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Grading The GMs Draft Selections

07.18.2007 - Updated on 07.18.2007

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Have you ever wondered who are the best NBA GMs when it comes to drafting players? Recently the thought came across my mind so I decided to do an article on it. So in this article I have listed all the current GMs and I will give them a grade based on the players they have selected in past drafts.

Billy Knight- Is the current GM with the Hawks and has been with them 4 seasons. He also was with the Grizzles for 2 seasons. He has selected: Stromile Swift, Jamaal Tinsley, Willie Solomon, Antonis Fotsis, Shane Battier, Boris Diaw, Travis Hansen, Josh Childress, Josh Smith, Donta Smith, Viktor Sanikidze, Royal Ivey, Marvin Williams, Salim Stoudamire, Cenk Ayol, Shelden Williams, Solomon Jones, Al Horford, Acie Law. His overall grade B+

Danny Ainge- Has been the Celtics head man for 4 seasons. He has selected: Troy Bell, Dahntay Jones, Brandon Hunter, Al Jeffereson, Justin Reed, Delonte West, Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Oriene Greene, Randy Foye, Jeff Green, Gabe Pruitt. His overall grade C+

Bernie Bikerstaff- Has been the head or key decision maker for the Bobcats for all 3 of there seasons. He has selected: Emeka Okafor, Bernard Robinson, Raymond Felton, Sean May, Adam Morrison, Ryan Hollins, Brandan Wright, Jared Dudley. His overall grade C.

John Paxson- Has been with the Bulls for 4 seasons. He has selected: Kirk Hinrich, Mario Austin, Matt Bonner, Tommy Smith, Ben Gordan, Chris Duhon, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rodney Carney, Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray, JamesOn Curry. His overall grade B+

Danny Ferry- Has been with the Cavaliers for 2 seasons. He has selected: Shannon Brown, Daniel Gibson, Ejike Ugboaja. His overall grade C+

Donnie Nelson- Has been running the Mavericks for 5 seasons. He has selected: Josh Howard, Xue Yuyang, Vassilis Spanoulis, Maurice Ager, Danilo Pinnock, Nick Fazekas, Renaldas Seibutis, Milovan Rakovic. His overall grade C.

Joe Dumars- Has been running the Pistons for 7 seasons. He has selected: Mateen Cleaves, Brian Cardinal, Rodney White, Memhet Okur, Tayshaun Prince, Darko Milicic, Carlos Delfino, Andreas Glyniadkis, Ricky Paulding, Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, Alex Acker, Will Blalock, Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Sammy Mejia. His overall grade is A-

Chris Mullin- Has been with the Warriors for 3 seasons. He has selected: Andris Biedrins, Ike Diogu, Chris Taft, Monta Ellis, Patrick O’Bryant, Kosta Perovic, Marco Belinelli, Jermareo Davidson, Stephane Lamse. His overall grade B.

Daryl Morey- Is in his 1st season with the Rockets. He has selected: Aaron Brooks, Brad Newley. His overall grade is C-

Larry Bird- Has been running the Pacers for the last 4 seasons. He has selected: David Harrison, Rashad Wright, Danny Granger, Erazem Lorbek, Shawne Williams, Alexander Johnson. His overall grade D+

Elgin Baylor- Has been running the Clippers for 13 seasons. He has selected: Antonio McDyess, Constantin Popa, Lorenzen Wright, Doron Sheffer, Maurice Taylor, Michael Olowokandi, Brian Skinner, Lamar Odom, Rico Hill, Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson, Tyson Chandler, Chris Wilcox, Melvin Ely, Mario Kasun, Chris Kaman, Sofoklis Schortsantis, Shaun Livingston, Lionel Chalmers, Paul Davis, Guillermo Diaz, Al Thornton, Jared Jordan. His overall grade B-

Mitch Kupchak- Has been running the Lakers for 7 seasons. He has selected: Chris Jefferies, Brian Cook, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Marcus Douthit, Andrew Bynum, Ronny Turiaf, Von Wafer, Jordan Farmar, Cheick Samb, Javaris Crittenton, Sun Yue, Marc Gasol. His overall grade C.

