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Mike Zarren



Current Title: Boston Celtics Assistant General Manager

There's no question Mike Zarren is one of the hottest names among GM prospects and that he comes from one of the best front offices in the league. It may be difficult to pry him from Boston as he is, according to NBA.com, a lifelong Boston Celtics season ticket holder. However, if he ever wants a GM position of his own, he'll need to leave the roost or poison Danny Ainge's drink. The latter is the safer route.

Purported Strong Points: Advanced Statistical Analysis, Salary Cap

Sam Hinkie



Current Title: Witness Protection Program hiding out from Adam Silver

The Godfather of The Process. He's known for his 76ers tank, but he moved up the ranks in Houston quickly before and during the Morey tenure. He's an analytics guy who played a big part in targeting Lowry and Beverly for Houston. He set Philly up with a treasure trove of picks and young talent only to be cast off the NBA island for his obvious tanking. Will the new NBA rules inhibit another process? Even if so, he is talented enough to make good trades and create a competitive team. Oh, and he was born in the Netherlands.

Purported Strong Points: Analytics, Processing, Flipping Players for Pics, Angering Adam Silver

Brian Wright



Current Title: San Antonio Spurs Assistant General Manager

He was a part of the original Stan Van Gundy front office before getting poached by the Spurs:
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2016/07/20/brian-wright-san-antonio-spurs/87331800/
He may be considered too young to handle the pressures of GMsmanship, but he has drawn rave reviews both from Detroit's (now unemployed front office) and the Spurs. However, those complaining that we should've drafted Booker won't be happy with the fact that he presided over the drafts that netted us Stanley Johnson and Hilliard (and also the Dinwiddie draft).

Purported Strong Points: Talent Evaluation, Team Player, Leadership, Communication

Intrigued with the first 2. Not so much on Wright.

We really could go so many different ways. Gotta think other GMs learned their lesson trading with Hinkie....right?

Also nice job on the detailed strong points. Would like to see mkre candidates!

With Zarren or Griffin. Want no part of Hinkie.

The tnt crew said bring back zeke....

ComboGuardCity wrote:The tnt crew said bring back zeke....

Was JVG a part of that group? If so, it makes sense. He hated the Pistons even before they fired his brother.

Gores is clueless. Edging our way towards a marginal playoff appearance was always the wrong approach and the one least likely to lead to sustained success.Everyone says Van Gundy failed, but he DIDN’T. He got us to the playoffs in part with short term moves.

The problem is that the goal was wrong. Decline after the playoffs wasn’t inevitable but it’s always a danger when you get there by heavy spending rather than long term player development.

SVG had to go, but I think hiring him represented the wrong approach to start with, and I see no signs that approach is changing.

We’ll pick an experienced GM who did a ho-hum job somewhere else who will help hire a coach with a similar resume and we’ll all start the offseason proper with a general sense of disappointment. They’ll have the same playoff or bust edict that will probably lead to the same mistakes being made again.

Zarren would be such a terrific hire for Detroit if they can snag him. It would be the equivalent of winning the draft lottery (and keeping the pick!) imo.

I think our job isnt all that enticing to an experienced guy really.

Too bad it will never happen, but Hinkie and the process is the only hope for this franchise to ever be relevant again.


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I'd be happy to have anybody with a vision and the guts to execute it.

Hinkie - you already know his plan
Zarren - you already know his ability

Chauncey - you already know his mindset and where he comes from. At least he's a Piston. At the very least this team needs an identity.

IMO, Chauncey has to be the guy. He can hire some analytics guys to help out. Or keep the ones he already has. I think the Identity is the most important thing.

As great as Zarren is, the Boston identity comes from Ainge (a legend).

It may seem silly but I'd take Chauncey or Isaiah or Bill Laimbeer over anyone. The Pistons need to be the PIstons again first, then they can hire an analytics/capspace guy.

Van Gundy's ego took over the identity of the team. Gores is clueless. If you want the fans back, you need the Pistons back.

Zarren would be my first choice, but unless Gores really committed to handing him the keys and being fine with whatever direction he took, I can't see it happening.

If the edict is trying to win with Blake / Dre / Reggie, I can't see us ending up with anyone with real options, so we'll either end up with a sub par retread GM in the Bower mold, or some inexperienced guy getting hired way above his credentials like Brent Barry.


Personally, I think Tellem saying he's only sticking to the business side says a lot. He's a smart guy who took a risk to join the organization, he knows whoever gets hired as GM is coming into a situation that's very likely going to result in getting fired in 3-4 years.

Just started hearing about Zarren. He's a diehard Celtic's fan who took an unpaid internship with the team after he graduated from Harvard Law. That's hardcore. He's Ainge's right hand man and pretty much co-GM. Cant see him leaving Boston for this sh^t show.

The roster is set for the next 2 seasons. Only way I’ll be interested is with Chauncey as GM and/or Stackhouse as coach. Otherwise, wake me up in three years.

ElectricMayhem wrote:Current Title: Witness Protection Program hiding out from Adam Silver

I think Zarren just waits it out in Boston until Ainge retires. Danny is 59, so it might not be that long of a wait.

It's harder to get a feel for unknown GM candidates than it is for coaches. At least you have (or can find somewhere) some sense of what a coach brings to the table. Front office guys? Nothing, besides the articles you read about some guys that either fully believe in analytics or disregard them entirely (please don't hire the latter Gores).

But again, like with the coach my goal is not a retread dud. I don't think Griffin fits into that mold though. So he's kind of my top choice that might actually happen.

My bet is that Billups lands the job. It would explain the rumors, and it might also explain why it took so long to fire SVG. Gores may have been sincere trying to determine whether to keep Stan, and knew he had Billups lined up as a replacement.

I know he lacks front office experience, but so does Brent Barry who was also rumored. I’d rather role with Mr. Big Shot out of those two if given the choice.

Unless Woj is wrong we can probably suppose it’s unlikely to be one of the former players discussed.

Hinkie!!!

Hinkie one time plz!