GM Rankings Off Season 2007

by user C.Bothe

Alright with the draft being finished and all gm posts filled it is time to rank the GM's in the league. Now not all GM's will be ranked due to their lack of experience but here's the list with just a small blurb about why they are there.

1. R.C. Buford- Spurs Buford has consistently surrounded his big 3 with quality role players that are only interested in winning rather than personal accomplishments.
2. Bryan Colangelo- Raptors Colangelo built the Suns roster to have that run and gun style, but he got bored and moved on. In one year he helped build the Raptors into a Eastern Conference contender.
3. Chris Mullin- Golden State Richardson trade is questionable but Wright fits a need and is athletic for this run and gun team. He has consistently made good moves discovering Monte Ellis, Matt Barnes. As long as Wright and Patrick O' Bryant don't bomb he should stay up high on this list.
4. Sam Presti- Supersonics He's been on the job for less than 3 weeks and he's only done great. Durant was handed to him but robbing the Celtics for Jeff Green and Delonte West was a great move. He may move down the list but so far there's no reason to think he won't make good choices. Lewis not resigning hurts so he needs to find a SG.
5. Kevin Prtichard- Trail Blazers In two consecutive years he has had great drafts, he robbed Minnesota in 2006 and then got the ping pong ball bounce for Oden. He has Paul Allen's deep pockets which helps. However 2 questionable moves are Pryzbilla's contract and the Z-Bo trade is questionable.
6. John Paxon- Bulls He has built this team with great draft picks. At the end of Last Season he may have been 3rd on the list however the Ben Wallace signing and getting rid of JR Smith and Tyson Chandler for nothing hurt him. He refused to act with his biggest trade chip PJ Browns contract and it appears he has drafted basically the same type of player in back to back years with Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.
7. Joe Dumars- Pistons Has built a team that has reached 5 straight Eastern Conference championships. However he picked Darko, then let Darko go for nothing so he could resign Ben Wallace, then lost Ben Wallace. So basically he got nothing with the 2nd pick in the draft from 2003. He has slowly moved down the list every year and could continue to plummet if his moves don't work. He needed to find front court help this offseason and used 2 draft picks on SG.
8. Donn Nelson- Mavs His dad gets most credit with building this team, however he has made good moves to keep them together. Although they got bounced early in the playoffs the team won 67 games and is built for the long haul. They need a high energy punch you in the mouth type of player.
9. Mark Warkentien- Nuggets Brough in AI and JR Smith giving Melo good sidekicks to lead a team. If this team gels it could be among the favorites in the West. Questionable move signing Nene to a huge deal even though they already had K-Mart.
10. Ernie Grunfeld- Wizards Before injuries it appeared like this guy had built a East favorite. He stole Caron Butler, snuck Arenas and Jamison in. Adding another scorer in Young will help the team, however it still lacks a consistent big man that can play defense and rebound, rather the other big man on the team.
11. Kevin O'Connor- Jazz Made smart moves to bring in a solid core in Boozer, Okur and Williams. Needs to move AK because he doesn't fit the style of play, but he has always found talent and what the team needed to get into the playoffs and win series.
12. Randy Pfund- Heat It doesn't appear like more than a few moves due to Riley being in the front office. However he helped the team win a championship and has seemed to find pretty good talent late in the draft. Team got old quick and this off season will tell if he is a ok GM or good GM.
13. Ed Stefanski- Nets Made smart draft picks the past couple of years until the Sean Williams gamble. Consistently has found talent where others haven't with guys like Miki Moore. However it appears most of the teams moves are made by Rod Thorn the President as the guy above him on the list.
14. Jeff Bower- Hornets Robbing the Bulls of Tyson Chandler was his best move. Injuries took Peja out which made his signing look questionable, however time will tell with that move. Drafting has been questionable so far outside of CP3, Drafted similar big men in 2006 and basically another Desmond Mason this year.
15. Larry Harris- Bucks Worst move made by this GM is the Bobby Simmons contract, however he has built a solid core with Redd, Boget, and Vilaneuva. As long as injuries don't kill this team every year they should be in contention for the playoffs for at least the next 5 years.
16. Otis Smith- Magic Finally made a move to help Howard, however not sure if its a good one only time will tell. He mostly stood put with his roster. Another victim of nothing where Darko could've been is rough and keeps him on the bottom half of the GMs.
17. Daryl Morey- Rockets He has Yao and TMac but he has not really given them anything to help. The Battier for Gay trade didn't help the team get past the first round. Rockets still lack a good ball handler and hope TMac can do everything.
18. Elgin Baylor- Clippers He has made some good moves to no longer be one of the worst GM's, however giving Tim Thomas big bucks was a mistake. He passed up on a PG in this years draft even though its the teams biggest need.
19. Isiah Thomas- Knicks Somehow some way Isiah may be the best talent evaluator when it comes to rookies in the league. He consistently finds talent no matter where he picks. Problem he may be the worst constructor of a team through FA and Trades.
20. Larry Bird- Pacers How do you make a trade where you take back over 90 million in salaries and don't get either of the top 2 players in the trade. His best move was Danny Granger but this team is going no where and Bird is to blame.
21. Danny Ferry- Cavs He got LeBron to stay which is a major positive and he discovered Gibson in round 2. Look at his FA signings, he gave huge deals to mediocre players hurting the championship outlook for LeBron.
22. Billy King- 76ers Looks like he may have been a winner on the AI trade since the team played better after he was traded. However all his other moves have moved the 76ers from possible East champ to the dump. Bad signings and bad trades all the classic signs of a GM that can sit around on one team for a while.
23. Billy Knight- Hawks He has drafted his 5th forward in 4 years, but finally got the much needed PG. He has given up big money to below average PG's in Claxton and Lue. Maybe he can turn it around but his best move has been signing Joe Johnson to a max deal even if Johnson is a good player not a great one.
24. Bonnie Bickerstaff- Bobcats It looked like he was going the Bulls plan and building the team around successful proven college players from successful programs. However he hasn't added any pieces yet to make this team a playoff contender through FA. I like the Richardson trade, but the Morrison pick and lack of other moves to help the team hurt him.
25. Mitch Kupcheck- Lakers I feel like hes rated to high I mean look at his moves; traded Shaq for Kwame Brown(Butler trade), Lamar Odom and Brian Grant,  gave up on Kobe's prime by picking a project HS C, drafted 2 PG's in a row. Now he could be higher up on the list if it turns out most these moves are made by the Buss's but we have to go on the moves and he hasn't made a good one yet.
26. Kevin McHale- Timberwolves McHale has been in charge of the T'Wolves for a long long time; and during all that time they've got past the 1st round of the playoffs, once. He never seems to make the right trade and his draft picks are questionable. However if Brewer and Foye turn out, he may move up the list.
27. Chris Wallace- Grizzles Somehow the assistant GM or GM of the team with the second worst record was selected to lead the worst team in the League back. This makes no sense and his track record leaves him down with his former front office mate.
28. Danny Ainge- Celtics He has changed the plans for this team about 3 times over the past couple of years. A team with young talent from last season traded away young pieces and a draft pick for an aging SG.

