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View Full Version : From the court to the office -- players as GMs



JasonEvans
03-10-2011, 04:36 PM
... on this MJ-created mess of a team.

Michael Jordan
Isaiah Thomas
and Kevin McHale

Three truly great NBA players who have turned out to be just horrible GMs.

On the other end of the spectrum is Jerry West. The logo was as good in the front office as he was on the court.

Larry Bird falls somewhere in between, a heck of a lot closer to MJ than to West.

The consensus was that Steve Kerr was a pretty decent GM in his short stint in Phoenix.

I am drawing a blank but I am sure there are other prominent players who became GMs.

--Jason "who was worse? MJ, Isaiah, or McHale?" Evans

hq2
03-10-2011, 04:39 PM
How about Danny Ferry (who isn't with Cleveland now, but did a decent job before being let go...)

MChambers
03-10-2011, 04:39 PM
Michael Jordan
Isaiah Thomas
and Kevin McHale

Three truly great NBA players who have turned out to be just horrible GMs.

On the other end of the spectrum is Jerry West. The logo was as good in the front office as he was on the court.

Larry Bird falls somewhere in between, a heck of a lot closer to MJ than to West.

The consensus was that Steve Kerr was a pretty decent GM in his short stint in Phoenix.

I am drawing a blank but I am sure there are other prominent players who became GMs.

--Jason "who was worse? MJ, Isaiah, or McHale?" Evans

Dumars was pretty good at both. Is he still GM in Detroit?

mkirsh
03-10-2011, 04:48 PM
Michael Jordan
Isaiah Thomas
and Kevin McHale

Three truly great NBA players who have turned out to be just horrible GMs.

On the other end of the spectrum is Jerry West. The logo was as good in the front office as he was on the court.

Larry Bird falls somewhere in between, a heck of a lot closer to MJ than to West.

The consensus was that Steve Kerr was a pretty decent GM in his short stint in Phoenix.

I am drawing a blank but I am sure there are other prominent players who became GMs.

--Jason "who was worse? MJ, Isaiah, or McHale?" Evans

Otis Smith is doing a nice job with Orlando. Some moves may be questionable, but not Isaiah/MJ/KM bad. May not be in the "prominent" category, but probably equivalent to Kerr/Ferry as far as playing career.

As much as I don't love MJ as a Duke fan and a Wizards fan (Kwame Brown..ugh), I think he would probably have to sign himself and Charles Oakley to max deals before he even approached Isaiah territory. I don't think there has been a GM in any sport who can take the title from Isaiah.

Duke of Nashville
03-10-2011, 05:01 PM
Dumars was pretty good at both. Is he still GM in Detroit?

President. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=6170688)

JasonEvans
03-10-2011, 05:05 PM
My metion of Kerr threw things off a bit. I was trying to really only look at guys who would be considered Hall of Fame level players who went on to GM careers. Dumars is close to what I am talking about and was a fine GM in Detroit.

-Jason "I agree that Isaiah has been worse than Jordan... which is really saying something" Evans

mkirsh
03-10-2011, 05:13 PM
My metion of Kerr threw things off a bit. I was trying to really only look at guys who would be considered Hall of Fame level players who went on to GM careers. Dumars is close to what I am talking about and was a fine GM in Detroit.

-Jason "I agree that Isaiah has been worse than Jordan... which is really saying something" Evans

Dumars may be more than close - he's actually in the Basketball Hall of Fame (http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/joe-dumars). Pretty surprising, I don't remember his induction, though the basketball hall seems to get less fanfare than baseball or football (MJ rant aside).

Also, put Wes Unseld in the category of HOF player but horrible GM. Probably McHale level bad, not MJ/Isaiah level.

Billy Dat
03-10-2011, 05:22 PM
Most GMs prior to the advanced metrics era were former players. Aside from the guys mentioned, I think Ernie Grunfeld has had a solid GM career. Dumars was really solid until he went completely off the rails starting with the Billups trade and continuing with the Villaneuva and Ben Gordon free agent signings. Danny Ainge has been solid, ditto John Paxson, Mitch Kupchak, Pat Riley, Otis Smith and Rod Thorn.

I was ready to rebut Jason's negative comments about Bird as GM, but then I looked up the facts, and have nothing to say. I will cut him some slack that the Artest Melee forced that organization to sort of break itself up in some ways, but he has not been great. He was a far better coach.

hq2
03-10-2011, 08:08 PM
s much as I don't love MJ as a Duke fan and a Wizards fan (Kwame Brown..ugh), I think he would probably have to sign himself and Charles Oakley to max deals before he even approached Isaiah territory. I don't think there has been a GM in any sport who can take the title from Isaiah.

Not to mention the fact that he single-handedly wrecked the CBA. He definitely goes down as first-team all-bonehead.

jipops
03-10-2011, 08:15 PM
Michael Jordan
Isaiah Thomas
and Kevin McHale

Three truly great NBA players who have turned out to be just horrible GMs.

On the other end of the spectrum is Jerry West. The logo was as good in the front office as he was on the court.

Larry Bird falls somewhere in between, a heck of a lot closer to MJ than to West.

The consensus was that Steve Kerr was a pretty decent GM in his short stint in Phoenix.

I am drawing a blank but I am sure there are other prominent players who became GMs.

--Jason "who was worse? MJ, Isaiah, or McHale?" Evans

Isaiah, definitely. He actually thought that a backcourt of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury would work in NY. That has to qualify him as the worst.

JasonEvans
03-10-2011, 10:33 PM
This was waaay off topic from Dukies in the NBA, so I pruned the content out and put it in its own thread.

--Jason "mod much?" Evans

downtowndevil
03-10-2011, 10:54 PM
Not a hall of famer, at least not in the one in Springfield, but Danny Ainge was a notable player and is an elite gm, world champion gm.

Of course let's at least read his name into the record, our very own Billy King!

mkirsh
03-10-2011, 11:30 PM
Dumars was really solid until he went completely off the rails starting with the Billups trade and continuing with the Villaneuva and Ben Gordon free agent signings.

The beginning of the slide was probably drafting Darko over Anthony, Wade, and Bosh, though they did win a title with Darko on the pine.

tommy
03-10-2011, 11:33 PM
Guys, guys, guys! It's gotta be Elgin. No other GM that I can think of comes close to Isiah in terms of combining serious HOF credentials with being utterly inept as a GM. Elgin belongs in a class by himself though, working for Sterling. Even putting that handicap aside, however, Elgin was truly awful. He didn't make as many bad trades or free agent signings as Isiah (although I'm sure he would've had Sterling not been too cheap to pay any free agents to come there) but that drafting and that record year after year after year?!?! Poooo-eeeeey!