derf wrote:Granted, there is a theory in business that to be an effective executive one does not need first hand knowledge, the job can simply be delegated to managers. Personaly? I never bought into that but maybe you do.
No. That isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about actually being a GM.
So you are saying that NBA owners are fools for hiring people with credentials to expensive contracts when they could be hiring internet posters for cheap?
No. Jim Dolan is a fool. If I owned a team, you'd best believe I'd be opting for someone with intimiate familiarity with the league. Its clearly the safer way to go. But that doesn't mean there isn't a dentist in Des Moines who couldn't do just as good a job.
Or are you cherry picking the biggest train wreck in the history of pro sports and saying I could do that.
Actually, I couldn't do that. I'd be way too competent to make the moves Zeke made.
As i said in the beginning it is a hard argument to make without looking looking silly.
Tell that to Theo Epstein. He's arguably the most successful GM in baseball, and he's a student of the game, not a person with personal experience in playing or coaching it at a high level.
Being a GM, unlike a coach or a player, does NOT require intimate familiarity with playing or being immediately around the NBA. It requires a knowledge of basketball, personnel, personalities, the CBA, and negotiating skills.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I could perform the functions of GM of an NBA team at a competent level.