Worst GM: McHale, Bird or Isiah?

Point forward · Post #1 » by **Point forward** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:01 pm

Three guys I really enjoyed when they were players. Unfortunately, all of them were less than average GMs.

KEVIN MCHALE failed to build a team around a once-in-25-years stud like Garnett for A WHOLE DECADE. His best team mates were Gugliotta, Marbury, Brandon, Sprewell and Cassell, and none of them stuck around. Not to mention the whole Joe Smith debacle, which lost the Wolves money, draft picks and had McHale banned.

LARRY BIRD has been GM for the Pacers and has done everything wrong. He took a Top 3 team (Foster, JO, DPOY Artest, S-Jax, Tinsley, Reggie) and dismantled it in record time. He let Artest go, did not trade for Peja, fired Rick Carlisle, traded away S-Jax and Harrington for Dunleavy and Murphy (Dun is decent, but Murphy is horrible), and hung on to JO and Tinsley, whose trade value have plummeted into oblivion. Not to mention that the Pacers are now dead last in attendance and have a several horrible contracts.

ISIAH THOMAS has also been grand, even before his coaching stint. OK, he drafted useful guys like Balkman, Nate Robinson and Lee, but everything else just stunk. He traded for Marbury, Francis, Curry and Randolph -- Curry was ok, but the rest of them bombed -- and took a *LOT* of crap contracts for it, including trading away all draft picks until 7623. Jerome James is one of the stupidest FA signings ever. He gave Larry Brown a huge contract and fired him after a year. The Knicks payroll is app. $1 billion. Not to mention Anucha Brown Sanders.

As much it pains me to say it, I think that Larry Bird is the worst of the bunch.

Milkdud · Post #2 » by **Milkdud** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:55 pm

Thomas for sure, he has managed to stock a team with tons of "me first" overpaid players. Yeah thats a great way to win....

Side note: While I dont think Bird has done a good job as the Pacers GM he also had to do major PR damage control after the brawl. I'm sure he would have liked to get more out of Artest and Jackson but there value at the time was so low.

mudyez · Post #3 » by **mudyez** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:33 pm

no doubt thomas: he not only failed to build something, he also killed every hope for the next 3 years to even start rebuilding!...not to speak about all the money he just burnt...NY is the joke of the league...indiana and minny at least are only bad

jeff1624 · Post #4 » by **jeff1624** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:42 pm

McHale

Gave long term contracts to: Mike James and Troy Hudson.

Traded Cassell AND picks for Jaric

Lost 3 1st rounders(I think) for his under the table deal for JOE SMITH!!..

Traded for Mark Blount.

Had a a Top 3 Player for several years anf failed to build a team to get past the first round most of the times.

Horrible Coach Signings...

Post #5 » by **gswhoops** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:25 pm

I'd go with McHale.

He was given a once-in-a-generation type player in Garnett, and completely failed to surround him with anything resembling an NBA basketball team. He had one really good year with an ancient Cassell and Sprewell, then promptly let Spree walk and traded Cassell the next offseason.

Look at the RC Buford model as what could have been with Garnett...Duncan came into the league in '97, KG in '95. Since then Duncan (with a competent GM) has won 4 'ships, KG zero. If McHale had been a decent talent evaluator, he should have won at least a championship with KG.

Really, the only reasonably smart thing he's done was trading KG for Al Jeff.

Milkdud · Post #6 » by **Milkdud** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:55 pm

gswhoops wrote:I'd go with McHale.

He was given a once-in-a-generation type player in Garnett, and completely failed to surround him with anything resembling an NBA basketball team. He had one really good year with an ancient Cassell and Sprewell, then promptly let Spree walk and traded Cassell the next offseason.

Look at the RC Buford model as what could have been with Garnett...Duncan came into the league in '97, KG in '95. Since then Duncan (with a competent GM) has won 4 'ships, KG zero. If McHale had been a decent talent evaluator, he should have won at least a championship with KG.

Really, the only reasonably smart thing he's done was trading KG for Al Jeff.

Spree was offered a pretty fair deal and then went all prima dona.

Post #7 » by **gswhoops** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:05 pm

Milkdud wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Spree was offered a pretty fair deal and then went all prima dona.

Yes, but he still send Cassell and a 1st round pick for Jaric, signed Hudson, Wally, Mike James, etc. to absurd contracts, lost 3 (!) 1st round picks trying to give an under-the-table MAX contract to Joe Smith of all people, traded a rookie Ray Allen, traded Billups, and on and on...

Post #8 » by **Nolan** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:48 pm

Its Isiah, Mchale is second. Bird really hasn't don all that bad of a job, he took over a team that was ticking time bomb it was only a matter of time before they fell appart with guys like Artest and S Jax in the mix.

