The Amazingly Suck Theodore Leonsis Thread

[WizTom]

Crap. Just accidentally deleted a long reply.
Here's the summary:

Lotsa Dukies in the industry. Doesn't really surprise me that one Dukie is considering hiring another one. Ratface has long tentacles.

Also, Prokhorov is a savvy dude. Look how successful he is and the environment in which he has done it all. He's probably just keeping Billy King around to save face for himself and King, as well as not scare the crap out of Silver and the other owners with a bunch of people from his Russian sports organization.

Re: Danny Ferry and whether he's actually a racist, or just screwed-up by mis-paraphrasing someone's poorly chosen words, check out David Aldridge's article about the situation last spring:

http://www.nba.com/2015/news/features/david_aldridge/02/02/morning-tip-atlanta-hawks-keep-surging-while-danny-ferry-waits-on-sideline-memphis-grizzlies-rise-ranks-behind-marc-gasol-qa-with-toronto-raptors-kyle-lowry/

Ferry has done a lot of work to recover from this controversy. Deng, himself, accepted Ferry's apology. The Hawks players didn't think he was a racist. Billy King, Magic Johnson, Wayne Embry, Gregg Popovich, the VP of NBA Africa, the pastor of a large church in Atlanta...

Also read the transcripts. I don't think he was talking about Deng's race, I think he was talking about Deng's conduct as a disingenuous player/person. Certainly, that's no excuse for what was said. It was disgusting. Especially taken out of context. But how many jokes have we heard about emails from Nigerian princes promising riches in a scam? Remove the context and they, too, are disgusting. That's what I think happened. Ferry was using someone's poorly chosen talking points and didn't retain the context in which they were intended. He should have just said, "Deng has a reputation of being disingenuous with both teammates and management. Whether that is true or not, it should be considered before we invest millions in him..."

If David Aldridge and all those legends of the game are defending him publicly, I don't think Ferry could ever be considered a racist. Arrogant? Perhaps. But he's also the architect who re-built the Hawks into a team that resembles "Spurs East" far more than the Wizards do. I wish he could do that for the Washington Professional Basketball Team.

Are you reading this, Ted? The Wizards are currently 20-22. Bring the man home. DC loves a redemption story!

[TheSecretWeapon]

I've heard the story from someone who works for the Hawks, and the internal politics within that organization were/are insane. Ferry became a pawn in that internal power struggle. Ferry would be an easy improvement over Grunfeld.

[Dark Faze]

this is one reason I'm scared to lose Grunfeld--as bad as dude is, its very possible to do worse

ferry isn't who I'd target by any means though--I need someone who comes from a place with a fantastic track record in the draft--a student of presti, presti himself, someone under buford, etc

[queridiculo]

this is one reason I'm scared to lose Grunfeld--as bad as dude is, its very possible to do worse

ferry isn't who I'd target by any means though--I need someone who comes from a place with a fantastic track record in the draft--a student of presti, presti himself, someone under buford, etc

I'd consider hiring Ferry a no-brainer.

Played under Pop, held a position in the Spurs front office before becoming GM of the Cavaliers. Built a team around Lebron that finished with the best record and made the finals twice, then took a position as vice president of basketball ops for the Spurs before successfully rebuilding the Atlanta Hawks.

His reputation might have taken a hit over that Deng business, but other than that I can't think of any reason why he wouldn't be one of the first people the Wizards should talk to if they had a vacancy.

[WizTom]

"... scared to lose Grunfeld." ??? "... it's very possible to do worse." ???

How bad do you have to be to do worse than EFG???

If you think that Ferry would do worse I'm probably wasting my time, but here's a little history lesson:

Buford, Presti, and Ferry are/were all under Popovich.

Remember, it was Pop who was the GM of the Spurs. He hired Buford as a scout in 1994. Then he fired Bob HIll as coach in '96 and named himself coach. Buford didn't become GM until 2002. Everyone in San Antonio works for Pop. Even the owner does what Pop tells him to do. Like any good boss, he shares the credit he is due with those who work with/for him.

