TNT analyst and former baller/3-point specialist Steve Kerr is moving on up to the front office of the Phoenix Suns (thanks for the tip go to Sports Media Watch, who has more on what it wil mean for TNT’s announcing crew), according to AP reports, and it will likely be announced after TNT’s work on the Eastern Conference Finals is over. Kerr will take over the prez of b-ball operations/GM title that Mike D’Antoni held along with his coaching duties.
Don’t expect any fall-off from Phoenix; Kerr will probably work well with D’Antoni on personnel matters, but it’s worth asking if Kerr has a better shot for success because he was never a star player, and in recent years of the NBA, it’s the supporting players that usually make better front office types, rather than the stars, it seems. Let’s skim over some recent examples.
Players Taking The Reigns Well:
John Paxson, Bulls — the former Bulls guard has put together a nucleus of young stars in Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich that keep getting better year after year, and resisting the urge to ship off one or two of the three to get the big man they need for offensive work in the post unless the right deal comes along. Also fleeced the Knicks for their lottery picks; has also done right by the draft.
Joe Dumars, Pistons — Dumars, though a Hall of Famer, is likely the ultimate “supporting player”: the star of that Detroit team, in temperament, was Isiah Thomas, and Dumars was the silent partner that put up amazing numbers, but was just as crucial. He gets the credit now, and he got some then, but he puts together a team just like he played on the court — willing to sublimate individual ego to play as a team, and got a ring doing it. Runs the best team in the East, talent and team-wise.
Sidemen Fuck-ups:
Danny Ainge, Celtics — well-documented, the man can’t draft for shit, gets fleeced in trades, and assembled a bunch of youth and unstable talent around a star in Paul Pierce. The trading of Brandon Roy’s draft rights and the subsequent tanking this season, only to lose out on Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. Should have fired Doc Rivers last year; gave him an extension instead.
Star Players, Lousy Front Office Guys:
Michael Jordan, Bobcats – Barely showed up as Wizards prez of operations, paid more attention to his own comeback. Kind of middling along with the Bobcats, and it’s not looking any better, despite his promise for more involvement next season. Dude is too busy being MJ to run the Bobcats.
Kevin McHale, Timberwolves – The Golden Gopher and Celtic legend is wasting the career of Kevin Garnett one season at a time, ever since letting Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell go. The Joe Smith illegal signing fiasco screwed them out of picks, and has hired poor coaches since forcing Flip Saunders out. I’m waiting to see “Fire McHale” signs on a regular basis.
Isiah Thomas, Knicks – Reverse Midas touch right here. Everything he touches turns to crap. The CBA, the Toronto Raptors (who are only starting to recover now with Bryan Colangelo at the helm), and now, the well-documented fall of the New York Knicks, including the fiasco that was Larry Brown as head coach.
Larry Bird, Pacers – the fall of Larry Legend from the ranks of good front office guys has been something to watch — having to deal all the players with off-court problems was tough, and no one could have predicted the Malice at the Palace. However, shouldn’t Ron Artest have raised more flags beforehand?
Rendered Mediocre To Bad By Circumstances Outside Their Control:
Elgin Baylor, Clippers – It feels slightly unfair to do this to Elgin; so much of his suffering at the lottery table over the years was due to owner Donald Sterling’s penny-pinching, which didn’t allow to keep a team together, so he escapes, barely, but one playoff series victory among many lottery picks — I could see you throwing him into the bad star player GM list.
The Jury’s Still Out:
Chris Mullin, Warriors – Golden State’s achievements this season and their climb back up since Mullin took charge are nothing short of remarkable. The upcoming test is next year, especially if Don Nelson doesn’t come back. Let’s see if he can build on success in what will be a tougher Western Conference next year with Oden and Durant in it.
Danny Ferry, Cavaliers — obviously, not at a real high level yet, but the funny thing is that while LeBron has carried the Cavs on his back, Ferry hired Mike Brown as coach, and despite Brown’s offensive deficiencies, he is looking better and better as a defensive coach. No matter his problems/inability with getting the right supporting cast around LeBron, when your team gets to a higher level of the playoffs every year, you’re doing something right, even if by accident.
