Next GM Watch

[omahen]

Here's a question. Why did Lindsey leave Dallas for Detroit in the first place? Differences of opinion on team building?

Promotion. He was an advisor in Dallas and he is a vice president in Detroit.

[khaled1987]

Griffin was a mess with the Pelicans. He did fairly well withbthe Cavs but Lebron wanted a return and it eased everything for him. He would have been good prior to last February, but not in current mess IMHO.

Masai isn't awful, but he has been in consistent decline since 2019, but he will be a continuation of GM who are ready to trade franchise players for win now

[F Gump]

Here's a question. Why did Lindsey leave Dallas for Detroit in the first place? Differences of opinion on team building?

Promotion. 
Perhaps a victim of Nico's purge of people who were competent.
Or both.

He was a consultant ("senior adviser") with the Mavs. In DET he got a big title with (presumably) a significant raise and more power.

[F Gump]

My personal choice is to figure out a way to make a run at Sam Presti, using an ownership stake and a massive raise and a bigger title. Multiple websites say he is one of the highest paid GMs but made less than Nico (!) and made $4.5M/year. I think he's worth a far bigger number than that. He is the gold standard. Why not aim for the best?

[BigDirk41]

My personal choice is to figure out a way to make a run at Sam Presti, using an ownership stake and a massive raise and a bigger title. Multiple websites say he is one of the highest paid GMs but made less than Nico (!) and made $4.5M/year. I think he's worth a far bigger number than that. He is the gold standard. Why not aim for the best?

Agreed 100%. What's the point of having one of the richest owners in the NBA if they don't use that to their advantage.

[KillerLeft]

My personal choice is to figure out a way to make a run at Sam Presti, using an ownership stake and a massive raise and a bigger title. Multiple websites say he is one of the highest paid GMs but made less than Nico (!) and made $4.5M/year. I think he's worth a far bigger number than that. He is the gold standard. Why not aim for the best?

What are the rules in terms of a lateral move like that? Do the Mavs need permission to interview him? Do they have to wait for his current contract to expire? How long is that contract? If they don't have to wait, would stealing him involve draft capital compensation? What amount of money would it take for you to leave a decade long build, right after the first championship payoff when it looks like there are more rings on the way and you still have ammo in your war chest?

[F Gump]

What are the rules in terms of a lateral move like that? Do the Mavs need permission to interview him? Do they have to wait for his current contract to expire? How long is that contract? If they don't have to wait, would stealing him involve draft capital compensation? What amount of money would it take for you to leave a decade long build, right after the first championship payoff when it looks like there are more rings on the way and you still have ammo in your war chest?

All are good questions. None of this falls within the CBA, which means that whatever the NBA's general guidelines might be, it's all going to be flexible to some degree -- iow, it's mostly a case of whatever deal you can negotiate. He likely has an agent to represent him, and explore broad parameters informally. Obviously Presti is under contract NOW and who knows how long it runs, which means you are negotiating with BOTH Presti as well as with OKC ownership. 

That makes it seem like a brick wall in the way. 

But then again, EVERYONE has their price. Right? 

Which to me means a deal has to be out there and doable at some price point, and it's about how do you make that a number you can accept. 

But I just accept that as the landscape, and then chase a deal with the knowledge that it won't be cheap. Why not figure out HOW to do it, and then do it as long as you can stomach the cost, rather than shrinking from the challenge? (Worth remembering - Dumont did get Welts, who was thought to be impossible to get, to run the business side of the team.) Also worth weighing - what is a title or 3 going to be worth? And Presti is currently working for a small market with shallow-pocket ownership -- what more would he do if he had more resources to work with? You might have to wait until June to make acquiring him workable, but isn't he worth the wait? Just tank until then, hold off on trades, max out your values as best you can, and then get Presti to go to work in the summer. 

I think Presti understands the NBA setup and how to negotiate within it better than the rest, and it's not even close. He knows how to get his price, and an extra pick, and have teams eager to deal with him. And pay his price. He knows how to evaluate the draft and negotiate contracts. He's worth the hassle and the cost. And he knows how to not only chase a title, but to position the team for the long run AT THE SAME TIME.