Chris Wallace- Is in his 1st season with the Grizzles. Also was with the Celtics for 6 seasons. He has selected: Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, Paul Pierce, Kris Clack, Jerome Moiso, Joe Johnson, Kedrick Brown, Joseph Forte, Darius Songaila, Mike Conley Jr. His overall grade B+

Randy Pfund- Has been with the Heat 11 seasons. He has selected: Charles Smith, Mark Sanford, Corey Brewer, Eddie House, Ernest Brown, Ken Johnson, Caron Butler, Dwyane Wade, Jerome Beasley, Dorell Wright, Pape Sow, Matt Freije, Wayne Simien, Jason Smith, Stanko Barac. His overall grade C+

Larry Harris- Has been running the Bucks for 4 seasons. He has selected: Andrew Bogut, Ersan Ilyasova, David Noel, Yi Jianlian, Ramon Sessions. His overall grade D+

Kevin McHale- Has been running the Timberwolves for 12 seasons. He has selected: Kevin Garnett, Mark Davis, Jerome Allen, Ray Allen, Paul Grant, Gordan Malone, Radoslav Nesterovic, Andrae Patterson, Wally Szcerbiak, William Avery, Louis Bullock, Igor Rakocevic, Marcus Taylor, Nududi Ebi, Rick Rickert, Blake Stepp, Rashad McCants, Bracey Wright, Brandon Roy, Craig Smtih, Bobby Jones, Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Corey Brewer, Chris Richard. His overall grade B+

Rod Thorn- Has been running the Nets for 7 seasons. He has selected: Kenyon Martin, Soumalia Samake, Eddie Griffin, Brian Scalabrine, Nenad Krstic, Tamar Slay, Zoran Planinic, Kyle Korver, Viktor Khryapa, Christian Drejer, Antonie Wright, Mile Ilic, Marcus Williams, Hassan Adams, Josh Boone, Sean Williams. His overall grade C.

Jeff Bower- Has been running the Hornets for 2 seasons. He has selected: Hilton Armstrong, Cedric Simmons, Marcus Vincius, Julian Wright, Adam Haluska. His overall grade D.

Isiah Thomas- Has been running the Knicks for 4 seasons. He also ran the Raptors for 3 seasons. He has selected: Damon Stoudamire, Jimmy King, Marcus Camby, Tracy McGrady, Trevor Ariza, Channing Frye, David Lee, Dijon Thompson, Renaldo Balkman, Mardy Collins, Wilson Chandler. His overall grade A.

Otis Smith- Has been running the Magic for 2 seasons. He has selected: Fran Vazquez, Travis Diener, Martynas Andriuskevicius, J.J. Redick, James Augustine, Lior Eliyahu, Reyshawn Terry. His overall grade D-

Billy King- Has been running the 76ers for 9 seasons. He has selected: Larry Hughes, Casey Shaw, Todd MacCulloch, Speedy Claxton, Mark Karcher, Samuel Dalembert, Damone Brown, Alvin Jones, Jeri Welsch, Sam Clancy, Paccelis Morlende, Louis Williams, Thabo Sefolosha, Thaddeus Young, Daequan Cook, Kyrylo Fesenko. His overall grade C+

Steve Kerr- Is in his 1st season with the Suns. He has selected: Rudy Fernandez, Alando Tucker, D.J. Strawberry. His overall grade is B-

Kevin Pritchard- Is in his 1st season running the Trail Blazers. He has selected: Greg Oden, Josh McRoberts, Derrick Byars, Demetris Nichols, Taurean Green. His overall grade A.

Geoff Petrie- Has been running the Kings for 12 seasons. He has selected: Corliss Williamson, Lou Roe, Tyus Edney, Dejan Bodiroga, Predrag Stojakovic, Jason Sasser, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Anthony Johnson, Jason Williams, Jerome James, Ryan Robertson, Hidayet Turkoglu, Jabari Smith, Gerald Wallace, Maurice Jeffers, Dan Dickau, Corsley Edwards, Kevin Martin, Ricky Minard, Fransico Garcia, Quincy Douby, Spencer Hawes. His overall grade B+

R.C. Buford- Has been running the Spurs for 5 seasons. He has selected: Emanuel Ginobili, Leandrinho Barbosa, Beno Udrih, Romain Sato, Ian Mahinmi, Damir Markota, Tiago Splitter, Marcus Williams. His overall grade B.

