From the cutting room floor: To finish off on the Rob Hennigan front, the mystery man who traded Dwight Howard
and I covered a lot of ground that wasn't included in the story - http://sportsillustrat... - from our interview on Tuesday.
For those with interest, below is the 30-year-old Orlando Magic GM on a number of different fronts...
Hennigan on his notoriously calm demeanor...
"I grew up (in Worcester, Mass.) with three sisters, two grandmothers, my mom and my Dad. No brothers. When you're growing up in an environment where the women have you outnumbered, learning to stay calm basically became a survival tactic for me. Maybe that’s where it comes from."
On his addiction to efficiency that was part of his profile as a player at Emerson too (once scored 47 points while holding the ball for a combined three minutes in the entire game)...
"Efficiency is something that’s always been not just important, but something that has become natural. I think there’s a fine line between being too efficient and inefficient. I try to find that balance to make sure that the quality of your work or your opinion or whatever decision you’re making has the right mixture of both."
On his relative youth and whether it puts him at a disadvantage when working with his elder colleagues...
"I really believe that age is relative to experience, and experience is relative to environment you learn in and who you learn from. I’ve just been incredibly lucky to have learned from people like (Spurs GM) RC (Buford), George Felton, who is the director of college player personnel for the Spurs, (Hawks GM and former Spurs executive) Danny Ferry, (former Spurs director of scouting and current Phoenix GM) Lance Blanks, (Oklahoma City GM who hired Hennigan with the Spurs and Thunder) Sam (Presti), (Thunder assistant GM/legal & administration) Mike Winger, (New Orleans GM formerly with the Spurs) Dell Demps, (Utah GM formerly with the Spurs) Dennis Lindsey, (Thunder VP/assistant GM) Troy Weaver. All these guys have taught me so much."
From the cutting room floor, Part II: Hennigan discusses Dwight Howard trade talks, the comparisons to Presti etc.
On how he handled the task of making and taking trade calls during the Howard saga considering he'd never been the one leading that charge in his previous jobs...
"At Oklahoma City and San Antonio I was really lucky to be privy to a lot of varied discussions and negotiations that were taking place. And a lot of times, I was fortunate enough to have an active role in that process. I think those experiences and observations helped me quite a bit and provide the foundation of, ‘Ok, here’s how to operate, here’s how to conduct your business, here’s how to establish an action plan from which to operate.’ That just gave me a lot of confidence to pick up the phone and start doing what was best for the organization.
"Since this was really the first trade process we were going through, it’s hard to benchmark (whether it went as smoothly as he might have hoped). My mindset was to gather as much information as possible, process the information...and really just keep the best interests of the organization at the forefront of our purview. That was the mission statement for this process."
On leaving the old life behind where he'd be on the road - on average - 20 days out of the month for nine months out of the year...
"I think I will (miss the scouting life). I think I definitely will. When you get to travel that much, you learn a lot about yourself, about the world and different cultures. I have the best wife in the world (Marissa, who he met two weeks into his freshman year at Emerson and has been together 12 years).
"It was a 12-month scouting calendar, and I think one of the things that we had in Oklahoma City were people who were incredibly passionate about doing their jobs a certain way. Everybody fed off each other, and that started with Sam (Presti). He really galvanized that type of passion and effort that everybody lived by.
"I’ll forever be indebted to Sam for a lot of different reasons. He’s been an invaluable mentor, and more importantly he’s one of my best friends. I think the world of him as a person."
On the label - which isn't a bad one - of Hennigan being a Presti clone...
"We’re similar, we’re different, but I think we share a lot of the same core beliefs. Our personalities are different, but they complement each other very well. Sam is maybe a little more business like, I’m a little more laid back. But Sam has a terrific sense of humor. He’s hilarious, but a lot of people don’t see that side of him."
