Which FO has the hardest job?

[Godymas]

Chicago Bulls - Noteable contracts - Patrick Williams, Kevin Huerter, Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, a lot of expiring deals and uninspiring players. Need to extend Giddey and Coby White for whatever they are worth which who has any idea what they are worth. Is Billy Donovan the coach to keep on board?

Sacramento Kings - $90M a year on Domas Sabonis + Zach LaVine, another $25M a year on DeMar. $18M a year on Malik Monk. Is Devin Carter going to be anything? What do you even consider extending Keegan Murray at? Who is coaching next year.

Phoenix Suns Bradley Beal - 2 years $107M No Trade Clause, KD trade value, keeping Booker happy. Money invested in Royce O'Neal and Grayson Allen as starters making $90M over the next 4 years. Do not have their own picks, but could potentially get something in a KD trade. What the hell do you do about Beal and what kind of coach do you hire.

76ers Joel, chronically injured on a supermax, PG 3 years $150M. Maxey on a max contract, Quentin Grimes will seek an extension after a career year. Still have McCain, still have Nick Nurse, how do you roll the dice on two injured aging stars.

Utah Jazz Lauri Markkanen played poorly on a bad team and is no longer on a great contract due to the max extension, he's also 27 so this is pretty much who he is now. Doesn't fit the rebuild timeline. Your last 2 1st round picks have had issues. Taylor Hendricks has played 43 games in 2 years. Cody Williams is looking questionable at the NBA level. All Vets will be expiring in John Collins, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson. Looking at a good chance at the #1 pick. Still have Will Hardy

Denver Nuggets Just lost your franchise coach. #1 player in the NBA is now a little unhappy. Tons of money in your core 4, do you keep Jamal Murray who played well after he healed, but could get injured again. Do you keep Michael Porter Jr. who played well but has always been overpaid. How much do you extend Christian Braun for. What do you do about Zeke Nnaji who has not been good on his money. Who's coaching Jokic?

Milwaukee Bucks The core is aging, Kuz has kind of flopped, you still have a good chance to make something happen in the playoffs. If the team makes a deep run but doesn't win, what do you do? Does Brook Lopez come back, if he doesn't how are you replacing him? Is Doc Rivers the right coach? Does Giannis ask out if the team flops in the playoffs?

Atlanta Hawks Is Quinn Snyder the right coach or is Trae Young the wrong player? Do you keep Trae Young at all with a young core of potentially elite wings to build around? Is it possible to downgrade Trae Young to improve the team overall? Is Quinn Snyder a long term piece in Atlanta or do you look for one of the many open coaches on the market?

New Orleans Pelicans Will you regret cutting Zion? What do you do with Dejounte Murray in a rebuild? What about CJ? Should the entire roster be cleaned out this off-season? How do you build a roster around Trey Murphy III. Is the future Trey Murphy III with Dejounte Murray? What about the Center? Is Willie Green the coach to keep? How do you maximize value, is it possible to pivot without a rebuild?

And an honorable mention to the Charlotte Hornets who honestly have managed to avoid this list because they still have a lot of open holes and potential and the only big question is if they want to trade LaMelo.

[Tor_Raps]

How about Toronto having to operate in a different country that many American players do not find attractive?

[SkyBill40]

Phoenix is, undoubtedly, in the worst spot. James Jones is a moron and should have been fired when Ishbia took over, yet he still has his job (though he's up for an extension, which no Suns fans want). Josh Bartelstein is a bad CEO and just happens to also be Beal's agent. So that's a double whammy. That doesn't even touch on the coaching position needing to be filled and the cancerous environment that's going to need immediate treatment by whoever ends up filling that role.

[Rendei]

I have to go with Sacramento. Having Vivek as my boss would drive me to alcoholism.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Phoenix is, undoubtedly, in the worst spot. James Jones is a moron and should have been fired when Ishbia took over, yet he still has his job (though he's up for an extension, which no Suns fans want). Josh Bartelstein is a bad CEO and just happens to also be Beal's agent. So that's a double whammy. That doesn't even touch on the coaching position needing to be filled and the cancerous environment that's going to need immediate treatment by whoever ends up filling that role.

They can trade Durant and Booker and instantly be set up for the future.

