Ernie Grunfeld receives award

[closg00]

I think Ernie Grunfeld should be the 2009-10 Anti-Executive of the Year.

He turned Dallas into a contender and made Cleveland the overwhelming favorite. His failure to grab J.J. Hickson in the Antawn Jamison trade was the biggest front-office boner of the season by someone not named "David Kahn" and, if you want to dig deeper, an important chess piece in this summer's "Will LeBron stay or go?" drama. Without Hickson, Cleveland wouldn't have a young player to include in a summer sign-and-trade if, say, LeBron stays and Chris Bosh or Joe Johnson wants to join him. Keeping Hickson allows the Cavs to say to Toronto/Atlanta, "Bosh/Johnson is leaving anyway -- give him the max and flip him to us, and we'll give you Hickson, two future No. 1s and $3 million, and sign Shaq for one year and $10 million to make the swap of contracts work ... do we have a deal?" Thanks again, Ernie. You just opened the window for Cleveland to win five straight titles.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba

Does this belong in the Countdown thread? Sure, but I had to get this some run before it ends-up there.

[phil21]

Ernie has lost it and needs to go.

Simmons makes a good point, yet he doesn't even mention the horrendous 1-year Foye and Miller rental at the cost of our lottery pick. I understand that Ernie was in a way a victim of his own circumstances and Abe's wish to contend but there had to be a better deal out there (maybe Amaré?). But let's all remember - like Ernie said - he is "pretty good" at what he does and has a "pretty good" track record...yeah, sure...whatever.

I hope Ted takes over sooner rather than later, before Ernie can blow our capspace or make on his of infamous draft-day deals

[LyricalRico]

We're taking Simmons seriously now? Really?

[closg00]

We're taking Simmons seriously now? Really?

What, you don't like this honor for Ernie?

[nate33]

We're taking Simmons seriously now? Really?

For the life of me, I don't understand why some people still think Hickson is so good. He's a good rebounder and can finish around the rim, but that's it. He has no perimeter shot and plays lousy defense. He's a backup PF, always will be. He'd be exposed as a fringe role player if he didn't have Lebron on his team. I thought Ernie did a very good job with the Jamison trade because he managed to acquire Thornton and a big TPE.

The Butler trade was lousy, because of the Haywood/Gooden swap, but even that is forgivable under the pretense that dumping Haywood was an intentional tank strategy.

There's no excuse for the Foye/Miller trade though. If EG deserves to be "anti-executive of the year", that's the reason why.

[DallasShalDune]

Ernie did what he had to do. I don't agree with Simmons here, but I'm not going to lie, I love his columns. The difference between Simmons and our own Michael Wilbon (who is also an unabashed homer and makes stupid comments) is that Simmons has the ability to make me laugh, yet Wilbon is the most unfunny "clown" ever.

That, and I don't think Wilbon could write a 700 pg book on basketball.

[daSwami]

Bill Simmons is a Celtics fan and has beef with anyone who he thinks has diminished Boston's shot at a title. He's bitter that the trade made the Cavs better and is watching his Celts grow increasingly decrepid by the day.

[pancakes3]

EG should be demoted to scout. plain and simple.

[closg00]

Rico is posting at the Washington Post now.

In Grunfeld We Trust!!

Ernest Grunfeld is on the job and in the process of rebuilding the team according to HIS vision. Ted Leonsis is fully aware of Grunfeld's impressive resume and will undoubtedly keep him in his current position. There is no better man for the job, folks!

To those nitwit Wizards fans out there who believe the team's problems start and end with Grunfeld, know this: Grunfeld had no more responsibility for re-signing Jamison and Arenas than you did. Arenas declared that he would only re-sign if Jamison were re-signed and the late owner (RIP) badly wanted Arenas back because he had star power and was an undeniable fan draw, so Pollin complied. To make matters worse, in failing health and desperate for an impressive playoff run, Pollin signed off on going into luxury-tax territory for the first and only time in his tenure as owner. Surely, none of you is foolish enough to think that Ernest Grunfeld was behind any of these moves?

His February moves show we have the best GM in the league, bar none. It's time some of you opened your jaded eyes and realized that simple fact.

Posted by: melodious_thunk | April 20, 2010 11:24 AM | Report abuse

[LyricalRico]

^ I didn't post that, but I wish I did. That guy is a friggin' genius!