Sam Presti- Is in his 1st season with the Sonics. He has selected: Kevin Durant, Carl Landry, Glen Davis. His overall grade A-

Bryan Colangelo- Is in his 2nd season running the Raptors. He also spent 12 seasons with the Suns. He has selected. Michael Finley, Mario Bennett, Chris Carr, Steve Nash, Russ Millard, Ben Davis, Stephen Jackson, Shawn Marion, Iakovas Tsakalidis, Alton Ford, Amare Stoudemire, Casey Jacobson, Zarko Cabarkapa, Luol Deng, Nate Robinson, Marcin Gortat, Andrea Bargnani, P.J. Tucker, Edin Bavcic. His overall grade A.

Kevin O’Connor- Has been running the Jazz for 8 seasons. He has selected: DeShawn Stevenson, Kaniel Dickens, Raul Lopez, Jarron Collins, Ryan Humphrey, Jamal Sampson, Aleksandor Pavlovic, Maurice Williams, Kris Humphries, Krik Synder, Pavel Podkolzin, Deron Williams, C.J. Miles, Robert Whaley, Ronnie Brewer, Dee Brown, Paul Millsap, Morris Almond,Herbert Hill. His overall grade B.

Ernie Grunfeld- Has been running the Wizards for 4 seasons. He also was with the Bucks for 5 seasons. He has selected: Jason Collier, Michael Redd, Jason Hart, Andre Hutson, Marcus Haislip, Dan Gadzuric, Ronald Murray, Chris Owens, T.J. Ford, Sztmon Szewczyk, Keith Bogans, Peter John Ramos, Andray Blatche, Oleksiy Pecherov, Vladimir Veremeenko, Nick Young, Dominic McGuire. His overall grade C.

43 Comments: Grading The GMs Draft Selections

Posted by
Timmy Bobb
on 07.26.2007

I think it’s self explainatory A means excellent, B means above average, C means average, D means below average, F means failed. Obiviously if a person got a C they were an average drafter based on the selections they made. It’s not hard to figure out people. If you guys a true basketball fans like I’m you would know most of these players and whether they are solid or not, and you can draw your own conclusion as to how well that GM did .

Posted by
NBA MASTER
on 07.20.2007

This is the most pointless blog I’ve ever read. All I saw was a bunch of players listed and some players MISSING from the draft with a grade slapped on there with no justification. .

Posted by
Farfa
on 07.20.2007

Shouldn’t be evaluated the team needs too? And the players available at the pick moment? I mean, sure Marvin Williams is a talent... but how in the hell can someone give Billy Knight a B-plus when the Hawks starting point guard this year could have been a two-year vet Chris Paul, and they end up with a shaky Law IV-Claxton combo? Come on guys, you can do better. That said, I totally agree with the A to Isiah Thomas, who is a sort of Idiot Savant GM: superb talent in picking players in June, totally clumsy when it comes to trade or give contracts. .

Posted by
David
on 07.19.2007

After picking Darko in the 2003 draft, there is no way that Dumars deserves and A-. .

Posted by
Bare
on 07.19.2007

Once i saw that Billy Knight received a B+, in knew this was going downhill. Grades based strictly on the players drafted alone is how Isiah gets an A. I don’t know how this made it on the site. .

Posted by
ADIEDANNY
on 07.19.2007

Elgin Baylor has been The VP of Operations since April of 1986. A tad longer than 13 seasons. .

Posted by
G.G.A.
on 07.19.2007

You gave a B+ to that know nothing Kevin McKale, no one on his list has a thing in the league other than Kevin Garnett, this has to be the stupidest thing I have ever read!!!!! .

Posted by

on 07.19.2007

John Paxson should have gotten an A. He was the one who drafted Luol Deng, not Bryan Colangelo. How can Joe Dumars get an A? He drafted Darko. .

Posted by
Jason
on 07.19.2007

Correction in prev post: Luol Deng, obviously, was not traded to the Blazers. Only Roy and Aldridge. .