Legendary Player, Damn Fine GM:
Jerry West, Grizzlies – The Logo is still coasting on his Laker rep here, and last season’s ugly tank job in Memphis should be enough to knock him to the mediocre category. However, there’s a reason Kobe wanted him back, so he’s still the exception of a star GM who is a good front office guy.
Hm. Doesn’t seem quite so conclusive. The flameouts of some former stars/legends as GMs might be better noted and analyzed due to their playing days — guys like Paxson and Kerr have a better chance to work under the limelight. Still, worth looking into, and if Kerr takes the job, I like his chances. I suspect the original theory holds true in general, if only because maybe the journeyman player or sideman understands the guys necessary to have around the stars to build top teams, but I could be completely off and have forgotten an example that totally throws this out of whack.
Filed under: NBA, analysts, announcers, front office
[...] that ends the Suns brilliant mini-era: Steve Kerr is their new GM. (Signal To [...]
[...] that ends the Suns brilliant mini-era: Steve Kerr is their new GM. (Signal To [...]
I would like to put in a word for former Jayhawk Kevin Pritchard (in Portland), but I think his stint as a player in the NBA even strains the bounds of “not a star player”. It’s more like “glued to the bench, then out of the league”.
We got Rex Champman here in Denver who was the major architect in the AI deal. Although I’d say the jury is still in deliberation on his overall work. If he unloads Kiki’s K-Mart blunder, he moves into the next level.
Commish: I can’t believe I forgot about Chapman. It’s been too soon since he and whomever the other front office guy he’s paired with were hired to judge, but going blockbuster for AI is a start.
Extra P.: it’s been too soon. He just got named GM this year. He seems like a good personnel guy, from what I’ve read in TrueHoop and other places, but we’ve got to see.
Geoff Petrie should be throw in somewhere I think. He was an all-star player for Portland in his day. His GM skills have been mostly in the trade arena, although Peja and Kevin Martin have been his two shining draft picks. He sees players that fit his system and then moves for them. Chris Webber was never really a star until he went to Sacramento. The Bibby for White Chocolate deal gave the team more stability at the point. Petrie also knows when to move a player on the decline (Webber and his knees, Peja and his..well, who knows what his problem is). Ron Artest is an obvious detriment to his overall GM record, but most would agree that he came out on the better end of the deal talent-wise. It’s believed that the Mussleman hire was a move by the Maloofs. I’m interested to see who he hires this offseason.
[...] Do Certain Types Of Players Make Better Front Office Guys? [image] TNT analyst and former baller/3-point specialist Steve Kerr is moving on up to the front office of the Phoenix […] [...]
[...] because they will always face them in the playoffs one way or another. Signal To Noise has more player-to-GM grading if you like to compare and [...]
Excellent post and interesting look… I think Kerr will do well… not because of what type of player he was, but because he just always seemed so smart on the telecasts. I’m excited to see what he does.
If it’s Elgin’s job to draft the players and it’s the owners job to keep them in the uniform, Baylor could be one of the greatest GM’s in the history of the league. No one has drafted better than the Clippers over his tenure. Aside from the Candy Man thing (big oops – but understandable given a nod to athleticism and the other pieces they had at the time), Baylor has drafted some of the best players in the league. Sterling has absolutely no interest in winning and Baylor likely has no interest in being on the outside looking in at the game he loves, ala Bob Gibson and other Black legends kicked to the curb. It’s bad enough the league tries to act like Jerry West was better than him.
Temple, yeah — imagine if Elgin Baylor had an owner willing to spend.
Alright, alright…maybe a bit overzealous, but one cannot understate the damage done by Sterling. I believe Baylor’s put together at least three different competitive rosters capable of making nice playoff runs. They’ve been scuttled each time.
I found a piece online where EB sat out a game back in 1959 because a hotel the Lakers stayed in in West Virginia was segregated. Three black players were denied admittance to the hotel. He was the only player who sat out. Of course, he was also the most talented – but he did the right thing.
Temple — damn, that’s a good story. Baylor has always had my respect as a player and putting up with Sterling, but I hadn’t heard that one before.
I’m working on a post about it now.
I’ll be on the lookout for it.
http://temple3.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/elgin-baylor-circa-1959-and-still/
interesting
[...] because they will always face them in the playoffs one way or another. Signal To Noise has more player-to-GM grading if you like to compare and [...]