[SkyBill40]

Phoenix is, undoubtedly, in the worst spot. James Jones is a moron and should have been fired when Ishbia took over, yet he still has his job (though he's up for an extension, which no Suns fans want). Josh Bartelstein is a bad CEO and just happens to also be Beal's agent. So that's a double whammy. That doesn't even touch on the coaching position needing to be filled and the cancerous environment that's going to need immediate treatment by whoever ends up filling that role.

They can trade Durant and Booker and instantly be set up for the future.

There's no guarantee much, if anything, is fixed by either move. Trading both would help to recoup some of what has been lost by Ishbia's arrogance and impatience, but nothing is for certain other than a long and tedious rebuild that might not be any better than the current mess. And Ishbia has made it abundantly clear that Booker isn't going anywhere. He's going to be eligible for another extension this offseason that'll end up paying him $75M/season after his current deal expires. And you think we've got it bad now?

[Marvin Martian]

None of those teams outside of CHI and DEN have hard jobs. The path for their redemption is clear. They just don't want to do it for some reason.

I would say ORL, POR, SAS, and TOR are much harder jobs. They are young teams but need to make a big move to get to the next step to become contenders. If they don't do it or they get it wrong, their franchise is screwed for the next 7 years min. That is a lot of pressure

[sp6r=underrated]

How about Toronto having to operate in a different country that many American players do not find attractive?

Toronto is handicapped by being in Canada but it isn't the worst handicap a franchise can face. A 1/4 of NBA players are foreign born and the percentage is higher for elite players. Toronto is still a really large city at the hub of a very rich region .

If it was in the US, it would be solidly in the Chicago tier of cities. Being that it is in Canada it is probably lower than that but it faces way less problems than some of the really small market NBA cities.

As an aside, I think Atlanta is the sleeping giant on the NBA free agent front. It:
1. is a warm weather city in a winter sport;
2. is very popular among African-Americans;
3. has a good nightlife;
4. is part of a very large metro region;
5. is part of a very rich metro region;
6. is part of a very fast growing metro region.

It will never be LA but I could easily see Atlanta becoming the first free agency choice for players who want to live in the south. And that is a lot of NBA players.

[Tor_Raps]

How about Toronto having to operate in a different country that many American players do not find attractive?

Toronto is handicapped by being in Canada but it isn't the worst handicap a franchise can face. A 1/4 of NBA players are foreign born and the percentage is higher for elite players. Toronto is still a really large city at the hub of a very rich region .

If it was in the US, it would be solidly in the Chicago tier of cities. Being that it is in Canada it is probably lower than that but it faces way less problems than some of the really small market NBA cities.

Agreed but most americans dont have the view you just shared. Not trying to slander anyone, there's just a lack of knowledge outside their own borders.

We're happy to see the nba trending more international but American born players will still mostly have issues of wanting to be here. Having a handicap for over 50% of the league is still a major issue we deal with.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Phoenix is, undoubtedly, in the worst spot. James Jones is a moron and should have been fired when Ishbia took over, yet he still has his job (though he's up for an extension, which no Suns fans want). Josh Bartelstein is a bad CEO and just happens to also be Beal's agent. So that's a double whammy. That doesn't even touch on the coaching position needing to be filled and the cancerous environment that's going to need immediate treatment by whoever ends up filling that role.

They can trade Durant and Booker and instantly be set up for the future.

There's no guarantee much, if anything, is fixed by either move. Trading both would help to recoup some of what has been lost by Ishbia's arrogance and impatience, but nothing is for certain other than a long and tedious rebuild that might not be any better than the current mess. And Ishbia has made it abundantly clear that Booker isn't going anywhere. He's going to be eligible for another extension this offseason that'll end up paying him $75M/season after his current deal expires. And you think we've got it bad now?

Not saying anything is guaranteed.

Saying them having two very valuable assets they can reasonably trade for a great return, automatically means they are not in the worst position compared to other teams.

[sp6r=underrated]

How about Toronto having to operate in a different country that many American players do not find attractive?

Toronto is handicapped by being in Canada but it isn't the worst handicap a franchise can face. A 1/4 of NBA players are foreign born and the percentage is higher for elite players. Toronto is still a really large city at the hub of a very rich region .

If it was in the US, it would be solidly in the Chicago tier of cities. Being that it is in Canada it is probably lower than that but it faces way less problems than some of the really small market NBA cities.

Agreed but most americans dont have the view you just shared. Not trying to slander anyone, there's just a lack of knowledge outside their own borders.

