is trying to keep a job.


So I welcome any thoughts on who might be in trouble, who might make moves with self-preservation part of the decision making process, which teams maybe should consider moving on. Who might be some good candidates to take over any places that should make a change, etc...

Also, this is not a thread to trash entire franchises. You can criticize but make sure its based in objective reasoning. This also isn't a thread to lose your cool if others poster think your GM should be replaced. Again you can disagree but respect their opinion and don't tell them they don't know anything because they don't follow the team as much as you do.

[loserX]

I'll be very curious to see what happens in Philadelphia this summer. Is there an expectation that Colangelo will be (or has to be) the anti-Hinkie?

I've heard often how badly DeVos in Orlando wants to win...but they tried that last year and it didn't go well. Does the Weltman/Hammond braintrust get the same marching orders?

Speaking for my own team, I don't think Dennis Lindsey is going anywhere soon. He has his work cut out for him this summer, though.

[getrichordie]

I can't see Presti going anywhere. A bit of good luck, and we have a title or two. Unfortunately due to bad luck and bad timing (injuries) we fell short.

Presti played a huge part in building OKC up to be the franchise that it is. He's a gifted GM. Just a year ago we were talking about how OKC has one of the best General Manager's in the league.

Durant decides to leave and all of the sudden he's on the hot seat? I don't believe that for one second.

I think he hit the nail on the head in his exit interview where he talked about how the most important thing was stabilizing the franchise and he did a hell of a job.

He turned Ibaka, who we didn't want to pay the max and rightfully so, into:

Oladipo, Grant (via Ilyasova), Sabonis

He also took Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne and flipped them into:

CHI's '18 2nd
Taj Gibson
Doug McDermott

Gibson > Lauvergne + Payne
McDermott's upside > Morrow's dwindling 3pt skill set & no defense

I'm not going to lie, I wish we had kept Lauvergne, but overall that was a hell of a trade. Presti cut his losses in Payne and moved a terrible player (Morrow) and Lauvergne (decent back up stretch 5) and turned it into a good veteran PF and offensive upside.

You can't be mad at the job he has done.


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[chellis]

If you want to fire Presti, I'll be the first to try and get him to Charlotte. Hands down one of the best GMs in the league.

[getrichordie]

If you want to fire Presti, I'll be the first to try and get him to Charlotte. Hands down one of the best GMs in the league.

And I wouldn't blame you. Presti is just a great GM. For what he's doing with a small market team, you can't ask for much better.

EDIT: Honestly, what GMs would you put in front of Presti? First name that comes to mind is obviously Ainge, but after that?

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[R-DAWG]

I can't see Presti going anywhere. A bit of good luck, and we have a title or two. Unfortunately due to bad luck and bad timing (injuries) we fell short.

Presti played a huge part in building OKC up to be the franchise that it is. He's a gifted GM. Just a year ago we were talking about how OKC has one of the best General Manager's in the league.

Durant decides to leave and all of the sudden he's on the hot seat? I don't believe that for one second.

I think he hit the nail on the head in his exit interview where he talked about how the most important thing was stabilizing the franchise and he did a hell of a job.

He turned Ibaka, who we didn't want to pay the max and rightfully so, into:

Oladipo, Grant (via Ilyasova), Sabonis

He also took Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne and flipped them into:

CHI's '18 2nd
Taj Gibson
Doug McDermott

Gibson > Lauvergne + Payne
McDermott's upside > Morrow's dwindling 3pt skill set & no defense

I'm not going to lie, I wish we had kept Lauvergne, but overall that was a hell of a trade. Presti cut his losses in Payne and moved a terrible player (Morrow) and Lauvergne (decent back up stretch 5) and turned it into a good veteran PF and offensive upside.

You can't be mad at the job he has done.


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I think one of the reasons OKC fell short is bad roster decisions by Presti. Never replaced Harden and never had a two way wing to play in between Westbrook and Durant. He never traded future 1st rd picks until the year Durant got hurt, and got stuck with Kanter's contract in the process. Got nothing for Reggie Jackson. And as much as I like Oladipo as a player, you can't be paying him $21MM when your paying Adams $22MM and Kanter $19MM.

