T-Wolves Targeted Michael Winger & Pelicans Targeted Trent Redden; Both Stay With LAC

Ranma · Post #1 » by **Ranma** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:20 pm

MartinToVaught · Post #2 » by **MartinToVaught** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:32 pm

Time for Ballmer to open up the wallet and pay that man.

esqtvd · Post #3 » by **esqtvd** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:51 pm

Ballmer will not be outbid

it's a question of clout and credit

sort of the downside of having Jerry West around

Post #4 » by **mkwest** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 12:10 am

Read on Twitter

M2V linked to this excerpt when we first brought Winger in.

Mike Winger, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant general manager/team counsel
Those with an intimate knowledge of Thunderology say the strength of the structure in Oklahoma City is in large part due to the complementary quality of the Weaver-Winger duo. Whereas Weaver excels as a talent evaluator, Winger is process-driven and exceptionally well-organized, skills that are more coveted than ever as front offices (and their budgets) grow exponentially larger.

Relationships with the league office serve a team well, and Winger would bring that strength to any organization. He initiates many of the Thunder's front-end conversations with other NBA teams and is one of the more competent CBA-heads in the NBA. Like Weaver, Winger has an awareness of his limitations and would pursue the sharpest basketball personnel people if given the top job.

A couple of business-side folks volunteered that, with the cap number exploding and organizations spending more than ever, they anticipate seeing even more team counsel/administrative types at the helm of basketball operations. If that prediction plays out, Winger will soon be in an owner's suite making his case for the position.

If he does in fact leave, I hope there'll be a quality replacement for his role.

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN - Mar 30, 2017

I hope Minny goes with somebody else that they're looking at. If you have quality assets, somebody's going to want them. It would be great for him to help further/finish what he has helped start here, but I understand if he wants the promotion to run the show elsewhere.

"We don't view free agency as an event. It's really just another opportunity in the chronology of the franchise to improve the team or improve the team's future."

Scott Davis, Business Insider

I like that.

Quake Griffin · Post #5 » by **Quake Griffin** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:40 am

Is this a matter of price or a matter of Winger running his own ship?

esqtvd · Post #6 » by **esqtvd** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 1:45 am

mkwest wrote:I hope Minny goes with somebody else that they're looking at. If you have quality assets, somebody's going to want them. It would be great for him to help further/finish what he has helped start here, but I understand if he wants the promotion to run the show elsewhere.

Very good point. Minny has a ton of mismatched assets. Turning them into a coherent basketball team would be quite an accomplishment and he'd have a lot of cards to play.

It would be fun. And Winger's never going to get any credit here, what with Jerry and Doc and Lawrence Frank as the faces and true basketball men in the team brass. [Frank has been an NBA head coach, ffs. PFG for a guy who never actually played the game.]

OTOH, I'm skeptical that Winger, as a lawyer, not a basketball man, actually knows anything about basketball. The best he could do is hire some true basketball men, take their advice, and do his sal cap number magic to make it all work. But if he can, he'll get all the credit, and probably the big bucks too.

If Minny's game, why WTH not? And if I'm Minny, I've had no luck with McHale and Garnett and now Thibs, so WTH not?

Ranma · Post #7 » by **Ranma** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 6:04 am

Read on Twitter

Post #8 » by **QRich3** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:19 am

Noooooooooooooooooooo

By most accounts, this is the most important guy on our front office, not the logo or Frank, this is the guy that came here with the vision of yeah, let's use free agency since we're in LA, but we need to be a serious, well run team that extracts value from many other places before that. This is the guy with the long term vision, and the guy who picks up the phone when you need to close a trade. I thought he was going under the radar since everyone gives all the credit to West, but obviously NBA owners are not gonna be fooled by that, Taylor probably did his homework and he's apparently nailed it down to two of the best available guys in the whole league, in him and Rosas.

Hopefully Ballmer just bathes him in money so that he doesn't go anywhere. I wanted him to be our version of what Michael Zarren is for the Celtics, the guy who really moves the strings in the shadows, and doesn't mind waiting for the other guy to retire and get the glory, as long as he gets to do his thing and gets paid. But I guess not everyone wants that and I'd understand if Winger wants his own team to run as he pleases, and get all the glory/blame.

Post #9 » by **mkwest** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 4:43 am

The Clippers’ Front Office Might Lose Michael Winger and Trent Redden this Summer

The job that they, Frank, and West have done in the past two years has been nothing short of extraordinary. The entire roster has been turned over and refreshed with young talent, all while the team has remained competitive. The Clippers have no onerous long-term contracts, and will have room for at least one max player this summer, with the flexibility to create more. And, most importantly, they’ve added players who could be franchise cornerstones for years to come in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Landry Shamet, as well as tough, gritty, respected vets such as Lou Williams and Pat Beverley. The Clippers have made brilliant moves time and again, and are now regarded as one of the best, smartest organizations in the NBA.

