McHale sets the standard

[MrChug]

I heard them talking about this on NBA radio on Sirius, Kenny Smith thought "that GM from the Spurs" should be first.

[mabber]

I heard them talking about this on NBA radio on Sirius, Kenny Smith thought "that GM from the Spurs" should be first.

He should definitely be up there toward the top. The Spurs are always good and they manage to do that w/o getting any top free agents...as the top free agents are just not interested in playing in San Antonio.

[Samr]

Yep. This one isn't going in the portfolios. Sounds like someone put in a lot of work, and when it didn't work right, they were too proud to scrap it.

See this is why NBA players have financial advisers. Unless your name is Mark Cuban, a sports mind and a money mind are rarely on and the same. Stick to what you know, and get paid to do.

[Obstructed_View]

Unless your name is Mark Cuban, a sports mind and a money mind are rarely on and the same.

What would make you think Mark Cuban is either of those?

[mabber]

Yep. This one isn't going in the portfolios. Sounds like someone put in a lot of work, and when it didn't work right, they were too proud to scrap it.

See this is why NBA players have financial advisers. Unless your name is Mark Cuban, a sports mind and a money mind are rarely on and the same. Stick to what you know, and get paid to do.

Obviously, Cuban knows how to make money but not so sure about having the sport's mind.

[Obstructed_View]

Obviously, Cuban knows how to make money but not so sure about having the sport's mind.

Thank you.

To be completely truthful, he made one decision, and it made so much money that he probably doesn't have to make any more good financial decisions as long as he lives. It was a of a good decision, though. He did buy the Mavs at the best possible time, too. Look at all the credit he gets that he completely doesn't deserve. I think Steve Kerr was going on and on the other night on TNT about how Mark Cuban turned the Mavs around.

[ShoogarBear]

If there's any justice, Forbes goes out of business next month.

This is quite possibly the most ridiculous piece of written by any serious magazine on any topic in modern history.

The next time you see Forbes rank anything, keep this in mind.

[ShoogarBear]

On the other hand, Peter Holt will have this handy for the next contract negotiations with Buford.

[ShoogarBear]

Here are some classic quotes from the Forbes page:

Basketball's Best

Kevin McHale (Overall Rank: No. 1)

Current Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Winning Improvement: 235
Payroll Containment: 81

Under McHale, the Timberwolves have improved their performance by a 135%--a feat unmatched by any other GM in our survey--by combining franchise player (and his first-ever draft pick) Kevin Garnett with a cast of mediocre players.

Basketball's Worst

Carroll Dawson (Overall Rank: No. 95)

Current Team: Houston Rockets
Winning Improvement: 64
Payroll Containment: 92

Over the course of his 10 years as Houston Rockets general manager, Carroll Dawson has never been able to duplicate the team's past success, even after raising Houston's payroll to secure stars like Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Yao Ming. Dawson will step down and be replaced by his assistant, Daryl Morley, at season's end.

The Timberwolves' McHale has been harshly criticized in the press for not giving superstar Kevin Garnett the supporting cast to win a championship. But McHale has guided the Timberwolves to eight playoff berths and a .539 regular season winning percentage--more than double his predecessor’s .244. Winning improvement under McHale has been so great that it offset a 19% rise in salary against the NBA's median payroll during his 11 years as GM.

Here is the list of NBA GMs only:

Rank GM YearsAsGM WinningImprovement PayrollContainment
1 Kevin McHale 11 235 81 NBA Minnesota Timberwolves
3 Billy King 8 215 89 NBA Philadelphia 76ers
10 John Paxson 3 179 76 NBA Chicago Bulls
11 Geoff Petrie 11 171 85 NBA Sacramento Kings
15 Joe Dumars 6 155 104 NBA Detroit Pistons
23 Randy Pfund 10 144 87 NBA Miami Heat
25 Ernie Grunfeld 15 143 88 NBA Washington Wizards
32 R.C. Buford 4 124 109 NBA San Antonio Spurs
33 Jerry West 22 134 79 NBA Memphis Grizzlies
35 Rick Sund 10 124 101 NBA Seattle Supersonics
36 Larry Bird 3 126 88 NBA Indiana Pacers
40 Donnie Nelson 4 129 67 NBA Dallas Mavericks
41 Rod Thorn 14 120 91 NBA New Jersey Nets
46 Elgin Baylor 21 103 139 NBA Los Angeles Clippers
49 Kiki Vandeweghe 5 109 117 NBA Denver Nuggets
68 John Nash 24 91 127 NBA Portland Trail Blazers
74 Kevin O'Connor 9 90 102 NBA Utah Jazz
75 Billy Knight 5 89 102 NBA Atlanta Hawks
78 Mitch Kupchak 6 85 108 NBA Los Angeles Lakers
82 Isiah Thomas 5 87 94 NBA New York Knicks
85 Bernie Bickerstaff 10 96 63 NBA Charlotte Bobcats
91 Larry Harris 3 73 110 NBA Milwaukee Bucks
92 Danny Ainge 3 78 93 NBA Boston Celtics
93 Allan Bristow 4 73 107 NBA New Orleans Hornets
94 Bryan Colangelo 11 69 99 NBA Toronto Raptors
95 Carroll Dawson 10 64 92 NBA Houston Rockets

Isiah's "PayrollContainment Index" is 94, indicating he's better than league average. Meanwhile Elgin Baylor has a horrible payroll index because the Clippers finally decide to pay compe ive salaries.

[Obstructed_View]

Forbes must be using the same formula that the MVP voters use to give the award to Nash every year.