OKC came close to winning a title because they had 2 top 5 players in Durant and Westrbook. The rest of the roster was never strong enough. Now, the roster is overpriced and overlevered.

[getrichordie]

I can't see Presti going anywhere. A bit of good luck, and we have a title or two. Unfortunately due to bad luck and bad timing (injuries) we fell short.

Presti played a huge part in building OKC up to be the franchise that it is. He's a gifted GM. Just a year ago we were talking about how OKC has one of the best General Manager's in the league.

Durant decides to leave and all of the sudden he's on the hot seat? I don't believe that for one second.

I think he hit the nail on the head in his exit interview where he talked about how the most important thing was stabilizing the franchise and he did a hell of a job.

He turned Ibaka, who we didn't want to pay the max and rightfully so, into:

Oladipo, Grant (via Ilyasova), Sabonis

He also took Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne and flipped them into:

CHI's '18 2nd
Taj Gibson
Doug McDermott

Gibson > Lauvergne + Payne
McDermott's upside > Morrow's dwindling 3pt skill set & no defense

I'm not going to lie, I wish we had kept Lauvergne, but overall that was a hell of a trade. Presti cut his losses in Payne and moved a terrible player (Morrow) and Lauvergne (decent back up stretch 5) and turned it into a good veteran PF and offensive upside.

You can't be mad at the job he has done.


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I think one of the reasons OKC fell short is bad roster decisions by Presti. Never replaced Harden and never had a two way wing to play in between Westbrook and Durant. He never traded future 1st rd picks until the year Durant got hurt, and got stuck with Kanter's contract in the process. Got nothing for Reggie Jackson. And as much as I like Oladipo as a player, you can't be paying him $21MM when your paying Adams $22MM and Kanter $19MM.

OKC came close to winning a title because they had 2 top 5 players in Durant and Westrbook. The rest of the roster was never strong enough. Now, the roster is overpriced and overlevered.

Yeah but he helped develop those players. You have to give him credit for that. And if you have been paying attention to the NBA, then you will know that OKC got screwed by the league on Harden because they grandfathered Durant in to some deal.

If someone could provide more specifics, that would be great. I don't really remember the details.


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[chellis]

If you want to fire Presti, I'll be the first to try and get him to Charlotte. Hands down one of the best GMs in the league.

And I wouldn't blame you. Presti is just a great GM. For what he's doing with a small market team, you can't ask for much better.

EDIT: Honestly, what GMs would you put in front of Presti? First name that comes to mind is obviously Ainge, but after that?

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RC Bufort (excuse spelling)
Riley
Ainge may be in the same tier as Presti

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[getrichordie]

If you want to fire Presti, I'll be the first to try and get him to Charlotte. Hands down one of the best GMs in the league.

And I wouldn't blame you. Presti is just a great GM. For what he's doing with a small market team, you can't ask for much better.

EDIT: Honestly, what GMs would you put in front of Presti? First name that comes to mind is obviously Ainge, but after that?

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

RC Bufort (excuse spelling)
Riley
Ainge may be in the same tier as Presti

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Buford's job is made a hell of a lot easier by Popovich. If Presti had a Popovich, my god he would be that much better.


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[R-DAWG]

I can't see Presti going anywhere. A bit of good luck, and we have a title or two. Unfortunately due to bad luck and bad timing (injuries) we fell short.

Presti played a huge part in building OKC up to be the franchise that it is. He's a gifted GM. Just a year ago we were talking about how OKC has one of the best General Manager's in the league.

Durant decides to leave and all of the sudden he's on the hot seat? I don't believe that for one second.

I think he hit the nail on the head in his exit interview where he talked about how the most important thing was stabilizing the franchise and he did a hell of a job.

He turned Ibaka, who we didn't want to pay the max and rightfully so, into:

Oladipo, Grant (via Ilyasova), Sabonis

He also took Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne and flipped them into:

CHI's '18 2nd
Taj Gibson
Doug McDermott

Gibson > Lauvergne + Payne
McDermott's upside > Morrow's dwindling 3pt skill set & no defense

I'm not going to lie, I wish we had kept Lauvergne, but overall that was a hell of a trade. Presti cut his losses in Payne and moved a terrible player (Morrow) and Lauvergne (decent back up stretch 5) and turned it into a good veteran PF and offensive upside.

