The 10 worst front offices
What’s the best way to combat the boredom of a quiet off-season? Ranking things.
I’m in kind of a good mood today cause of the GIANTS. The latest carnival of the NBA is up here at the Nugg doctor.
There’s another Shawn Kemp coming back to play story out there, this time with the Bulls. If it happens, we’ll all be happy but don’t get your hopes up.
On Thursday before I left work, I threw a quick post up about how the T-Wolves hired Babcock. I read people’s comments and thought about their front office over the weekend, and how between the Joe Smith fiasco, their inability to sign one good free agent other than Spree and Sam, and their terrible drafting and trading, they might be the worst front office in the league. Sure, we all spent the past year(s) making Isiah jokes, but at least he’s trying. I liked Kevin McHale as a player and he seems to have a cool personality, but why is he still with the Wolves?
As I always say, when things are quiet and there’s not much to write about, rank something. Our top 50 player list is giving people something to read and discuss over the summer, so now I present my list of the top 10 WORST front offices in the league. I could just rank them all from 1-30, best to wost, but this is a celebration of the McHale-Babcock marriage. So, here are my choices for the 10 worst front offices. #10 is the 10th worst, and #1 is the worst.
10. Toronto Raptors - It’s a new regime, but the Villanueva trade was so bad they make the bottom 10. Beating out the honorable mention Denver Nuggets, who have no fear of injury risks and a fear of dependable shooters.
9. Memphis Grizzlies - They make the playoffs every year, but what for? They tinker, they make smart little moves, stockpile talent, and the 10 man rotation just doesn’t work for them in a playoff series. Some people think this is one of the best franchises in the league. I disagree. I think they’re a big tease.
8. Seattle Supersonics - The worst place to be in the NBA is a team that could go be a fringe playoff team every year and never get a high lottery pick. That seems to be the Sonic dream.
7. Portland Trailblazers - This is the most schizo front office in the league. Every year it’s a new plan. At least they’re younger now so they can use the rebuilding line. I can’t believe D Miles and Zach are still there.
6. Golden State Warriors - Ever since the Adonal Foyle contract it’s hard to take them seriously. Even the Baron trade - a no brainer at the time - hasn’t worked out. They haven’t made the playoffs in a hundred years and they max out everybody.
5. Orlando Magic - Draft picks go AWOL and superstars get disgruntled and leave them. If they lose Dwight, the league should really fold the franchise.
4. Atlanta Hawks - It’s starting to get better the past few years, even if it takes them 6 months to complete a trade.
3. New York Knicks - I, along with everyone you know, have already made every possible joke about them. The Isiah-Dolan dream couple has taken alot of the heat off other teams cause they can point and say “at least we’re not the Knicks.” But there are teams with legit first ballot Hall of Famers that are in just as much trouble as the Knicks.
2. Philadelphia 76ers - The Webber trade was make or break for the franchise. It broke, and now they can’t get A.I. any help even if they wanted to - which they usually don’t. The Korver and Dalembert contracts were just added bonuses to make the situation more hopeless.
1. Minnesota Timberwolves - They’ve ruined Kevin Garnett’s career. Sure, they gave him a hundered mill, so that was nice of them, but in all of those first round playoff losses the T-Wolves were almost never the better team. Maybe never. How do you have one of the most talented players in NBA history and barely make it out of the first round over a decade?
35 Responses to “The 10 worst front offices”
Sep.18 at 1:55 pm
Mark says:
The Blazers appear to have done a good job this year — whether it comes to fruition is a different story altogether. True though, the past has seen some terrible personnel decisions. Elgin Baylor will be happy that for once he doesn’t get a mention in an article like this.
Sep.18 at 2:43 pm
Max Airington says:
The state of Minnesota thanks you….
Sep.18 at 2:47 pm
Myung says:
once i do a little research, i’ll try to convince the people of minnesota, new york, and philly that there’s another team worthy of that #1 spot. i’ll give you 30 guesses, but you’d only need one. hey, if we can’t win games, we might as well get #1 for something.
Sep.18 at 3:12 pm
The Nugg Doctor says:
What a shock to see that the Nuggets front office was not in the top ten. At first glance I was like, “Oh No, don’t tell me that Sam forgot about the Nuggets,” But then I saw that they made the dis-honorable mention list and everything is kosher. I like the list, keep up the good work. Thanks for the shout out about Carnival! The Nugg Doctor
Sep.18 at 3:38 pm
Chris O'Leary says:
Was the Charlie V trade really that bad?
