Top 5 NBA GMs
 

Who would you say are the top 5 NBA GMs right now?

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

Buford, Dumars, Colangelo, Thorn, and West. There are several other young GM's that don't yet have the track record but have done a good job. Larry Harris and John Paxson are very impressive so far. Isiah Thomas is absolutely terrible at his job.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

I think Donnie Walsh has to be up there. The Pacers rebuilt after losing the 2000 finals to LA and have still made the playoffs every year.
The guy traded Dale Davis for Jermaine O'Neal, how insane is that deal?
He also traded Jalen Rose and Travis Best for Ron Artest and Brad Miller. Obviously Artest has had his problems, but that is still a sick deal.
I'm a total homer, but I think he has done a great job. He has made some mistakes, like hiring Isiah Thomas and signing Croshere to a bloated contract, but overall he has kept the team consistantly competitive. A couple breaks here and there and they could have won a title at several points along the way, but thats beyond what a GM can control.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

I agree, Noodle. I forgot about him.

This really is a tough question if you have to narrow it down to 5. Many GM's do a good job with a select few standing out as being wretched.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

Its easy to forget about Walsh because the Pacers haven't won a title, but a good deal of that is bad timing. The best Pacers teams were the 1998 team, the 2000 team and the 2004 team.
The 1998 team lost to the Bulls in 7 games in the eastern conference finals. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they were the only team to take the Bulls to 7 games games in any of the title years.
The 2000 team lost to Lakers in 6 games in the Finals. Again, they ran into a powerhouse team.
In 2004 they lost in 6 games to the Pistons in a very competitive series that could have had a much different outcome had Jermaine O'Neal not been hurt.
Its a shame that they were never able to grab a ring, because they were so close for so long.

In any case, the rebuild job they did after losing in the finals is the benchmark for rebuilding. They had 4 new starters the next year and still made they playoffs, even with zeke coaching them.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

Indeed. Indy has consisistently been one of the elite teams in the league despite having quite a bit of roster change. They have done a great job of upgrading talent through excellent trades and shrewd drafting late in the draft. They also rarely overpay their players.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

1. Somebody
2. Somebody
3. Somebody
.
.
.
.
.
28. Somebody
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
29. McHale
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
30. Thomas

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

McHale gives Thomas a run for his money for worst GM. Yeah, the T-Wolves have been decent, but thats pretty much due to KG and McHale has done nothing to help him. McHale made what has to be the single worst deal in NBA history when he tried to Circumvent the CBA for Joe Smith. Its bad enough that McHale was willing to throw a max deal at Smith, but to cheat in order to do it? Losing 5 1st round picks for absolute stupidity is something that Isiah is going to have a hard time duplicating.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

[ QUOTE ]
McHale gives Thomas a run for his money for worst GM. Yeah, the T-Wolves have been decent, but thats pretty much due to KG and McHale has done nothing to help him. McHale made what has to be the single worst deal in NBA history when he tried to Circumvent the CBA for Joe Smith. Its bad enough that McHale was willing to throw a max deal at Smith, but to cheat in order to do it? Losing 5 1st round picks for absolute stupidity is something that Isiah is going to have a hard time duplicating.

[/ QUOTE ]

Isiah gave away two LOTTERY UNPROTECTED picks for a sign and trade for a big man with a heart problem (i.e. Curry). That is, as of right now, the Chicago Bulls have the #4 pick in the draft, as well as a top 10 pick in next year's draft. That is HORRIBLE. McHale was only giving up 5 picks in the LATE first round (20-30), since those TWolves teams made the playoffs.

FWIW, Billy Knight and Rob Babcock have to be worse than McHale.

Re: Top 5 NBA GMs
 

what about billy king? i think he is probably among the worst 7-8, particularly based on the contracts he has given to retain 6er players

p.s. bill simmons has had some hilarious quotes about him, i will try and find them