06-19-2021, 09:22 AM
Something I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is how blank the slate might be for a new GM. When someone proposes a Brunson trade, subconsciously I think to my self "no, that's Donnie's guy. He's friends with his dad". No, actually he's a backup PG over which the team has no control after next season. I can play a similar mental exercise with most of the fan favorites. DFS and Maxi aren't the hidden gem success stories unearthed by our GM. They are just guys. Maybe they fit the new GM's vision. Maybe they don't. THJ can be evaluated at face value and not based at all on family relationships or any other off-court factor.
The history with certain agents may or may not be gone depending on whether the relationship was more about Donnie or more about Cuban. The rookies aren't the new GM's "guys" (and apparently weren't the old GM's guys either...too soon?) and the new GM didn't make the Porzingis trade. People often say "no one is untouchable except Luka and _________" and then proceed to fill in their favorite player or some player they perceive the franchise won't trade because of X. There is no X any more. We can't even assume that our players will continue to perform in the same way as they have in the past because "Carlisle knows how to use Powell or doesn't know how to use _____". It really is a totally blank slate...especially if the new GM is an outsider. Look what just happened in Boston. You can probably still smell Ainge's cologne in his office and Stevens has already erased one of his "mistakes". Would an outsider GM be any more loyal to the current roster than the guy who got promoted from within?
The history with certain agents may or may not be gone depending on whether the relationship was more about Donnie or more about Cuban. The rookies aren't the new GM's "guys" (and apparently weren't the old GM's guys either...too soon?) and the new GM didn't make the Porzingis trade. People often say "no one is untouchable except Luka and _________" and then proceed to fill in their favorite player or some player they perceive the franchise won't trade because of X. There is no X any more. We can't even assume that our players will continue to perform in the same way as they have in the past because "Carlisle knows how to use Powell or doesn't know how to use _____". It really is a totally blank slate...especially if the new GM is an outsider. Look what just happened in Boston. You can probably still smell Ainge's cologne in his office and Stevens has already erased one of his "mistakes". Would an outsider GM be any more loyal to the current roster than the guy who got promoted from within?