Unable to Rate due to lack of moves/experience Steve Kerr- Suns Hasn't pulled of any moves really except selling a draft pick to Portland. It wasn't a good idea to sell the pick, but he can only do what the owners tell him. Geoff Petrie- Kings Only real move has been Spencer Hawes, however where he jumps onto the list depends on the type of players he gets back if they move Artest, Miller and Bibby.

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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

730 days ago

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Considering the mess he inherited, Paxson deserves to be at least 2nd or 3rd on this list. The Bulls were beyond "dreadful" before he straightened the organization out.

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C.BotheWaterboy

730 days ago

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I would have put him 2nd or 3rd on the list, but his moves in the last year have moved him down. Chandler for Wallace basically is a wash and he spent all their cap with that. Then he drafted Noah and Thomas who basically are the same player just Thomas is more athletic. The only reason I actually like the pick is that it gives them the ability to move Ben Wallace in the future for someone else.

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Ron Sen, MDRed-Shirting

730 days ago

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Maybe we need categories:

1) Ethereal 2) Competent 3) Mediocre 4) Incompetent 5) Tar-and-feathers deficient

I vote for Ainge in Category 5. And I like Ray Allen.

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WoodsmeisterVarsity Captain

730 days ago

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Danny Ferry did what he had to when he signed those free agents. He had money to spend and the local fans would have been extremely po'd had he not spent it on the best free agents available who would come play with LeBron. He chased Michael Redd hard, and if he would have landed Michael Redd instead of Larry Hughes it would have been a whole different ballgame in Cleveland. If Ferry doesn't make a splashy effort to improve the team in that offseason, the local fan base deserts the team. Pure and simple. Now he's stuck with some bad contracts, but then again, who isn't?

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C.BotheWaterboy

730 days ago

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Bobcats?

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Silentbrett04Pee Wee

709 days ago

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(misspelled in the original post)Bernie Bickerstaff, at 24.

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Braab86Waterboy

729 days ago

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There isn't room to move down for Billy King, but I'm not sure he belongs as high as 25. Yes, he did get a decent amount of talent for Iverson, but the Sixers would have been better served if they had lost more and made a run at Oden/Durant. King's best bet would have been including a third team in the trade, or making another move later, that would sent Andre Miller elsewhere for another draft pick and/or expiring contract. That would've made the Sixers worse, giving them a better pick, and might have added another first rounder plus cap flexibility.

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Zclipperzfan88Pee Wee

721 days ago

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The Clippers didnt pass up on a PG, we got one of the best pure PG's in the draft in Jared Jordan, who led the NCAA's in assists for two seasons straight; last player to do that was Avery Johnson, and look at his career. The clippers also drafted one of the most athletic players in the draft not named Oden/Durant in Al Thorton, whose only weakness may be his ballhandling skills.

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