Of the 'realistic' candidates... well, plus Jerry West.
1. Jerry West
2. Larry Brown
3. Donnie Walsh
4. JVG
5. Someone who is older, 60+, who the Senator won't view as a young kid getting his chance.
New GM Brainstorming Session
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InsideOut
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I posted this in another thread but I guess this is where it belongs.
What makes a great GM? Jerry West gets called the best ever...why is that? He took over a Laker team that had Kareem and Magic. How hard is it to win with that group? Then Shaq decides he wants to be in movies and music and demands to play in LA. Then West goes to the Griz and they've done nothing special. They may not have won a single playoff game under West. So is West great or a joke and how do you tell?
Look at Ferry with Cleveland. He built a team that went to the finals last season and he gets called a joke. West does much worse in Memphis and he's called a genius. To me these guys are all about the same and it all comes down to luck and location. If you get lucky and get a Duncan, Shaq or MJ falls to you then people think you're great. If you are a GM in LA and players are willing to take less because of the weather, night life and endorsement deals then you again look like a genius. However, play GM in a city like Memphis or Milwaukee where you are forced to over pay to keep your own average guys then people tend to think you stink as a GM. Do you ever see a time when a Shaq demands a trade to Milwaukee? I remember a time when Kareem and Payton wanted out of Milwaukee.
I'm sure some of these guys are a little better than others but my guess is an average GM would do better building a team for a rich LA owner than a genius GM working under a meddling Kohl.
What makes a great GM? Jerry West gets called the best ever...why is that? He took over a Laker team that had Kareem and Magic. How hard is it to win with that group? Then Shaq decides he wants to be in movies and music and demands to play in LA. Then West goes to the Griz and they've done nothing special. They may not have won a single playoff game under West. So is West great or a joke and how do you tell?
Look at Ferry with Cleveland. He built a team that went to the finals last season and he gets called a joke. West does much worse in Memphis and he's called a genius. To me these guys are all about the same and it all comes down to luck and location. If you get lucky and get a Duncan, Shaq or MJ falls to you then people think you're great. If you are a GM in LA and players are willing to take less because of the weather, night life and endorsement deals then you again look like a genius. However, play GM in a city like Memphis or Milwaukee where you are forced to over pay to keep your own average guys then people tend to think you stink as a GM. Do you ever see a time when a Shaq demands a trade to Milwaukee? I remember a time when Kareem and Payton wanted out of Milwaukee.
I'm sure some of these guys are a little better than others but my guess is an average GM would do better building a team for a rich LA owner than a genius GM working under a meddling Kohl.
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LISTEN2JAZZ
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There are differences. Check out Dumars - so amazingly disciplined compared to most GMs. Willing to let a player walk "for nothing" if their market price exceeds their value. Willing to draft sure-bet players (Stuckey, Maxiell) instead of swinging for the fences and missing all the time. Fields a good team year in and year out with no real stars, and no big budget.
At the other end of the spectrum, you've got the moron in Atlanta, who comes to the '05 draft with the #2 pick, and the best player in the draft plays the position they desperately need. What a home run, right? But take a project SF instead. Fast forward a year, and they are drafting #5. Again, the best player in the draft can play the position they desperately need, so it's a slam dunk pick. Everybody pokes fun of them because of rumors that they are going to reach for Shelden Williams, and then they go and do it.
This is not 20/20 hindsight. Everyone thought Chris Paul and Brandon Roy would be ROY prior to their being drafted, and Atlanta was hurting for a PG and had them in their sights.
At the other end of the spectrum, you've got the moron in Atlanta, who comes to the '05 draft with the #2 pick, and the best player in the draft plays the position they desperately need. What a home run, right? But take a project SF instead. Fast forward a year, and they are drafting #5. Again, the best player in the draft can play the position they desperately need, so it's a slam dunk pick. Everybody pokes fun of them because of rumors that they are going to reach for Shelden Williams, and then they go and do it.
This is not 20/20 hindsight. Everyone thought Chris Paul and Brandon Roy would be ROY prior to their being drafted, and Atlanta was hurting for a PG and had them in their sights.
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InsideOut
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adamcz wrote:There are differences. Check out Dumars - so amazingly disciplined compared to most GMs. Willing to let a player walk "for nothing" if their market price exceeds their value. Willing to draft sure-bet players (Stuckey, Maxiell) instead of swinging for the fences and missing all the time. Fields a good team year in and year out with no real stars, and no big budget.
At the other end of the spectrum, you've got the moron in Atlanta, who comes to the '05 draft with the #2 pick, and the best player in the draft plays the position they desperately need. What a home run, right? But take a project SF instead. Fast forward a year, and they are drafting #5. Again, the best player in the draft can play the position they desperately need, so it's a slam dunk pick. Everybody pokes fun of them because of rumors that they are going to reach for Shelden Williams, and then they go and do it.
This is not 20/20 hindsight. Everyone thought Chris Paul and Brandon Roy would be ROY prior to their being drafted, and Atlanta was hurting for a PG and had them in their sights.
I agree that if you look at the opposite ends of the spectrum (great GM vs. dysfunctional ownership group) you will see a difference. Just think if Dumars had taken Wade, Bosh or Melo over Darko. Why didn't he go with the sure bet in that draft?
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trwi7
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I'm going to go with GAD. He knows a **** load about the NBA and he could get us all cushy jobs within the organization.
How cool would it be to be security to keep Walter, Burr and Kohl away from GAD while he's trying to make a trade?
How cool would it be to be security to keep Walter, Burr and Kohl away from GAD while he's trying to make a trade?
stellation wrote:What's the difference between Gery Woelful and this glass of mineral water? The mineral water actually has a source."
I Hate Manure wrote:We look to be awful next season without Beasley.
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zizek
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adamcz wrote:This is not 20/20 hindsight. Everyone thought Chris Paul and Brandon Roy would be ROY prior to their being drafted, and Atlanta was hurting for a PG and had them in their sights.
The survey of General Managers predicted Bogut as ROY, just ahead of Paul, and Williams as the best player in 5 years.