ducks
06-05-2004, 12:07 PM
Raps set to hire Babcock as new GM
T-Wolves exec gets the nod over Dr. J
`He has plenty of hands-on experience'
DOUG SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
LOS ANGELES—After nine weeks of searching and interviewing and seeing their reputation take serious hits throughout the NBA, the Raptors have settled on a general manager they could have hired the day after Glen Grunwald was fired.
Rob Babcock, the vice-president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves and one of Toronto's original candidates, is expected to be introduced as the new Raptor general manager as early as Monday.
According to league and Minnesota sources, the Raptors settled on Babcock yesterday after members of the team's upper management met for nearly three hours Thursday night in Toronto with Julius Erving, the other leading candidate to replace Grunwald.
Babcock was among the five candidates granted interviews initially by the Raptors, and was brought back, along with Denver's Jeff Weltman, for a second session with Toronto ownership.
After those meetings, though, the process slowed to a crawl. It was widely reported that Erving wanted some position in the Raptors front office and that Toronto was targeting other potential candidates for the GM job.
But with the NBA draft less than three weeks away and the chance to attract anyone else dwindling, the Raptors have decided to give the job to a lifelong NBA front-office employee with close ties to Toronto interim GM Jack McCloskey.
Babcock has spent the last two seasons as Minnesota's vice-president of player personnel, helping team president Kevin McHale build a team that had the best record in the league this season. He was also Minnesota's director of player personnel and a scout, and has worked as a scout for a handful of other NBA teams as well.
"He's got plenty of hands-on experience," said one person with knowledge of Babcock's past. "He's a good guy, too."
The big concern will be how the hiring of Babcock sits with Raptor all-star guard Vince Carter, who was the first to present Erving as a possible successor to Grunwald after the latter was fired April 1.
Carter has strong ties to Erving through various charitable functions and because they live close to each other in the off-season in Florida. Whether Carter will be happy his man did not get a job — any job — with the Raptors is causing some worry among members of the franchise.
However, there is also a school of thought that says the new GM should explore trade opportunities for Carter this summer and Erving would not do that.
Babcock's ties with McCloskey go back more than a decade. As GM of the Timberwolves, McCloskey first brought Babcock to Minnesota and the two have remained close.
McCloskey originally said he could have hired a general manager within a day of Grunwald's ouster and it's widely thought Babcock was his man all along. This week, the interim GM shocked some Raptor officials by saying Erving was "no longer in the mix" for the job, even though the Thursday meeting between Erving and the Raptor brass was still to be held.
Aside from the draft, which is now under the care of McCloskey and director of player personnel Jim Kelly, Babcock's priority will be finding a new coach.
League sources say the two front-runners now are Seattle associate head coach Dwane Casey and Detroit assistant Mike Woodson, both of whom were finalists for the job that ultimately went to Kevin O'Neill almost a year ago.
Casey, perhaps the most highly regarded non-head coach on any staff, has already had an interview for the vacant Atlanta job and Woodson is also in the running for the Hawks position.
One coach who won't be on the list, however, is Utah assistant Phil Johnson, who withdrew from consideration for the job yesterday. The Raptors had already received permission to talk to Woodson, Johnson and Denver's John MacLeod and it's expected they could talk to Casey on a moment's notice.
link (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1086387010214&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064)
T-Wolves exec gets the nod over Dr. J
`He has plenty of hands-on experience'
DOUG SMITH
SPORTS REPORTER
LOS ANGELES—After nine weeks of searching and interviewing and seeing their reputation take serious hits throughout the NBA, the Raptors have settled on a general manager they could have hired the day after Glen Grunwald was fired.
Rob Babcock, the vice-president of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves and one of Toronto's original candidates, is expected to be introduced as the new Raptor general manager as early as Monday.
According to league and Minnesota sources, the Raptors settled on Babcock yesterday after members of the team's upper management met for nearly three hours Thursday night in Toronto with Julius Erving, the other leading candidate to replace Grunwald.
Babcock was among the five candidates granted interviews initially by the Raptors, and was brought back, along with Denver's Jeff Weltman, for a second session with Toronto ownership.
After those meetings, though, the process slowed to a crawl. It was widely reported that Erving wanted some position in the Raptors front office and that Toronto was targeting other potential candidates for the GM job.
But with the NBA draft less than three weeks away and the chance to attract anyone else dwindling, the Raptors have decided to give the job to a lifelong NBA front-office employee with close ties to Toronto interim GM Jack McCloskey.
Babcock has spent the last two seasons as Minnesota's vice-president of player personnel, helping team president Kevin McHale build a team that had the best record in the league this season. He was also Minnesota's director of player personnel and a scout, and has worked as a scout for a handful of other NBA teams as well.
"He's got plenty of hands-on experience," said one person with knowledge of Babcock's past. "He's a good guy, too."
The big concern will be how the hiring of Babcock sits with Raptor all-star guard Vince Carter, who was the first to present Erving as a possible successor to Grunwald after the latter was fired April 1.
Carter has strong ties to Erving through various charitable functions and because they live close to each other in the off-season in Florida. Whether Carter will be happy his man did not get a job — any job — with the Raptors is causing some worry among members of the franchise.
However, there is also a school of thought that says the new GM should explore trade opportunities for Carter this summer and Erving would not do that.
Babcock's ties with McCloskey go back more than a decade. As GM of the Timberwolves, McCloskey first brought Babcock to Minnesota and the two have remained close.
McCloskey originally said he could have hired a general manager within a day of Grunwald's ouster and it's widely thought Babcock was his man all along. This week, the interim GM shocked some Raptor officials by saying Erving was "no longer in the mix" for the job, even though the Thursday meeting between Erving and the Raptor brass was still to be held.
Aside from the draft, which is now under the care of McCloskey and director of player personnel Jim Kelly, Babcock's priority will be finding a new coach.
League sources say the two front-runners now are Seattle associate head coach Dwane Casey and Detroit assistant Mike Woodson, both of whom were finalists for the job that ultimately went to Kevin O'Neill almost a year ago.
Casey, perhaps the most highly regarded non-head coach on any staff, has already had an interview for the vacant Atlanta job and Woodson is also in the running for the Hawks position.
One coach who won't be on the list, however, is Utah assistant Phil Johnson, who withdrew from consideration for the job yesterday. The Raptors had already received permission to talk to Woodson, Johnson and Denver's John MacLeod and it's expected they could talk to Casey on a moment's notice.
link (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1086387010214&call_pageid=968867503640&col=970081593064)