Sep.18 at 3:50 pm
Kene says:
…Chris, its like you read my mind. Why are ppl so convinced that the Charlie V/ T.J Ford trade was such a bad one? I know ‘Don’t swap big for small’ is one of the NBA’s trade commandments but when you look at the circumstances surrounding the trade, its really a pretty good deal. I mean, the Raps already have Bosh and Il Mago, they really don’t need Charlie. Plus TJ, at full health, is a very underrated PG. To me, he’s like a young Jason Kidd, with his speed, court vision and ridiculous handle. They both even have broken jumpers. Who would you rather have? A young Jason Kidd, or a young Rasheed Wallace (Charlie V). I’d go for Jason Kidd, especially if my frontcourt already had Bosh and Bargnani.
Sep.18 at 4:14 pm
Ron says:
Man, You just kicked a Philly fan while he’s down. First you had to mention the debacle at the Linc. (Which still hurts 24 hours later.) Then to make matters worse on my part, you bring up the Sixers front office and crappy job Billy Queen has done since the 2001 Finals run…. I think I need some time alone to console myself….. Thanks to Ryan Howard hitting his 57th bomb, many a Philly sports fan found a reason not to jump off the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Sep.18 at 4:19 pm
Marvin says:
That Mookie guy in the Shawn Kemp article is on point in saying that we people from the street want Shawn Kemp to make it. Come on Shawn, and come on NBA, for the fan and the regular guy in the street.
It’s time for the Reignman again.
Sep.18 at 5:18 pm
jstan says:
The Clipper’s have had more talent in the last twenty years than anyone. Elgin Baylor must be blackmailing someone to keep his job!!!!!!!!!
Sep.18 at 5:19 pm
Myung says:
minnesota has kevin garnett (top 10 player in the nba). philly has AI and a die hard fan base. the knicks are one of the most well respected franchises in the history of sports and play in the world’s most famous arena. the hawks? where to begin. we got a top 10 protected first round draft pick for al harrington (like you mentioned, sam…it only took 91238012 years to get that trade done). when harrington was on this squad, we had the world’s biggest collection of small forwards (sort of the like the knicks and shoot-first point guards): joshes smith and childress, al harrington, marvin williams, donta smith (who?). as much as i love marvin’s potential (i didn’t want to use the word “upside”…oops), we all know about the “passing on chris paul” fiasco of last summer. we traded boris diaw and TWO first round draft picks for joe johnson. we traded away jason terry for antoine walker (that trade was made strictly for salary cap space because we also dumped alan henderson’s contract, which was just one of pete BABCOCK’s brilliant moves in the 90’s). hmm. should i continue? we drafted some cat named david andersen in the 2nd round a few years ago bc he was supposed to be a star once he came to the states…and he decided he’d rather play in europe or australia or venus or wherever the heck he plays than play for the hawks. our CURRENT gm was the gm of the grizzlies when he traded for our 3rd pick in the 2001 draft (pau gasol), dumping shareef and his “nice numbers, no wins” talent on us. let’s put it this way, sam…you know how you described the sonics as a team that makes the playoffs and loses in the first round and never gets a high draft pick? that was the hawks for much of the first 10 years i followed them. i used to think, “man, i just wish we’d flat out SUCK like the mid 90’s mavericks or the nuggets…then at least we could get some high picks for once…we need to rebuild.” we’ve been RE-BUILDING for EIGHT seasons, and it’s not like we’re looking to make the playoffs this year. So make that NINE years of re-building. JR Rider and Jimmy Jackson era? Strike one. Jason Terry, Shareef, Big Dog, Theo era? Strike two. Stephen Jackson and Bob Sura era (OK, so that wasn’t an “era” but whatevers)? Strike three. So now we’re on to the “Let’s draft all swingmen named Josh and some ACC players from UNC and Duke and let Joe Johnson lead us to the promised land” era. Promising? Yes. But that’s about the best I can come up with. And I haven’t even mentioned our ownership situation (you might have heard of this “Belkin” guy, messing things up for the few loyal fans who remain). I’ll still stick by my team because I’m mad loyal, but it’s laughable to think another franchise has a worse front office than our team. At least you can market KG, AI, and Steph. We sell tickets in Atlanta, based on the stars on the opposing teams. I love my team so much that I’ll gladly correct you, Sam, and say that the Atlanta Hawks have the worst front office in the NBA and have been so for, um, 17 years running (that should cover the “Dominique trade,” the numerous first round busts, and the Moses Malone and Reggie Theus signings in the late 80’s). I just hope we won’t be “defending our title” come next year. Things can’t get any worse…can they?