Isiah does have decent draft record, but he has no clue on how to build a team.

Only reason i didn't vote for Mchale was because of Al Jefferson, he got a very good young player for a guy who wanted out that usally doesn't happen very often.

Magz50 · Post #9 » by **Magz50** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:51 pm

Isiah first then McHale

a-rod · Post #10 » by **a-rod** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:04 pm

McHale its not even close

hermes · Post #11 » by **hermes** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:13 pm

isiah and mchale are both pretty bad, i'll give it to isiah

PaKwAn · Post #12 » by **PaKwAn** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:24 pm

Mchale and Isiah are horrible GM's but Isaiah gets my vote... (dont laugh mchale cause your right next to him)

ITK9 · Post #13 » by **ITK9** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:57 pm

mchale is much worse than isiah.isiah at leat tried to do something

kandiking · Post #14 » by **kandiking** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:31 pm

the reason why a lot of those guys walked from the timberwolves WAS kevin garnett.

Post #15 » by **Doctor MJ** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:16 pm

Point forward wrote:Three guys I really enjoyed when they were players. Unfortunately, all of them were less than average GMs.

KEVIN MCHALE failed to build a team around a once-in-25-years stud like Garnett for A WHOLE DECADE. His best team mates were Gugliotta, Marbury, Brandon, Sprewell and Cassell, and none of them stuck around. Not to mention the whole Joe Smith debacle, which lost the Wolves money, draft picks and had McHale banned.

LARRY BIRD has been GM for the Pacers and has done everything wrong. He took a Top 3 team (Foster, JO, DPOY Artest, S-Jax, Tinsley, Reggie) and dismantled it in record time. He let Artest go, did not trade for Peja, fired Rick Carlisle, traded away S-Jax and Harrington for Dunleavy and Murphy (Dun is decent, but Murphy is horrible), and hung on to JO and Tinsley, whose trade value have plummeted into oblivion. Not to mention that the Pacers are now dead last in attendance and have a several horrible contracts.

ISIAH THOMAS has also been grand, even before his coaching stint. OK, he drafted useful guys like Balkman, Nate Robinson and Lee, but everything else just stunk. He traded for Marbury, Francis, Curry and Randolph -- Curry was ok, but the rest of them bombed -- and took a *LOT* of crap contracts for it, including trading away all draft picks until 7623. Jerome James is one of the stupidest FA signings ever. He gave Larry Brown a huge contract and fired him after a year. The Knicks payroll is app. $1 billion. Not to mention Anucha Brown Sanders.

As much it pains me to say it, I think that Larry Bird is the worst of the bunch.

Wow. For me I can decide between McHale and Thomas. I don't think Bird is anywhere near as bad as those two.

"Dismantled in record time". Miller was an old man who retired. Artest ruined the team's momentum and chemistry and then said he didn't want to play any more. JO regressed from that point. Carlisle was only there because Bird hired him in the first place. Has he done great? No. However that's a far cry from doing nothing for a decade, or making trade after trade acquiring overpayed stars who clearly don't fit well together.

What we know with Bird is that with the worst luck possible, he's not capable of overcoming it. What we know about McHale is even with good luck he'll screw up, and what we know about Isiah is that even with infinite budget he'll screw up.

Post #16 » by **Worm Guts** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:50 pm

gswhoops wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Yes, but he still send Cassell and a 1st round pick for Jaric, signed Hudson, Wally, Mike James, etc. to absurd contracts, lost 3 (!) 1st round picks trying to give an under-the-table MAX contract to Joe Smith of all people, traded a rookie Ray Allen, traded Billups, and on and on...

A lot of these things you have to put Glen Taylor as much McHale, especially the Joe Smith signing (also the Wally and Hudson contracts). Cassell had to leave after his last season with the Wolves, he tore the team apart (although he didn't have to leave for Marko Jaric). Billups walked as a free agent despite being offered the same amount of money. Trading Ray Allen for Marbury seemed like a good idea to everyone at the time.
IMO McHale was OK GM until after the Conference run. Since then he made the Jaric trade, drafted Foye over Roy, drafted McCants over Granger, made the Wally-Davis trade where he didn't understand the contracts of the players he traded for, traded 2 first round picks for basically nothing.

Frozen316 · Post #17 » by **Frozen316** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 2:19 am

jeff1624 wrote:Traded for Mark Blount.

He replaced Michael Olowokandi so

Hendrix · Post #18 » by **Hendrix** » Fri Mar 14, 2008 2:40 am

I'm going to go with Mchale. It's between him and Thomas, but atleast Thomas has done a pretty good job drafting people. He got McGrady, Camby, Stoudamire, Lee, Balkman, etc... Most of them at pretty good places in the draft. He sucks at everything else, but atleast he doesn't suck at everything i guess.