[cow]

I've advocated for Presti with the raise/stake idea, but I do think making a run at him would mean interim GMs until the offseason which could also mean no major moves until then. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but food for thought.

[F Gump]

I've advocated for Presti with the raise/stake idea, but I do think making a run at him would mean interim GMs until the offseason which could also mean no major moves until then.  

That does not bother me at all, not even a tiny little bit. I prefer it, in fact. 

I think if a trade is done during the season, the odds are VERY HIGH of a rushed, incredibly-stupid, bad value, wasting assets move (because imo it's likely such a move would be trying to save this season, and I don't think there's any move that can turn it into a good season from here). They are already in a huge hole. They will be without either of Kyrie or Exum for who knows how long, making the hole even deeper. It is what it is, so doesn't make sense trying to save what can't be saved.

And you don't have to get rid of good players, to be able to tank. NBA history is filled with weird "injuries" that sidelined top players to ruin their team's W/L record as needed.

[ThisIStheYear]

Dennis Lindsey is fine by me. His presence in Dallas coincided with good decisions. And when he wasn’t here, the team made bad decisions. And his time in Detroit, I see good decisions. How much if it is him? I have no idea. But I’m pretty sure he will be an upgrade.

[F Gump]

There's a lot to like about Lindsey. I've been in the "replace Nico with Lindsey" camp since about May, and began pointing out much earlier than that how the decisions were magically better when he was here (he knew how to get value at the margins, which matters a lot in the long run, whereas Nico would give value away in those micro-portions of a deal). He's an obvious definite upgrade.

I don't have any real desire for Cuban (as GM, rather than part owner helping Dumont), Ujiri, Finley, or Riccardi. Better than Nico? That's a really low bar. I don't have any reason to think any of those are worse than the abomination of Nico, but I know I don't want Cuban negotiating and I am leery of the others.

But I would be most excited by Presti, and by a wide margin. Yes I know it's a super longshot. But I also know Presti is likely to get hired away SOMEDAY by SOMEONE, so why not now (or in June) and why not the Mavs?

[DL2RimRocker]

That does not bother me at all, not even a tiny little bit. I prefer it, in fact. 

I think if a trade is done during the season, the odds are VERY HIGH of a rushed, incredibly-stupid, bad value, wasting assets move (because imo it's likely such a move would be trying to save this season, and I don't think there's any move that can turn it into a good season from here). They are already in a huge hole. They will be without either of Kyrie or Exum for who knows how long, making the hole even deeper. It is what it is, so doesn't make sense trying to save what can't be saved.

And you don't have to get rid of good players, to be able to tank. NBA history is filled with weird "injuries" that sidelined top players to ruin their team's W/L record as needed.

My concern is that we'll get everyone back healthy mid-season and go on a huge run. The talent is there to do that...especially with Kyrie and AD.
I'm not big on tanking but I also dont want us to go on a big run with no chance of making POs and screw ourselves out of a possible top 7 pick.

[F Gump]

My concern is that we'll get everyone back healthy mid-season and go on a huge run. The talent is there to do that...especially with Kyrie and AD.

I'm not big on tanking but I also don't want us to go on a big run with no chance of making POs and screw ourselves out of a possible top 7 pick.

At their current pace, they will hit mid-season (and Kyrie's return) at 10-31 and be near the very bottom of the West (right now the only team with a worse record in WC is NO, and they are trying hard to win because they don't have their own pick).

But yes, even at that, if everything fell right after Kyrie's return and everyone stayed healthy, they can certainly mess it up. It would will take grownups being in charge, and being willing to make hard decisions, to go on to have the best chances for a top-5 pick. 

However, they do have tools if they choose to use them. You aren't ever forced to win, when you need to lose. Minutes featuring bad players in key moments are your friend. So are small nagging injuries, which can be made to take forever to heal. It's a competitive league, and lots of good teams will be playing hard to win. There will be plenty of Ls available to whoever wants them.