Posted by
comeonworkharder
on 07.19.2007

What was the point of this article? No analysis, no rhyme or reason. If Billy Knight and John Paxson have the same grade for drafting over the last four years, why are they at opposite ends of the standings? Why are GMs given credit for picks they did not scout, make, or retain for their team (e.g. Colangelo and Luol Deng)? If Isiah gets an A, why don’t the Knicks own the league? Wouldn’t it be relevant to dock the doofus for repeatedly trading away picks when scouting is the only thing he’s good at? .

Posted by
Jason
on 07.19.2007

I think your assignment of players to GMs is quite flawed. For instance, saying that Bryan Colangelo drafted Luol Deng, John Paxson drafted LaMarcus Aldridge, and Kevin McHale drafted Brandon Roy while ignoring their arranged draft day trades to the Blazers is just plain wrong. Who cares about which hat the prospect puts on to shake hands with Stern? It’s who they end up playing for. .

Posted by
Buckeye
on 07.19.2007

I’m glad to see someone in the media finally recognized Isiah’s only talent as a GM - drafting players that will have NBA CAREERS. Nobody does this better than him - and nobody can screw up a team’s roster/salary cap more either. I think who could’ve been selected at each pick should count for much, much more. That’s why Joe Dumars should drop into the B range. Darko at #2 is a pernament blemish. Even if he wanted an athletic big man - Bosh is much, much better. There can’t be many instances of the number two pick being traded for salary cap room, while the next THREE picks are franchise players and one was Finals MVP. .

Posted by
Yusuf
on 07.19.2007

Most of Chris Wallace selections always seem to get way better after they leave his team. Paul Pierce is the only one that panned out for him, poor guy. Hopefully MC jr doesn’t do the same. .

Posted by
Bald Bill
on 07.19.2007

Otis Smith is a crappy drafter to me. I’m still not sold on J.J. Redick either. .

Posted by
agent moderator 567342
on 07.19.2007

Fans that know thier teams don’t need every single detail. If you’re that interested in seeing where a certain player was picked and look at their stats, than look them up. If you like the grades that fine. If you don’t like the grades thats fine. The grades are fair to me. .

Posted by
O.J.
on 07.19.2007

Come on generalist, a GM gets one steal and all of sudden he is the greatest GM in the world get real. I’d would’ve given him a C+,half the crap he picks won’t even play for the Spurs. Calling Joe Dumars pick is not thw worst in the world, had they given him time Darko would’ve been an asset to Detroit. When you look at an overall perspective of selections and not just one pick, the grades are fair. .

Posted by
lil penny
on 07.19.2007

hey edward: i see where you’re coming from, but i disagree with you, ecspecially on the part where you say if a GM has lots of 1st rd selections he’s bound to get better picks most of the time. How many overall number picks have been bust umm quite a few, how many times has a team had multiple picks and they turned out to be crap, quite a few. .

Posted by
Evan Longoria
on 07.19.2007

Wow how can you say that anything that has Billy Knight with a higher draft rating than Kevin O’Connor is bad. Billy Knight has had higher draft selections all the time. So he should get better ratings. O’Connors teams make the playoffs more and have lower selections. So I disagree with Ed. .

Posted by
Asst.AD@BU
on 07.19.2007

I think if a GM selected a player whether he’s alrady arranged a trade, that it still counts to the GMs credit for selecting the player. Like Chad said if you look at a players bio it still shows the team they were selected by even if they didn’t play 1 second with them. When J said it shouldn’t cout to a GMs credit if they pick for someone else, I think it should because most of the time the player you selected your swapping them with other selections it sometimes makes it easier than just trading spots. When a team selects a player their trading they still make the call to say we selected you but...)When I was an intern with the Pacers we did that. Donnie Walsh considered a selection he made and traded right away, still one of his selections. Therefore it’s fair to give them a grade it they’re one thats making the calls. .

Posted by
Edward Ka-Spel
on 07.19.2007

Worthless ratings. You may be satisfied with a simple grade, but I’m not. If the author thinks he knows anything about basketball, he should explain that grade. I also agree that players traded to other teams should not count. Generally, it is the other teams GM that told this GM who to pick. So why should this GM get the credit? But the other thing that is missing is where was the pick at. If a GM has lots of 1st picks in the draft, he is bound to get a good player sometime. But a GM always picking at the end of the draft will have a hard time finding good players. But think about it. Any post that has Billy Knight getting a better grade then Kevin O’Conner is just messed up. .

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