[queridiculo]

Ernies biggest achievement as far as I am concerned, not flinching when Cleveland was telling anybody that would listen how they were in the hunt for Stoudemire. That took some serious marbles and a failure to move Jamison could have seriously derailed this teams future.

It sucks that the Miller and Foye didn't work out as expected, but I'm not going to lie, I was on board with the move at the time.

EG gets a dap for firing EJ, and finally blowing the team up when it was clear that the group had gone stale.

Ps: One more thing, if Blatche works out, EJ will have found yet another gem in the 2nd round, and he also deserves props for drafting Javale "Who???" McGee.

[WizStorm]

Ahh ... the mark of a truly great GM, cowering to the will of the players.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

EG should be demoted to scout. plain and simple.

SORRY: RANT FOLLOWS......

I guess that's about right but I'm not that sold on his eye for talent. Foye over Curry/Rubio/Jennings? Fabricio at a 4M over Blair. DeShawn for twice as much as what he could have had JR Rider, after NO waived him. DeShawn over RMJ.

nate, to say giving away Haywood was okay for tanking is just bad. I'd expect Rico "In Ernie We Trust" to go there. That Dallas deal SUCKED. But not as bad as the Minnesota deal.

Could have had Ty Lawson or Darren Collison with the first he didn't get from Minnesota, that they did exchange for a future first with Denver.

I post a lot about guys like Millsap, but I can think of other players that have been available at times, like Sefolosha or maybe even Joakim Noah. Many possible acquisitions that EG didn't get--like Pau Gasol.

Turning the 1st round pick for JCN into Javaris Crittenton didn't turn out so hot.

How about way back when folks said Gilbert would be healthy in 3 months and EG gave him 6 years, 111 M--but only after being pretty much blackmailed into giving Jamison 56 M. To me, and I said so at the time, the risks far outweighed the results. Guy has had two surgeries and clearly isn't healthy but he opts out after the team tanks with him in the first round? And EG awards him with a fat contract????? No way that should have happened. Worse was that the lack of defense from Gil and Jamison was already evident. Yet, EG went with continuity, to the tune of 167M. I said then the team would have cap problems and I was worried about Gil's health long-term. I'd let him and AJ walk. This rebuilding could have been done 2-3 years ago--or they could have reloaded with guys like Salmons, Sessions, etc.

Letting Haywood go because the team was up against the cap was bad. Mortgaging the future for 1 yr rentals of Foye and Miller was bad. Giving up Curry was just HORRIBLE.

I think Ernie turned the best out of a bad situation starting with getting cap relief and a pick for AJ; along with trading for young, exciting, two-way players. I loved the way this season ended. Sixteen straight losses included. If you're going to suck, at least do it playing young guys on cheap deals. HOWEVER, last season the Wizards won 19 games with a HUGE payroll and EG didn't get a defensive PG who could also be a playmaker--he got Foye. He didn't get a defensive wing--he got Miller. He passed on the low-post bruiser (Blair) and overpaid for a guy who really was lucky to get a deal--Oberto.

Ernie's resume isn't too impressive as Wizards' GM as far as I'm concerned. Cleveland, Dallas, San Antonio, Minnesota, Memphis are all better better because of EG. Bobcats are in the playoffs. EG had so much talent and hired Flip and still didn't get this team to the playoffs.

I'm sorry, Rico.

Ernie might do well with a do-over, but he's done so much not-so-well I for one hope Ted buys in and Ernie goes bye bye.

[verbal8]

Ernies biggest achievement as far as I am concerned, not flinching when Cleveland was telling anybody that would listen how they were in the hunt for Stoudemire. That took some serious marbles and a failure to move Jamison could have seriously derailed this teams future.

I think his return for the Cleveland deal was pretty good. I think his return for the Dallas deal was terrible.

[closg00]

Washington, DC: Grunfeld should get Executive of the Year. He could be the first GM to get two teams to the Finals in the same season.

Michael Wilbon: Ha! I love that...Hi everybody...Sorry we had to start later than usual today but with travel and crazy schedule stuff I'm just getting here to the PTI studios...so let's jump right in...Yeah, Dallas and Cleveland look pretty good with Caron Butler/Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison, don't they? Cleveland looks like the clear-cut favorite in the Eastern Conference. I think Grunfeld had to make those moves to start the rebuilding of the Wizards franchise, but it sure looks crazy that three Wizards players could determine the champion of the NBA this season.