We're happy to see the nba trending more international but American born players will still mostly have issues of wanting to be here. Having a handicap for over 50% of the league is still a major issue we deal with.

I do think it is a handicap. As I said if it was in the US it would be a Chicago tier destination and it is a level below that because of being in Canada. I'm just saying it isn't in the Memphis/New Orleans tier (small/poor) or even the Minnesota tier (small/rich tier).

[SkyBill40]

They can trade Durant and Booker and instantly be set up for the future.

There's no guarantee much, if anything, is fixed by either move. Trading both would help to recoup some of what has been lost by Ishbia's arrogance and impatience, but nothing is for certain other than a long and tedious rebuild that might not be any better than the current mess. And Ishbia has made it abundantly clear that Booker isn't going anywhere. He's going to be eligible for another extension this offseason that'll end up paying him $75M/season after his current deal expires. And you think we've got it bad now?

Not saying anything is guaranteed.

Saying them having two very valuable assets they can reasonably trade for a great return, automatically means they are not in the worst position compared to other teams.

One thing doesn't mean another and definitely doesn't automatically disqualify them. The problems run far deeper than just a lack of assets. That much is abundantly clear.

So then, if the Suns aren't it, who is according to your opinion?

[BigGargamel]

Denver's next GM has a lot of work cut out for them. They have the worst situation in the NBA as far as tradable draft picks go. They have the best player in the NBA, which puts added pressure on them to field a big time winner right away. For the first time, there are cracks in the foundation that he'll always be loyal to Denver. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are coming off injury plagued seasons and might be hard to trade and get value for. MPJ will always be overpaid in the minds of everyone. How do you realistically upgrade this team? It's looking dangerously like another Milwaukee situation, where you have to continue to make the roster and future assets worse in order to try to throw a band-aid on the situation. Whoever thought this new CBA where it's set up to ruin small market teams was a good idea is beyond me. It's hurt fans of every team except the Lakers.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

There's no guarantee much, if anything, is fixed by either move. Trading both would help to recoup some of what has been lost by Ishbia's arrogance and impatience, but nothing is for certain other than a long and tedious rebuild that might not be any better than the current mess. And Ishbia has made it abundantly clear that Booker isn't going anywhere. He's going to be eligible for another extension this offseason that'll end up paying him $75M/season after his current deal expires. And you think we've got it bad now?

Not saying anything is guaranteed.

Saying them having two very valuable assets they can reasonably trade for a great return, automatically means they are not in the worst position compared to other teams.

One thing doesn't mean another and definitely doesn't automatically disqualify them. The problems run far deeper than just a lack of assets. That much is abundantly clear.

So then, if the Suns aren't it, who is according to your opinion?

Right now? Without knowing where the #1 pick is going, probably the Wizards. Raptors, Hornets, and even Bulls are in the convo for me as well. Maybe some others I’m just not thinking of too.

Edit: Add Kings to the list for sure. 76ers are in a bad spot too, but think they could still trade Embiid for some team willing to take a chance on a guy who could them to the next level.

[chilluminati]

The front office that has the hardest job are the ones that have owners that don't care about winning. It's hard to do your job correctly when your employer influences your decision making. Nico and Jones could both be victims of backwards ownership pushing their own agendas.

[azcatz11]

Sacramento by far. No star, no promising young players, bad location because you’re in California and pay that tax but not in the good part (middle of nowhere)

Every other team on this list has at least young players are a true star except Sacramento and they have by far the worst owner in the league. If they didn’t build that arena I could actually see them moving

[FreeBird23]

Phoenix is in a bad situation.

Not sure what Ainge is doing either

[BigGargamel]

Phoenix is in a bad situation.

Not sure what Ainge is doing either

If he lands Flagg it's all worth it. If he falls to four or five, it's an absolute disaster. Can't throw away entire seasons just to wind up with Tre Johnson.

[kenwood3333]

In theory it should be Phoenix, but then the Suns FO simply follow orders from the owner and do not have to assume any consequence, it sounds like an easy job.

[Catchall]

Jazz are fine. They'll get a top-5 pick this year and likely a top-7 pick next year in two excellent drafts. They'll build around those young players with complementary pieces like Walker Kessler, Kyle Filipowski and Keyonte George. Older vets like Sexton, Collins and Lauri can stay or be moved.

Toughest situation is either Phoenix, due to their payroll and limited assets going forward, or Philadelphia if it turns out Embiid and PG are cooked.