Sam Presti is overrated, and how we should look at GM's in the NBA

[intruder]

Hawks fans get excited about the draft? No negro more like Hawks fans DREAD the draft because either we don't have a high enough pick to draft an impact player or we spend a lottery pick on a Williams (see Marvin, see Sheldon).

@ OP, you been trolling the Thunder pretty hard for no reason & looking sorta foolish in the process. What's the deal?

I don't know dude. I used to listen to 790 and 680 and right around the draft in '05 and on these clones used to call up talking all this nonsense like they were drafting the next KG

 

[Captain Crunch]

Presti is a good GM
Getting Maynor; Ibaka, and Aldrich were power moves.

Sure you got Durant and Russ, but it's foolish to say Presti just sat on his thumbs.

 

[black crown]

Rich Cho probably deserves a lot of that credit. Y'all will see in a few years when those bobcats start doin work tho.

 

[Henry Orbit]

Rich Cho probably deserves a lot of that credit. Y'all will see in a few years when those bobcats start doin work tho.

I hope you're right

 

[PortCityProphet]

who the fukk is eric maynor? has this nikka ever played a game? aint never seen him play

 

[AVXL]

^ PG from VCU. Yes he has played in the league & is a solid contributor off the bench. He hurt his knee this yr tho.

Sam Presti's transaction history as GM of SEA/OKC

HoopsHype - NBA General Managers - Sam Presti

He's no worse than top 5 right now. He rebuilt a franchise from lottery status, drafted a top 5 player, a top 10 player & a 6th man of the yr in 3 straight drafts. Throw Ibaka in there too. Yea some luck played into it, but good drafting & scouting is why OKC is in the position it's in now.

OP doesn't know what he's talking about

 

[Majestic Pape]

because he's lucky to have the skill to understand draft workouts=/= potential, he goes by gamefilm which a lot of gm's rarely do nowadays.

Also you named Aldrich and RJ

Aldrich, Is behind perkins I dont understand your retarded logic
RJ, Was a rookie none of his rookies panned out the first year
EM- Is a backup, one of the best pg backups in the league at that. everyones not a superstar idiot.

 

[Jesus]

So how is Riley a good GM then? He's a great coach...I'll give him that. He got lucky that Bron and Bosh were friends with Wade. What big men has he brought in worth while? Mike Miller...

 

[threattonature]

So how is Riley a good GM then? He's a great coach...I'll give him that. He got lucky that Bron and Bosh were friends with Wade. What big men has he brought in worth while? Mike Miller...

The difference between what Cuban did and what Riley did is that Riley got lucky enough that it worked out. He took a HUGE gamble by basically clearing his entire cap to bring in all three. That's where you have to believe that this plan was in place the entire time because that's a huge risk to take. Cuban essentially did the same thing only Dwight opted in and Deron went to Jersey. In that regard the OP is right in that sometimes being seen as a great GM is a matter of luck.

I will give Riley props though for being willing to tank when necessary which I think Cuban will end up doing with Dallas or whoever their GM is.

 

[HiphopRelated]

So how is Riley a good GM then? He's a great coach...I'll give him that. He got lucky that Bron and Bosh were friends with Wade. What big men has he brought in worth while? Mike Miller...

 

[FTBS]

how that roster is managed over the next 3-4 years will show Presti's real value. Perkins contract is garbo

if Jones is a hit, you cant really put that on luck. so many teams passed, that they have to get at least a little credit

How is that not luck? He got a top 10 talent at the end of the first round what else could that be? If Jones was some unknown and he drafted him then that's one thing but he was a consensus lottery pick.

The old cliche "It's better to be lucky than good." applies to basketball GMs moreso than others. In football and baseball you have to fill out a whole team. In basketball it's all about getting superstars. Unlike those other sports you don't see superstars getting picked late in the draft. Look at the greatest basketball players ever and pretty much all of them were first round picks and most of them were top 10 picks. You can be a great GM but if you don't have the superstar(s) to build around your chances of ever being considered great are pretty slim.

 

[intruder]

So how is Riley a good GM then? He's a great coach...I'll give him that. He got lucky that Bron and Bosh were friends with Wade. What big men has he brought in worth while? Mike Miller...

From the time Riley took obver the Heat he never stops making moves which i like. He's not the best GM out there but he's up there and you gotta at least give him an A for effort because he is always making moves. And face it if the NBA didnt fukk us with a broomstick in 1997 we would have had more than 2 championships now


1996

Trades Glen Rice to CHA for Alonzo Mourning
Trades Bimbo Coles and Kevin Willis to GSW for Tim Hardaway


1997

Signs P.J. Brown (at the time one of the best rebounders and defenders in the league)
Signs Juwan Howard in his prime (NBA later voided the contract) i still wish harm upon Stern's grandkids for this

1998

Trades Sasha Danilovic, and Kurt Thomas for Jamal Mashburn

2000

Trades Clarence Weatherspoon, Chris Gatling, and a 2001 1st rndr for Brian Grant (rising star PFs at the time)


2001

Trades Jamal Mashburn for Eddie Jones and Ricky Davis


2002

Drafts Caron Butler
Drafts Rasual Butler

2003

Drafts Dwyane Wade
Signs Lamar Odom
Signs Udonis Haslem as undrafted freeagent

2004

Trades Brian Grant and Lamar Odom for Shaq

2005

Drafts Dorell Wright

2006

Signs Antoine Walker
Signs Jason Williams
Signs Gary Payton as backup PG

2008

Trades Shaq to Phoenix for Shawn Marion

2009

*begins plotting the Wade, Lebron pairing*
Trades Marion to Toronto for Jermain O'Neal (expiring contract)
Drafts Michael Beasley
Picks up expiring contract all over the league so by 2010 we have no contracts on hand to make room for possible big 3.

2010

Signs Lebron
Signs Bosh
Signs Miller

2011

Signs Battier

 

[Jesus]

He's getting credit for Shaq...again thanks to Wade being the second best SG at the time and Shaq being familiar with Florida cities.

"He claimed that one of the main reasons for wanting to be traded to Miami was because of their up-and-coming star, Dwyane Wade."

 

[Jram]

But you should get huge credit when you reach for a guy the way they did for Harden and Westbrook and they turn out to be stars. That means the GM did his homework and saw something that nobody else did.

Than again, if Westbrook continues this ascension and is a superstar for years, is it that the Thunder saw something no one else did? Most mock drafts did not have him dropping past seven.

Same with Riley, who some brought up. I give him credit for not settling on need and taking Kaman in 2003, and seeing something good and Wade, but Wade exploding like that is mostly good fortune.

The reason Riles is top five is because of how he built a team in the mid to late 90's when the heat stunk, without lucking into a HOF. He recruited Morning to be the first big FA to come to the city and trades for Hardaway and Mashburn worked out.

I give him more credit for that than anything. Lebron and Bosh and Shaq wanted to come because of Wade and the market.

 

[Jram]

I'm a Heat guy and I will tell you that he has rgeat forsight and salary cap management, but Shaq and LeBron wanting to come to Miami is a matter of the market and Dwyane Wade's star.

He did sign Odom in 2003 and drafted Butler at no. 10, which made the Shaq trade possible, but it doesn't happen if he's the GM of the Bucks.

I credit Riley for what he did before Wade the most.

Btw i don't dislike Presti. I like his style and what the Thunder did. Just being fair