You can't be mad at the job he has done.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

I think one of the reasons OKC fell short is bad roster decisions by Presti. Never replaced Harden and never had a two way wing to play in between Westbrook and Durant. He never traded future 1st rd picks until the year Durant got hurt, and got stuck with Kanter's contract in the process. Got nothing for Reggie Jackson. And as much as I like Oladipo as a player, you can't be paying him $21MM when your paying Adams $22MM and Kanter $19MM.

OKC came close to winning a title because they had 2 top 5 players in Durant and Westrbook. The rest of the roster was never strong enough. Now, the roster is overpriced and overlevered.

Yeah but he helped develop those players. You have to give him credit for that. And if you have been paying attention to the NBA, then you will know that OKC got screwed by the league on Harden because they grandfathered Durant in to some deal.

If someone could provide more specifics, that would be great. I don't really remember the details.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

OKC didn't get screwed, the GM made a poor decision. He made a quick deal instead of playing the market and it looks like he lost.

[R-DAWG]

And I wouldn't blame you. Presti is just a great GM. For what he's doing with a small market team, you can't ask for much better.

EDIT: Honestly, what GMs would you put in front of Presti? First name that comes to mind is obviously Ainge, but after that?

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

RC Bufort (excuse spelling)
Riley
Ainge may be in the same tier as Presti

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Buford's job is made a hell of a lot easier by Popovich. If Presti had a Popovich, my god he would be that much better.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Massi, Bob Meyers, David Griffin (yes, it helps when you get Lebron but he did a great job putting them in position to get him), Bud (Atl), Morey, the guy in Utah, Billy King

[Resistance]

I can't see Presti going anywhere. A bit of good luck, and we have a title or two. Unfortunately due to bad luck and bad timing (injuries) we fell short.

Presti played a huge part in building OKC up to be the franchise that it is. He's a gifted GM. Just a year ago we were talking about how OKC has one of the best General Manager's in the league.

Durant decides to leave and all of the sudden he's on the hot seat? I don't believe that for one second.

I think he hit the nail on the head in his exit interview where he talked about how the most important thing was stabilizing the franchise and he did a hell of a job.

He turned Ibaka, who we didn't want to pay the max and rightfully so, into:

Oladipo, Grant (via Ilyasova), Sabonis

He also took Payne, Morrow, and Lauvergne and flipped them into:

CHI's '18 2nd
Taj Gibson
Doug McDermott

Gibson > Lauvergne + Payne
McDermott's upside > Morrow's dwindling 3pt skill set & no defense

I'm not going to lie, I wish we had kept Lauvergne, but overall that was a hell of a trade. Presti cut his losses in Payne and moved a terrible player (Morrow) and Lauvergne (decent back up stretch 5) and turned it into a good veteran PF and offensive upside.

You can't be mad at the job he has done.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

I don't understand the accounting that you did in the reviews of past trades. I thought that OKC still owes a first round pick to Philadelphia for the Grant - Ilyasova trade and I didn't see it mentioned.
Also, I thought that some second round picks were sent to Denver for Lauvergne and I didn't see that part mentioned in the trade with Chicago.

[TheBrooklynKidd]

Honestly I think the Knicks have the worst front office rn ( only because the Magic fired gen Ivan and the Nets fired King).

I wouldn't trust Phil to build a roster that's ready to compete in the NBA today. Plus he's alienating players and showing free agents that their front office doesn't value relationships and lacks loyalty.

He also showed an inability to properly value talent that is already in the league by signing Noah for 20 million a year after averaging 3 pets per game.

At least Hernangomez and Kuzminskas show he's not completely inept at evaluating prospects.

However he's super lucky he got Porzingis. if it wasn't for Hinkie's screw up he would've taken Okafor and the Knicks would've been in terrible shape.