Ferry worked for the Spurs when he quit playing. Then, he got the GM job with the Cavs. To be fair, did not have the best record of transactions during his Cleveland tenure. But that was a difficult situation already with LeBron there and terrible prior management that handcuffed the organization. He probably learned a lot.

Then he took over the Hawks. Within 2 years, he had changed the culture and made a few key transactions to turn things around. They were a moribund franchise with terrible attendance, no cap room, and only a few assets. Now they are considered "Spurs East". And they are still being run by a branch of the Pop/Spurs tree, Mike Budenholzer, who, by the way, gives Ferry all the credit for building the roster and bringing him in as part of the changes he made to turn the franchise into a winner.

In the meantime, EFG has built a team of knuckleheads, dismantled it at great expense, and squandered EVERY draft pick he's had that wasn't a top-three, consensus pick. Sheesh. Wake up, dude.

[queridiculo]

Seriously, the only guy that could do worse is still on the Nets payroll.

[TheSecretWeapon]

There are reasons to not hire Ferry, including that behind the scenes he's one of those jackasses who thinks it's okay to scream at, berate and belittle the people who work for him.

There is precisely zero reason to think he'd be worse -- or even as bad as -- Grunfeld.

Think about this: since Grunfeld took over as the Wizards chief basketball executive, they've been outscored by 2446 points.

So far.

[Dark Faze]

You guys must have forgotten that there were rumors of Bryan Colangelo getting a job recently. David Kahn is out there in the wild also. Billy King, Dell Demps...things can easily get worse.

[Kanyewest]

Remember the words of Flip Saunders, things can always get worse.

[TheSecretWeapon]

You guys must have forgotten that there were rumors of Bryan Colangelo getting a job recently. David Kahn is out there in the wild also. Billy King, Dell Demps...things can easily get worse.

If Leonsis went out with a goal of finding a GM worse than Grunfeld, he could very likely do it.

[WizTom]

You guys must have forgotten that there were rumors of Bryan Colangelo getting a job recently. David Kahn is out there in the wild also. Billy King, Dell Demps...things can easily get worse.

Now I know I'm wasting my time. Or rather, you are wasting my time.

No one is talking about Ted hiring Colangelo, Kahn, King, or Demps.

We're talking about Ted hiring Danny Ferry. Try to keep up.

Or just remember these words: 'Tis better to remain quiet and thought the fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

[nuposse04]

Listened to a podcast by the wizard of awes guys, and some of them were saying that if they fire grunfeld they wouldn't be surprised if Tommy Sheopard took over... would kind of fit Ted's mantra... cheaper...in house and not flashy? They claim he actually would be an upgrade is an "analytical" guy but if he is part of the same FO that unanimously picked Jan Vesley (don't know if he was with us at that time actually)... don't know how encouraging such a proposition it would be.

I'm pretty sure Billy King isn't about to get another job anytime soon after how putrid the nets situation is.

[pineappleheadindc]

You guys must have forgotten that there were rumors of Bryan Colangelo getting a job recently. David Kahn is out there in the wild also. Billy King, Dell Demps...things can easily get worse.

If Leonsis went out with a goal of finding a GM worse than Grunfeld, he could very likely do it.

Wow - talk about posting like "Mr. Positive"

[Dark Faze]

You guys must have forgotten that there were rumors of Bryan Colangelo getting a job recently. David Kahn is out there in the wild also. Billy King, Dell Demps...things can easily get worse.

Now I know I'm wasting my time. Or rather, you are wasting my time.

No one is talking about Ted hiring Colangelo, Kahn, King, or Demps.

We're talking about Ted hiring Danny Ferry. Try to keep up.

Or just remember these words: 'Tis better to remain quiet and thought the fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

You don't dictate the topic at hand

we're not just talking about ferry as a candidate

[WizTom]

Seriously?

No candidate other than Ferry has been mentioned for the last 3 1/2 pages of this thread, dating back to last APRIL.