Sep.18 at 5:20 pm
Myung says:
sorry in advance to those who hate long comments. that was my longest slamonline comment ever (and that’s saying something, coming from me).
Sep.18 at 5:22 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Ron, Jevon Kearse is out for the year. So yeah, how about that Ryan Howard!!!
T.J. Ford is really really fragile. Villanueva has more of an all-around game than people realize. If Colangelo is trying to build a Phoenix of the north with Ford and Bosh as Nash and Amare, I don’t think T.J. is the right guy.
Although he might be the fastest player in the league.
Sep.18 at 5:28 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Myung, I think the Hawks aren’t as bad because all of those other teams have drawing points. A GM should be able to sell someone on coming to NY to be a star, or playing with a hall of famer like Iverson or Garnett. The Hawks don’t have anything like that to offer, so it’s a harder sell for the front office to lure guys down there, and therefore their front office gets a little more slack.
Sep.18 at 5:41 pm
Myung says:
hmm. good point, sam. i guess we’ll settle for “worst front office for a team without a hall of fame caliber player or arena.”
Sep.18 at 5:46 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Myung, you know you’re not on payroll here, right? I mean, at some point you have to go to a job or school or something, right? We’re all a little worried you’re gonna end up homeless if this keeps up. Maybe we need to institute a 50,000 word a day limit, just to keep you in check. For your own good, man.
Sep.18 at 5:59 pm
D Tox says:
Myung, I agree with ryan. I fell counterproductive when I put more than one comment on the board even though I do sit here at my desk and do sh*t all day. As long as your comments have something worth reading in them, more power to you. Keep post alive!!
Sep.18 at 6:29 pm
A_B says:
KG is the best complementary player in the world he just needs a bona fide scorer next to him. Put him nest to paul pierce, kobe bryant, allen iverson, any player that’s also realy hungry for just another ring. Maybe he can team up with pau gasol he wants out of memphis after this season. I doubt it that they’ll even make the playoffs this year. Take a pay cut go to houston. I don’t know how and I don’t know when but I think it’s better for everyone except for the city of minnesota maybe if he get’s the fuck outta there. Him and yao sharing a frontcourt alone is ahw menn I’m getting hooked on these fantasy trades haha. C-webb for the whole bobcats team try it, it’ll work haha. Oh yeah atlanta. hope they can go for 25/30 wins this year. Toronto VC trade anyone?
Sep.18 at 6:39 pm
myung says:
Cool. 50,000 max, Ryan. You’re the boss. You should’ve said about 500 words. You’ll regret saying 50,000.
Sep.18 at 7:26 pm
Joel O's says:
I agree with Sam - as a Toronto dude and someone who’s watched most of the Rap’s games last year, I honestly think that we shoulda kept Charlie V. He is really, really good. Good shooter, athletic, tough rebounder and good shotblocker… but what many people don’t see is his court vision, outstanding passing skills and really, really good basketball IQ. I guess the coaching staff decided that with Rasho and Bargnani coming in, the frontcourt woulda gotten too crowded. I still don’t think they shoulda done the trade though, cuz had they kept Charlie V, a frontcourt of him, Bosh and Bargnani (with Rasho coming off the bench) would’ve been arguably one of the most versatile frontcourts in the league next season. Oh well. TJ Ford miiight be an upgrade at point guard, but its not like Mike James was a chump; he actually played with a lot of heart last season, never backing down from any “big name” pg’s out there. I wish we coulda kept him. But who am I to b*tch? At least we’re not the Knicks… =)
Sep.18 at 11:50 pm
Gord says:
As much as Charlie V was a very good player and has the potential to have a much more successful career than Ford, this trade was completely necessary for the Raptors as a TEAM. Ford is a pass-first pg and that’s exactly what we needed…and what other options did we have for a point guard? Another reason I’m in favour of the trade is that I don’t trust Charlie…it just doesn’t seem like he was coachable, there were a few times he was benched for screwing up in practice. And on the point of Mike James…he’s absolutely crazy. Sure he played great for us last year but he thinks he’s a God and jacks up about 100 3balls a game. I feel sorry for KG this season.