[chellis]

RC Bufort (excuse spelling)
Riley
Ainge may be in the same tier as Presti

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Buford's job is made a hell of a lot easier by Popovich. If Presti had a Popovich, my god he would be that much better.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Massi, Bob Meyers, David Griffin (yes, it helps when you get Lebron but he did a great job putting them in position to get him), Bud (Atl), Morey, the guy in Utah, Billy King

I'd include Massi and Meyers on the same tier as Presti with Meyers maybe slightly above Presti (maybe). I'd place Morey and Lindsay (Utah) a step below.

I completely disagree with Bud as he inherited his team and Billy King (unless you're a Celtics fan). Highly doubtful you'll make an argument to change my mind.

[sportscrazy]

we have some guys clearly on the hot seat (Demps, McDonough), some that probably should be(Jackson, Rivers, GarPax).

Of those examples, here are my thoughts...

New Orleans Pelicans: Jrue Holiday uses Demps' situation to get a MAX contract this summer even though he is a tier or so below MAX.

Phoenix Suns: I could see them being a surprise destination for Paul Millsap as a free agent. Millsap is surely a quality player, but other teams may be more concerned about the impact of contract length for a 4 year MAX deal for Millsap than the current Suns management regime would be.

Chicago Bulls: I think keeping Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler becomes the mission this summer and sacrificing the young talent in Chicago to get a star quality front-court player may be where that leads.

Being from New York, Phil Jackson's job is safe for the remainder of his contract so I don't see him making any rush movements in an effort to keep his job. That's not to say there won't be other irrational reasons for him making terrible moves, but the topic of this thread won't be one of them.

Also, Doc Rivers seems more likely to depart on mutual terms with the Clippers than be on the hot seat IMO. I could see the Clippers giving one last run and if it fails again next season, deciding to get a new GM/Head Coach in an agreement to part ways where Rivers either gets a GM job elsewhere or gets a position in the media.

[sportscrazy]

If you want to fire Presti, I'll be the first to try and get him to Charlotte. Hands down one of the best GMs in the league.

Is Cho on the hot seat in Charlotte?

[sportscrazy]

I'll be very curious to see what happens in Philadelphia this summer. Is there an expectation that Colangelo will be (or has to be) the anti-Hinkie?

I've heard often how badly DeVos in Orlando wants to win...but they tried that last year and it didn't go well. Does the Weltman/Hammond braintrust get the same marching orders?

Speaking for my own team, I don't think Dennis Lindsey is going anywhere soon. He has his work cut out for him this summer, though.

I don't know what "anti-Hinkie" move the 76ers could make really. What star veteran worth their young assets is realistically on the trade market, but doesn't expire next off-season potentially leaving them with nothing after 1 year?

[chellis]

If you want to fire Presti, I'll be the first to try and get him to Charlotte. Hands down one of the best GMs in the league.

Is Cho on the hot seat in Charlotte?

Some fans say yes and some say no. I don't think he is, but if Presti were available I'd do everything in my power to bring him in.

[Smitty731]

RC Bufort (excuse spelling)
Riley
Ainge may be in the same tier as Presti

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Buford's job is made a hell of a lot easier by Popovich. If Presti had a Popovich, my god he would be that much better.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Massi, Bob Meyers, David Griffin (yes, it helps when you get Lebron but he did a great job putting them in position to get him), Bud (Atl), Morey, the guy in Utah, Billy King

Budenholzer isn't involved in personnel decisions anymore. He was relieved of those duties.

[loserX]

I'll be very curious to see what happens in Philadelphia this summer. Is there an expectation that Colangelo will be (or has to be) the anti-Hinkie?

I've heard often how badly DeVos in Orlando wants to win...but they tried that last year and it didn't go well. Does the Weltman/Hammond braintrust get the same marching orders?

Speaking for my own team, I don't think Dennis Lindsey is going anywhere soon. He has his work cut out for him this summer, though.

I don't know what "anti-Hinkie" move the 76ers could make really. What star veteran worth their young assets is realistically on the trade market, but doesn't expire next off-season potentially leaving them with nothing after 1 year?

Well, firstly there's a pretty big gap between what Hinkie did and getting a star veteran. Any turn of the wheel towards "win-now" would qualify!

Secondly, not that I think this will happen, but I'd be fascinated by Philly trading for Paul George --contract be damned-- and then trying to snag Kyle Lowry in FA