[FireNicoHarrison]

You guys have too faith in Kyrie return, without Harrison he can slow down and wait the ASG to come back, but even then his condition will be bad after 9 months out. Low usage. Low minutes. Not a great impact.

But probably they will trade him before his come back. Keep calm.

[mvossman]

Lindsey?...a fairly safe choice, but...I don't think so.

This is the very reason I am team Lindsey, because he is a safe choice.  I have seen nothing from Dumont to think he is going to get this right if he goes with somebody completely external.  Lindsey has GM experience, is not associated with the Luka shitshow and seems to have a positive impact wherever he goes.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

This is the very reason I am team Lindsey, because he is a safe choice.  I have seen nothing from Dumont to think he is going to get this right if he goes with somebody completely external.  Lindsey has GM experience, is not associated with the Luka shitshow and seems to have a positive impact wherever he goes.

You may be right. Detroit has made a '180 degree turn around since he's been part of the braintrust there. They won their 9th straight last night.

[KillerLeft]

You may be right. Detroit has made a '180 degree turn around since he's been part of the braintrust there. They won their 9th straight last night.

See, this is what I'm talking about. When people started saying things like this about Lindsey here, I thought it was maybe a little overblown. But, knowing that Utah (his previous team) fans AND Detroit (his next team) fans have the same spidey sense about his involvement...that moves the needle for me. Either he knows what he's doing or he's leading a charmed life and just can't lose. Either way, I think I'm into it. I think the Mavs could (and probably will) do a lot worse than Lindsey. I hope he gets the gig. 

With the Presti stuff...of course, he's good. I don't know if he's the gold standard or not. He might be, but then again we would've said that about Ujiri at one point, and he's not even employed at this time (to be fair, maybe that's by choice - we don't know). I would obviously be excited by a Presti hire, but I just can't find my way to feeling it's possible. Asking a guy (with a family, I assume) to move away from a community that worships him at the exact point in time his long term plan - one that has required tons of patience and suffering along the way - is coming to fruition? I don't see it, personally. The OKC situation is amazing right now, looks like it's going to be pretty easy to maintain at "amazing," and if not, they STILL have ammo to build. I'd think he'd want to enjoy the next 5-10 years there, given what he's been through preparing for them. It's not lost on me that there might be a number that such a guy couldn't pass up, but I don't know that it exists, and if it does, it might be a number we shouldn't rationally expect the Mavs (or any team) to offer. I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to talk to the guy, and I hope they do. If they could pry him away, that would be great! I just hope we're not getting too excited about what is possibly the very least likely hire out there, to the point where we'll be disappointed with someone else. 

I like Ricardi - the interview was impressive, and I think he's really smart. I like Finley, and I hope he's folded into the next guy's front office, because I think he's one of the reasons they're finding these young, athletic promising players on the street. But if I'm being honest, I'd be pretty disappointed if either of them got the job.

[khaled1987]

Presti is the gold standard, the guy has been doing a great job for almost 2 decades now in the 3rd smallest market in the league iirc with a fairly cheap owners. He obviously has his mistakes, just like everyone but I can't think of 3 guys who has done better in such circumstances for this long. Pat Riley might be one but he has the advantage of being in Miami where most players would love to live.

But yes, it is difficult to see him leaving, if he was willing to go elsewhere you would imagine plenty of teams would made big offers to him, think of the likes of Clippers and Nets, they could change the fortune of their teams with a guy like him. He is probably comfortable where he is

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Presti is a great GM, but let's not forget he took advantage of other teams shortsightedness in making deals. The SGA deal with the Clippers in particular. He hasn't looked back since.

[mvossman]

Presti is a great GM, but let's not forget he took advantage of other teams shortsightedness in making deals. The SGA deal with the Clippers in particular. He hasn't looked back since.

Isn't that what you want in a GM?  It would be nice to have a guy take advantage of others instead of being the other way around for a change.  I would be all in on Presti if I thought there was any chance we could/would pry him away.