[JonathanJoseph]

As I've said in the other thread, with each day more shine comes off of Caron Butler and its starting to look like Grunfeld won that trade. Butler is benched and possibly sulking and it's not helping a playoff team.

The only moves that look like they won't turn out well are the Miller/Foye trade, although I think it was a good trade at the time and passing on Dejuan Blair for Oberto.

The Wizards have 3 very possible young, all-star caliber players (Arenas, Blatche, McGee), possibly a 4th in Livingston, a few young prospects and a ton of cap room. At some point, you're going to have to look at that and admit that Grunfeld did a good job positioning the franchise.

It's not Grunfeld's fault that injuries have been over the top for years and it's not Grunfeld's fault that somehow Caron Butler regressed into a bad player.

[AceDegenerate]

As I've said in the other thread, with each day more shine comes off of Caron Butler and its starting to look like Grunfeld won that trade. Butler is benched and possibly sulking and it's not helping a playoff team.

The only moves that look like they won't turn out well are the Miller/Foye trade, although I think it was a good trade at the time and passing on Dejuan Blair for Oberto.

The Wizards have 3 very possible young, all-star caliber players (Arenas, Blatche, McGee), possibly a 4th in Livingston, a few young prospects and a ton of cap room. At some point, you're going to have to look at that and admit that Grunfeld did a good job positioning the franchise.

It's not Grunfeld's fault that injuries have been over the top for years and it's not Grunfeld's fault that somehow Caron Butler regressed into a bad player.

Caron Butler & our #5 was able to be traded for Amare Stoudemire prior to the season. He was traded (along with Haywood, which to me is more valuable than that #5 we wasted) for cap space during the season!!!!

Ernie Grunfeld didn't WIN anything. He is a LOSER, and has LOST every trade he's made as GM of this team.

[closg00]

Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond has been named the recipient of the 2009-10 NBA Executive of the Year award, the NBA announced Saturday.

Milwaukee totaled 46 wins in 2009-10, a 12-game improvement from last season, and earned the franchise's first playoff berth since 2005-06.

Hammond's decision to select Brandon Jennings with the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft paid immediate dividends, as the guard earned a starting spot in training camp and went on to average 15.5 points during his rookie campaign.

Hammond received 12 of a possible 30 votes from a panel of his fellow team executives throughout the NBA.

Oklahoma City's Sam Presti finished second with nine votes and Cleveland's Danny Ferry finished third with two votes. Charlotte's Rod Higgins, Dallas' Mark Cuban, Memphis' Chris Wallace, New Orleans' Jeff Bower, Portland's Kevin Pritchard, Sacramento's Geoff Petrie and Utah's Kevin O'Connor each received one vote.

What an outrage!! Ernie Grunfeld did not receive a single vote for executive of the year.

[JonathanJoseph]

As I've said in the other thread, with each day more shine comes off of Caron Butler and its starting to look like Grunfeld won that trade. Butler is benched and possibly sulking and it's not helping a playoff team.

The only moves that look like they won't turn out well are the Miller/Foye trade, although I think it was a good trade at the time and passing on Dejuan Blair for Oberto.

The Wizards have 3 very possible young, all-star caliber players (Arenas, Blatche, McGee), possibly a 4th in Livingston, a few young prospects and a ton of cap room. At some point, you're going to have to look at that and admit that Grunfeld did a good job positioning the franchise.

It's not Grunfeld's fault that injuries have been over the top for years and it's not Grunfeld's fault that somehow Caron Butler regressed into a bad player.

Caron Butler & our #5 was able to be traded for Amare Stoudemire prior to the season. He was traded (along with Haywood, which to me is more valuable than that #5 we wasted) for cap space during the season!!!!

Ernie Grunfeld didn't WIN anything. He is a LOSER, and has LOST every trade he's made as GM of this team.

See, this is where your point breaks down. The Caron Butler/Kwame Brown was one of the biggest non-salary-dump heists in the recent NBA. He traded a bum for a player entering his prime who would go on to 2 All-star appearances.

It's also safe to say that Grunfeld won the Jamison for Devin Harris and some bad contracts trade, as Jamison went on to 2 all-star appearances himself.

While I'll likely chalk up the Miller/Foye trade as a loss, it seems that Grunfeld "won" at least 2 of the 3 major trades in his Wizards tenure.

So when you rant that he's lost every trade he's made as GM you are stretching the bounds of reason.

[LyricalRico]