So while I do not dictate the topic of the thread, it IS about the Amazingly Sucky Theodore Leonsis, and it was bumped back up on Jan. 7th. Shortly thereafter I continued to beat my Danny Ferry drum because hiring him is one thing that I believe Ted could do to help the Wizards. So if you want to throw non-starters into an otherwise engaging dialogue, go ahead and do it. Just be aware that it has no bearing on said dialogue. Read the replies. Sigh...

Edit: Why don't you contribute your candidate and/or options for who or what the Amazingly Sucky Ted Leonsis could hire and/or do to improve the Washington Professional Basketball Team? That might be a contribution to the dialogue which might go somewhere.

More history for you: Dell Demps, by the way, was also a Spurs disciple and is still currently employed by a competitive franchise in the NBA. The Wizards couldn't hire him even if he was your "serious" suggestion.

[WizTom]

I've heard the story from someone who works for the Hawks, and the internal politics within that organization were/are insane. Ferry became a pawn in that internal power struggle. Ferry would be an easy improvement over Grunfeld.

See, Dark Faze? This is what I would consider an interesting contribution to the dialogue. I would rather pick up this point and follow it than talk about hiring losers to make the situation even worse than it has been under Grunfeld. Perhaps TheSecretWeapon's source even mentioned some other Hawks executives that might be good hires.

For example,
Wow, TheSecretWeapon, that is interesting. I heard about the power struggle between the various owners of the Hawks. Apparently, it kept them out of the free agent market a couple off seasons ago. But hasn't it been resolved now? (looking it up on the internet...) Ah, yes, there it is. Because it's HISTORY. The owners settled their squabble and one of them sold his interest in the team after self-reporting that he had, in fact, written racist comments in emails about attendance at Hawks games.

[WizTom]

There are reasons to not hire Ferry, including that behind the scenes he's one of those jackasses who thinks it's okay to scream at, berate and belittle the people who work for him.

There is precisely zero reason to think he'd be worse -- or even as bad as -- Grunfeld.

Think about this: since Grunfeld took over as the Wizards chief basketball executive, they've been outscored by 2446 points.

So far.

This is interesting on several levels, as well. The Aldridge article touched on the fact that Ferry has the reputation of being abrasive, if not abusive, at times. I would think his recent experiences may have tempered his approach in some cases. But heck, Pop screams at Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard all the time.

[WizTom]

Listened to a podcast by the wizard of awes guys, and some of them were saying that if they fire grunfeld they wouldn't be surprised if Tommy Sheopard took over... would kind of fit Ted's mantra... cheaper...in house and not flashy? They claim he actually would be an upgrade is an "analytical" guy but if he is part of the same FO that unanimously picked Jan Vesley (don't know if he was with us at that time actually)... don't know how encouraging such a proposition it would be.

I'm pretty sure Billy King isn't about to get another job anytime soon after how putrid the nets situation is.

This is also interesting. Sheppard is a long-time member of the Wiz front office. I think I agree with all your points, nuposse04, i.e., the inexpensive and in-house parts. He did work there when they picked Jan Vesely, though. Not sure what his job was.

[AFM]

Wiz Tom with the 4 in a rower

Someone need to start one of those White House petitions to get Obama to talk to Ted about hiring RealGM's finest to turn this turd of a franchise around
They don't call us the scat kids for no reason

[TheSecretWeapon]

Listened to a podcast by the wizard of awes guys, and some of them were saying that if they fire grunfeld they wouldn't be surprised if Tommy Sheopard took over... would kind of fit Ted's mantra... cheaper...in house and not flashy? They claim he actually would be an upgrade is an "analytical" guy but if he is part of the same FO that unanimously picked Jan Vesley (don't know if he was with us at that time actually)... don't know how encouraging such a proposition it would be.

I'm pretty sure Billy King isn't about to get another job anytime soon after how putrid the nets situation is.

Tommy is a smart guy who is uber connected in the league. He knows everyone and their parents. He was a college football player who came up in the league as a PR guy. Also worth noting: He's been part of front offices that have made two of the worst high draft picks in league history: Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Jan Vesely.

If it was my pick, I'd flush all the basketball people and bring in someone from outside the organization. I'd be okay with Tommy as an interim guy, but he wouldn't be my first pick to replace Grunfeld.