Sep.18 at 11:52 pm
Boing Dynasty says:
Charlie was nice, but we needed to make this trade, for one reason: Jose Calderon is not a starting NBA point. I remember feeling the same way when i found out we traded skip, for some dude named Mike James, the first clip i saw of Mike a couple days after the trade, he was saying something about he plays for the name on the back of the jersey. While he was mad entertaing to watch on a pretty boring team last year, he cost the team way more wins then he got them with selfish shots at the end of games(you could see the dollar signs in dudes eyes)
Anyway, T.J, knows why he was bought in, push the ball, and use his quickness and handles to get the ball in everyone elses hands, cause his jumpers flatter then plasma, im done gettin my myung on.
1
Sep.18 at 11:59 pm
Boing Dynasty says:
And if you think its hard for to get free agents to come to ATL try getting them to another country, They only actually come half the time when thier traded here.
Sep.19 at 2:55 am
Karma says:
Like a lot of toronto fans on the site I agree we needed to make this trade…granted, I think we could have got a little more (devon harris maybe or even add on a lottery protected first rounder?) but we haven’t had a solid pg since damon who has proved he can’t run a playoff team either(pippen did that for prt), also this can only help mopete who’s game is garbage in halfcourt set but is much much better in an up and down style of play…
Sep.19 at 8:07 am
Paolo says:
FOr this off-season, it would have to be the Sixers front-office. They had a horrible team last year and what have they done? They’ve done nothing but tease the fans of Philadelphia with plans yet nothing have materialized. AI is AI but it’s just not working. CWebb? He shackled them. And why have they been giving ridiculous contracts? The dough thrown Korver’s way? It’s Allan Houston all over again. Dalembert has promise. But that contract is a Dwayne Schintzsius. Willie Green? Didn’t he just miss out on the whole of last season? So why the all money? For potential? Isn’t there anybody else? Can’t they scout players who are actually playing? It’s insane. I pity Iverson. If only the front office had his heart.
Sep.19 at 12:57 pm
sams a loser!!! says:
The raptors??????? in the top 10????? GET A FRIGGIN CLUE!!!!! your a joke sam or should i call you samantha??? the charlie trade was a excellent trade we needed a point plain and simple, and bargnani will be better than charlie without a doubt. do your homework next time the raps completely turned their entire team around in 1 season!!! your a joke bud pure joke thanks for the laugh!!!
Sep.19 at 1:02 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
um… you’re welcome?
Sep.19 at 1:24 pm
Boing Dynasty says:
ugggggh….we won like 25 games last year, and havent played any this year so where the turn around? roster shake up yes? yah. turn around?nah.
Do the Raptors really have the 10th worst front office? nah, Denvers is worse, the clips, lakers (you never trade Shaq, Ever)..Anyway that was a pretty slick little play on the name tho…also nice use of the word “FRIGGIN”.
1
Sep.19 at 1:44 pm
Pablo Favarel (Argentina) says:
Hey Sam, if I were you, I wouldn´t bet against the Logo…
Sep.19 at 2:45 pm
dpak says:
Pablo, I did, all last season. Made me a bundle. Paolo, Don’t you dare compare Korver to Houston EVER. Kutcher will never be half the player H20 was and Houston’s taken dumps worth more than that chump.
Sep.19 at 6:29 pm
Jon says:
A lot is not one word. Go Blazers.
Sep.19 at 7:34 pm
LUIS says:
PLEASE DONT LET KG LEAVE THE NBA WITHOUT A RING TRADE HIM TO THE LAKERS FOR LAMAR,LUKE,&COOK SO HE & KOBE CAN START WINING RINGS
Sep.20 at 10:00 pm
AJV says:
Oooh how about this, trade Kobe to MN for Ricky Davis, Mike James and a 2nd round pick SO HE & KG CAN START “WINING” RINGS!!! durrr.
Sep.21 at 4:00 pm
» LeBron, Grant Hill and the Second-Greatest Video Ever - SLAM Online says:
[…] The internet is a strange place. On Monday, Sam wrote a post about the 10 Worst Front Offices in the NBA, ranking the T-Wolves at number one. […]
Sep.22 at 4:54 pm
wassup says:
the list looks prett good to me except for toronto being on it.That doesnt make very much sense to me at all.the charlie v and tj ford trade had to be done or else the raptors starting point guard would have been jose calderon.I agree that charlie V will be alot better but i think the trade had to be done and plus andrea bargnani should hopefully replace charlie v good
Sep.22 at 4:55 pm
wassup says:
that trade was a joke right AJV