Top 5 NBA GMs

[Aytumious]

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.

[TheNoodleMan]

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.

[Aytumious]

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.