Having such great young minds comes at a cost, however: other teams want them too, and can offer them greater responsibilities, power, (and salary, presumably) to be in bigger roles elsewhere. To wit: Winger was reportedly given permission to interview with the Minnesota Timberwolves as President of Basketball Operations yesterday, while Redden has been reported to be the top choice of the Pelicans’ new POBO David Griffin to be GM in New Orleans.

The Clippers’ still have one of the brightest futures in the NBA, and THEY would have their pick of replacements for Winger and Redden if they were to depart. The Clippers’ GM role and Assistant GM role would immediately be two of the best, most desired front office positions in the NBA, and it would not be shocking if both were filled by people as qualified as Winger and Redden were two years ago.

Robert Flom, ClipsNation

Post #10 » by **mkwest** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 4:51 am

Trent Redden, Cleveland Cavaliers senior vice president of basketball operations
In the 11 years since he began his tenure in Cleveland as an intern, Redden has seen the full emotional spectrum of an NBA organization -- the early LeBron years, consistent success, the inability to fill out a team around a mega-superstar, the ashes left in the wake of LeBron's departure, The Return, a close call and finally an NBA title.

This circumstantial range is a gift to a young executive with aspirations, which is why those who know and have worked with Redden believe he's primed to head a front office in the coming years. They describe a worker bee who both looks the part and has the requisite qualifications, from X's and O's to taming superstar ego to jiu-jitsu with agents.

Redden is popular within the organization on the basketball and business side, as is his colleague, assistant general manager Koby Altman, who is another name to watch.

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN - Mar 30, 2017

Redden worked under Griffin and Ferry with the Cavs.

Post #11 » by **mkwest** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:41 pm

Read on Twitter

Quake Griffin · Post #12 » by **Quake Griffin** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 11:29 pm

We cannot lose both of these guys.

Pay em Ballmer. Raises. Quarterly bonuses. Whatever.
Helping the Clippers build a dynasty as a part of a FO >>>> Being the head guy in Murder App and NOLA.

Post #13 » by **mkwest** » Fri Apr 19, 2019 9:16 pm

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Wammy Giveaway · Post #14 » by **Wammy Giveaway** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 4:37 am

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Michael Winger STAYING
Trent Redden
Jerry West END OF CONTRACT
Doc Rivers

Post #15 » by **Domejandro** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 4:45 am

Huge news for you lot, Michael Winger is legit. I'm very disappointed, but Ballmer has the cash to throw around.

Post #16 » by **mkwest** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:11 am

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Ranma · Post #17 » by **Ranma** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:53 am

While I'm sure we would have filled the void of Michael Winger's departure capably with another outstanding front-office executive, Winger is such a great fit and significant piece of our front office as currently constructed. He was known primarily as a salary-cap expert, but that short-changed his ability to keep us nimble in laying out valuation scenarios ahead of time, which allowed us to respond to last-minute proposals and pull off unexpected trades like the Zubac one.

With all due respect to Trent Redden, if there was one guy we had to keep between the two executives being pursued by other organizations, Winger was him. It's no accident that he was chosen to fill in for Jerry West in the most recent Playbook fan event. He's shown himself to be a master planner and expert strategist. Plus, I'm jazzed that he's inclined not to leave because we're in position to pull off something great.

Having said that, even when we assembled our new front office, I wanted more executives known for their talent-evaluation ability. Redden and Mark Hughes may be inclined to do those things but neither wowed me with their respective resumes. Speaking of Redden, I don't want him to leave the Clips but I still want to add more talented evaluators who fit our front office into the mix.

Read on Twitter

Post #18 » by **mkwest** » Wed Apr 24, 2019 4:51 am

Redden interviews with Pelicans

Clippers assistant general manager Trent Redden interviewed Tuesday with the New Orleans Pelicans for their open general manager position, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who was unauthorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The interview lasted throughout Tuesday evening but will not carry over into Wednesday. It is not yet known whether a second interview has been scheduled. Redden and new Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin already know one another well after working together in Cleveland. They were part of a front office that built the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA championship team.

Redden joined the Cavaliers as an intern and over the next 11 years rose to vice president of basketball operations. He and Griffin left the Cavaliers at the same time in June 2017. Redden joined the Clippers in August 2017. He oversees the team’s amateur scouting.

Brad Turner & Andrew Greif, LA Times

Ranma · Post #19 » by **Ranma** » Sun Apr 28, 2019 11:45 pm

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Quake Griffin · Post #20 » by **Quake Griffin** » Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:10 am

Ranma wrote:

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Build a juggernaut here. Build a dynasty here. Build the next great title run here. We’re not even close to done

Why would any of these guys leave the deepest pockets in the league? One that will spare no expense to give them anything they need to be successful.

New Orleans Pelicans might as well be any team. These guys will always have offers if they continue doing what they’re doing.