Ryan McDonough OFFICIALLY Named Phoenix Suns GM

[EB2]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ChrisVernonShow/status/339753892483043328[/tweet]

He's done a good enough job in Memphis to be his own GM. I don't think he'd come here to be an assistant.

[ShawnBronald]

He's done a good enough job in Memphis to be his own GM. I don't think he'd come here to be an assistant.

Wallace has been a GM in the league for over 10 years. Not everyone wants to be in position to run a team. I believe he was the guy that hired McDonough while in Boston. Perhaps he wants to take a step back and work alongside someone rather than be 'the man' (not to mention also assist a good friend and protégé).

But I do agree that his time in Memphis could earn him a GM spot on any team with a vacancy, if he wants it, of course.

[Gorilla Warfare]

I don't know how you guys feel so far, but I have a much better feeling about the offseason with McDonough than I did initially with Kerr and Blanks. That could definitely change on June 27th though...to be honest if I dont hear Noel, Burke, Oladipo, Porter, or McLemore's name called by the Suns on draft night I will not be happy.

Also, that was not in order. My preferences would be Oladipo or McLemore.

[ShawnBronald]

I don't know how you guys feel so far, but I have a much better feeling about the offseason with McDonough than I did initially with Kerr and Blanks.

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like McDonough has done more in a month as Suns' GM than Lance Blanks did in his entire 3+ years here. I'm dead serious, too.

Since Day 1 (and probably a little before that), McDonough has done a ton of scouting, research and due diligence in regards to the draft, his own staff, the head coaching vacancy and the assistant coaching staff. I have absolutely no concerns when it comes to his decision making. If something doesn't work out, I know he at least put a lot of thought into it and things just didn't work out. I honestly feel that when Blanks made a decision he just pulled names out of a hat or flipped a coin and then went about doing other random stuff. I've always believed that if someone has put the proper time and effort in, you can safely live with the final results no matter what they may be.

Going forward, my motto will always be: In McDonough We Trust.

[BurningHeart]

It's all abut the perception of competence.

[lilfishi22]

Ever since I first saw a picture of McD, I can't help but imagine him in The Wire.

[rsavaj]

Prez!

[lilfishi22]

Other than the obvious facial similarities, both guys were great at analytics. I just hope that's where the similarities end.

[DRK]

I don't know how you guys feel so far, but I have a much better feeling about the offseason with McDonough than I did initially with Kerr and Blanks. That could definitely change on June 27th though...to be honest if I dont hear Noel, Burke, Oladipo, Porter, or McLemore's name called by the Suns on draft night I will not be happy.

Also, that was not in order. My preferences would be Oladipo or McLemore.

Well Im not really sure just yet. Lets wait until the season before we start judging offseasons.

Case in point:

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1192728

We really never know how well an offseason goes until about halfway through the season

[Revived]

Suns Make Changes To Front Office

The Phoenix Suns have named Pat Connelly Assistant General Manager and Trevor Bukstein has been promoted to Assistant General Manager. Ronnie Lester has been named a scout and Emilio Kovacic has been named International Scouting Consultant. John Treloar will remain the team’s Director of Player Personnel; John Shumate and Bubba Burrage remain scouts.


The Suns hired Ryan McDonough as general manager this offseason.

Connelly joins the Suns following seven seasons with the Washington Wizards, most recently as the Director of Player Personnel where he was one of the team’s top scouting sources of collegiate and international talent.

Interesting that we hire the Wizards DOP and that he was their top scout. The Wizards haven't really drafted any notable talent as of late other than Beal and Wall which were both the obvious choices at their selections. I'll trust McDonough's decision though.

[PHX Maniak]

I'd like to steer clear of the Jan Veseleys of the world.

[gaspar]

Suns hope little deals during rebuilding turn into big payoffs in the near future | azcentral.com

There is not a professional sports organization without its issues, but an internal and external feeling that the club is headed in the wrong direction can be devastating.

The Suns restored a sense of the right direction in recent months, starting with the hiring of General Manager Ryan McDonough in April.

No move inspired confidence in the new Suns front-office model (the intended look of the previous front office) more than the trade for Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler to start July.

Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby, Assistant General Manager Trevor Bukstein and Director of Player Personnel John Treloar had been aboard in recent years, but their intended roles all wound up blurred — and expanded — due to the shortcomings of the previous general manager, Lance Blanks.

This time around, a deal came together, with every front-office vehicle in its proper lane.

Bukstein and McDonough’s new assistant GM hire, Pat Connelly, work on presenting trade and free-agency options in a “marketplace of ideas” constantly. But when Chris Paul committed to re-signing with the Clippers on the morning of July 1, their wheels started spinning faster than a drill bit.

The Suns had pursued ways to acquire Bledsoe for the past year, as had McDonough in his previous job with Boston. What made this scenario different was Bukstein included the Clippers’ desire to sign J.J. Redick for more than they could offer independently while preserving their mid-level exception.

The Suns and Clippers each sent a second-round pick to Milwaukee, which was happy to receive picks rather than watch Redick walk for nothing. The Clippers landed the much-needed shooting of Redick and retain the mid-level exception, which they later used to sign Matt Barnes and Darren Collison. The Suns hit their target, Bledsoe, and added Butler.

In the deal’s infancy, Babby evaluated the salary-cap impact, and McDonough, Connelly and Treloar worked on player evaluation before the idea turned to talks.

Simultaneously, McDonough called his former Celtics colleague, Clippers executive and coach Doc Rivers, and Babby called Arn Tellem, Redick’s agent, with the proposal. Tellem said he was five minutes away from closing a deal for Redick with another team.

“Don’t do that,” Babby told Tellem. “We might be able to get him somewhere else that’ll make him happy.”

Within 30 hours of Paul’s Twitter announcement, word leaked on Yahoo! that the Suns, Bucks and Clippers had agreed to the trade.

“It was the way in which I hoped the front office would work,” Babby said. “Everyone works in their areas of expertise. Had the Phoenix Suns not come up with the idea, I don’t know if the trade ever happens.”

This is not to say the trade is a shoo-in to work. Time will tell, but the reaction around the NBA and Planet Orange was predominantly positive. More importantly, the Suns are thinking of the big things while doing the small things.

From the time the Suns claimed Luis Scola on an amnesty deal last summer, it was clear he would be moved when he became trade-eligible this month. He belonged on a contender, and the Suns’ victorious amnesty bid, also the calculative work of Bukstein, put Scola on a good-value contract that made him attractive for barter.

Indiana had expressed interest in Scola for months, and McDonough squeezed a value return last week by taking on Gerald Green in order to acquire Miles Plumlee and another first-round pick, which again is a big-picture move if a trade for a star becomes possible and demands a boatload of picks.

It is too early to declare all the decisions a success, especially after a lowered bar, but the newfound aggressiveness and conviction is to be commended. Even the return on the Steve Nash trade that was questioned here for being low draft picks with rare impact might soon need a re-examination. It did not hand the enemy a championship. Archie Goodwin is a promising No. 29 pick.

And maybe, just maybe, that “other” first-round pick (in 2015) acquired from the Lakers — which carries only top-five protection — will not be so low after all.

Good to hear that our front office isn't dysfunctional anymore.