Tag Archives: GM

Here’s How Thunder GM Sam Presti Proved You Don’t Have to Be A Big City To Build A Great Team

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They’re dubbing this the Presti plan and it’s so simple that it’s brilliant.  There are two themes here that made it successful.  The first is patience.  The Thunder haven’t signed a “big name” free agent the entirety of Presti’s tenure with the team and have been quietly acquiring assets like trade exceptions and draft picks ever since he got there.  The second element of course is luck.  Not very team gets the chance to draft a player as talented as Kevin Durant and not every teams gets fortunate enough to not only draft him, but watch the team in front of you select Greg Oden.   What is that old saying though? “The more I prepare, the luckier I get.”  Definitely applicable here.  From the Oklahoman:

Four years ago, Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti set out on a rebuilding project that once was mocked but is now being mimicked.

With that initial project officially complete, the Thunder GM is now carrying out one of the most creative game plans for how a small market team can continue to compete.

As the payrolls of NBA rosters continue to skyrocket, and the league sees its most coveted superstars steadily jumping ship to join one another in larger markets, it’s the small-town franchises like the Thunder that are being threatened to get left behind. That’s what’s quickly become the inconvenient reality of the NBA.

But through shrewd moves like Monday night’s signing of newly acquired center Kendrick Perkins, the Thunder has managed to stay even with, if not ahead of, even the best competition — which today is defined by teams whose owners have the deepest pockets.

While some fans and analysts thought the Thunder was refusing to dip into its ample salary cap space the past two summers to acquire a marquee free agent, Presti actually was using the resource. Just in a different way. Each time Presti passed on splashy signings like David Lee or Paul Millsap or Macin Gortat, he kept his flexibility intact. What were perceived to be minor deals frequently would follow.

Today, though, the Thunder has blossomed into one of the most respected rosters in the NBA, and a potential perennial power, because of that patience.

Note to up and coming GMs, this will be your case study.

[The Oklahoman]

Nuggets Trying To Re-Sign Karl, Nene, J.R. Smith After Trading Carmelo

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Love, love, love this.  I’m telling you people, J.R. has the talent to be a number one option in this league.  Karl needs to start him.  From AOL Fanhouse:

Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said after Thursday night’s 89-75 win over Boston that negotiations are nearly complete on bringing Karl back for next season.

“We’re pretty close on that,” Kroenke said in an interview with FanHouse. “We’ve been doing that throughout the process and we just had to cut it off at times because we had to focus on Melo.”

The Nuggets started negotiations in December on bringing back Karl, in the last year of his contract. There were some delays due to trade talk regarding Anthony, the star forward who was dealt Tuesday to New York.

“Hopefully, soon,” Kroenke said about when a deal on Karl will be announced. “George is somebody we want to keep here and, obviously, you can see him (Thursday), he does a great job with what he has. We’ll hopefully get something done. We want George here for a long time.”

Kroenke declined to speculate on the length of Karl’s contract extension, but sources previously have said three is the expected number. FanHouse had reported last month Karl would return to the Nuggets next season, with Anthony being traded not being a factor.

“Yeah,” Karl said at the time about wanting to come back without Anthony. “I’m hoping to be in Denver next year.”

Karl’s agent, Bret Adams, arrived in Denver on Thursday for discussions Friday with Nuggets brass.

Kroenke also said Thursday the Nuggets are working on an extension for center Nene, who can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer and become a free agent. And he reiterated what Nuggets executive vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri had told FanHouse in December about the Nuggets wanting to re-sign guard J.R. Smith when he becomes a free agent this summer.

I must say the two young execs have done pretty well for themselves.  I think Nuggets fans everywhere need to give them a little pat on the back for what they’ve been able to pull off thus far.  If they’re able to convince these three to stay in Denver too

Knicks Make Important Move Towards Landing Carmelo

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The team recently named former Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien as a special consultant to the franchise.  This is important because 1) Carmelo loved the guy when he worked in Denver and gave him tons of credit for assembling the team that made it to the West finals and 2) because Warkentien has long considered Knicks president Donnie Walsh a mentor and would jump at the chance to be the next GM of the Knicks, if only to work side-by-side with him.  From the New York Post:

Former Nuggets general manager Mark Warkentien, who had a strong relationship with Carmelo Anthony and has long rumored to be headed to the Knicks, has been hired as a top consultant.

Yahoo! first reported the move last night, but the Knicks have yet to announce it. Knicks president Donnie Walsh would not deny an announcement is forthcoming but said only, “I have nothing to report at this time.”

That Warkentien’s name has surfaced with Anthony in Newark tonight is interesting. Warkentien recently left his agent, Steve Kaufmann, to join William Wesley and the ever-powerful CAA. Wesley is the longtime associate of Leon Rose, Anthony’s agent. Wesley has emerged as a key player in Anthony’s future destination.

Anthony, who played in Philadelphia last night, praised the hiring of Warkentien.

“Did they?” Anthony said upon hearing the news. “[Is that] surprising? Yeah. As far as I am concerned, I guess that’s a great addition to that organization.”

You gotta love that last throw-in that Warkentien recently left his agent for William Wesley (aka Worldwide Wes) and CAA.  For those who don’t know, CAA is also the agency of Carmelo and the other cast of league stars (LeBron, Bosh, D-Wade, etc) who have long been rumored to be attempting an NBA takeover with the creation of the NBA “super teams.”  It’s a great move by the agency and especially the Knicks to land Carmelo in New York.

Sucks for Nuggets fans.

[New York Post]

Yankees GM Brian Cashman Tended Bar Last Night (Video)

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We have no idea why.  It kind of seems like Cash knows that he’s on his way out because he’s been unusually outspoken as of late.  He reminds of the main character in Office Space after he had the revelation.


Nepotism The Demise Of The Nuggets?

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That’s what Woody Paige suggested in his latest column for the Denver Post.  “I strongly suspect that Stan Kroenke immediately will create a new Chimera (the mythical Greek three-headed monster) with son Josh serving as the everyday working owner-in-name, president-in-title of the Nuggets; former Nuggets and current Wizards exec Tommy Sheppard as vice president of basketball administration-operations; and Masai Ujiri, an ex-international scout with the Nuggets and presently Raptors assistant general manager, as GM.”  The Nuggets recently let go of two executives who served in a duel GM role despite the fact that one of them, Mark Warkentien, won the NBA executive of the year award.  Paige again, “Meanwhile, because of Kroenke’s cross-ownership, Josh Kroenke has been groomed to assume entitlement with the Nugs. The Broncos’ coach now will be the ancient Josh in town. Josh Kroenke, the former University of Missouri basketball captain, is 30.” 

The Nuggets are falling apart right before my eyes and it all may have started because of circumstances no one could control–George Karl’s cancer last season.  It now appears ‘Melo is unlikely to sign and will pursue free agency with Knicks as the logical front-runner.  Keep an eye on who the Nuggets go after in the coming days to assume the new GM duties.  I’m praying former Portland GM Kevin Pritchard is on the short list of candidates even though everyone else thinks differently. [Denver Post]