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2. Kevin O'Connor, Jazz

Hired: 1999.

Coaches: Jerry Sloan (1999-present).

Long-term plan: Build a good team that fits Sloan's vision.

Key draft picks: Deron Williams (3rd, 2005), Gordon Hayward (9rd, 2010), Ronnie Brewer (14th, 2006), Kris Humphries (14th, 2004), Kirk Snyder (16th, 2004), Sasha Pavlovic (19th, 2003), Eric Maynor (20th, 2009), CJ Miles (34th, 2005), Paul Millsap (47th, 2006), Mo Williams (47th, 2003),

Key trades:

2000: Traded Howard Eisley to the Mavericks, Adam Keefe to the Warriors and a first-round pick to the Celtics for Donyell Marshall.
2010: Traded Kosta Koufus and a future first-round pick to the Timberwolves for Al Jefferson.
Key free agent signings: Carlos Boozer in 2004 (six years, $68 million), Mehmet Okur in 2004 and 2009 (six years, $40 million, two years, $21 million), Andrei Kirilenko in 2004 (maximum contract), Matt Harpring in 2006 (five years, $25 million), Deron Williams in 2008 (maximum contract).

Key free agents let go: Boozer (2010), Karl Malone (2003), Derek Fisher (2008).

O'Connor may be the most underappreciated GM in basketball. Nobody does a better job of sticking to a plan. O'Connor has committed to Jerry Sloan as his coach and finds players that perfectly fit his system. Players like Wesley Matthews, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Matt Harpring and even Deron Williams would all have been successful elsewhere, but their success was magnified because they were all perfect fits for Sloan. O'Connor understands that you can't just throw together talent and expect it to jell. You have to find the right kind of talent, and for over a decade, he's done exactly that.

O'Connor has also done a great job managing the luxury tax, something that will always be an issue because Utah is a small market. Last season, he made cost-cutting moves that didn't affect his team's performance, then recovered from losing Carlos Boozer by trading for Al Jefferson. His one mistake was giving Andrei Kirilenko too much money in 2004, but otherwise, his record is impeccable.

The only thing lacking is a championship, but that's tough to do when you only get one top-five pick in a decade. O'Connor used that pick well, and he's made every last move count. That's the mark of a good GM.

red4hf wrote:That article is a little out of date......

HolyToledo wrote:KOC has done the best he could under the circumstances.

Im happy with him in Utah. I hope he stays the GM of this team for a long time.

gojazzgo wrote:

HolyToledo wrote:KOC has done the best he could under the circumstances.

Really? I can think of a bunch of things he could have done better. Do I really need to list them? I'm sure you can think of at least a few.

Im happy with him in Utah. I hope he stays the GM of this team for a long time.

Great, I'm glad you're happy that the Jazz suck. I'm sure that's everyone else's fault though and not the general MANAGER of the team. Am I saying we should fire him? Not right now, but I'd consider for sure in the next couple years depending on how the rebuilding goes. I'm not even anti-rebuilding. I'm just not confident in his ability to draft 1st round talent.

I'd hire him in a second to manage the 2nd round draft though.

Honestly, everyone seems to talk about "great based on the circumstances", but what is the job of the GM? Getting a championship? At least contending for one? You can pretend we contended a few years ago if you want, but really we haven't.

If your goal for success is a team that can get the 4th/5th seed, than he's done a fantastic job.

Also, HolyToledo, your sig makes me laugh in this case. Maybe it's the team makeup? Shouldn't team management(AKA the GM) take some blame in that? Signing an over the hill raja bell, undersized players, and softies isn't the fault of the coach. He's coaching the talent he has.

gojazzmjsucks wrote:KOC also said on rotoworld.com that Harris, Hayward, Favors, and RAJA BELL were our core moving foward.

hoops4life wrote:I don't think that he can really comment about it. I don't think that he should even, if he can. You don't give away your secrets either way, if you are going to draft him or not.

Bell kind of has to be part of the core, since he is under contract.

Core of the team moving forward; Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors: Yeah. What I think is, again, we're going to have to put it all back together again going into next season. Devin Harris is, to me, a very good point guard. And I think Raja would say this to you: He probably didn't have the kind of season he wanted to have. Defensively, he's done a good job. Hopefully he'll bounce back next year with that, as far as that goes. The only guy that's significant that plays that we don't have back next year is Andrei. We've got a couple draft picks, and I think it's a matter of evaluating in the offseason. It's their responsibility, too, as players to get better. Look, Al's [26]. He's coming into the prime of his career hopefully. He needs to get better. We need to do a better job managing. I need to do a better job, Ty needs to do a better job. The Miller family has given us everything we've asked for. So, it's our responsibility and it's right on us. It starts with me and it works all the way down to the coaches, to the players, to the people trying to keep them healthy, everybody. Everybody's involved with this and everybody's got to do it and we'll be judged accordingly. Our report card is public.