GB's Execs of the Year

[GreenBear]

Executives of the Year
Everyone has individual criteria they apply for GM or Coach of the Year, and while I also have my own criteria that separate the 2 awards a bit, they are somewhat tied together (i.e. team success), and I don’t want to write 2 separate articles. So I’m just combining them together under one “Executive of the Year” article, figuring these are on the shortlists of my award ballots.


Ballot Shortlist
All of these execs have a very strong case and should be on plenty of ballots

1. andrei (MEM) – Not enough can be said about what the Grizzlies have accomplished this year. Losing a perennial MVP and DPoY candidate for no return would’ve cratered just about any other team’s contention window and signaled a rebuilding phase. Especially when you consider the Grizzlies’ offense has been geared towards a Post offense with Bruno as the centerpiece. Instead, Andrei’s Grizz rolled up their sleeves, won 51 games, and won a Southwest division that was the deepest in the CSL (no teams finished below .500). Truly incredible work by Andrei.

2. emplep7 (OKC) – Jon is nearly a coinflip with Andrei for the top spot on my ballot. I expected a step forward from the Thunder this year, but not in my wildest dreams did I see OKC pushing my Blazers to the side and winning 60 games (a feat that I have yet to accomplish with my Blazers). OKC had a win streak of 11+ games, THREE different times (including the playoffs). They went from picking 9th in the draft last year to having the 2nd best record in the entire CSL, and Jon did it largely through drafting well and internal development. The team is littered with homegrown star talent, and this is only the tip of the iceberg for OKC. With no starter older than 25, they’re only going to get stronger. Harper only just finished his sophomore season.

3. Stockton12 (UTA) – Phil has remained patient, systematically building a 50-win Jazz team (Phil’s first). He’s made a number of shrewd moves to add key players to round out the roster. He found Brandon McCoy to be his starting center at the veteran’s minimum in FA. He traded for his starting PG Isaac Okoro before the season. Then he added Miles Bridges, Darius Garland and John Collins in mid-season trades. And he did it all without mortgaging the future (he still has 3 firsts to do as he likes with). The Jazz have taken a massive step forward this year, from a play-in team to a 50 win contender with a puncher’s chance.

4. bt (SAC) – Kind of insane that the orchestrator of a 64 win team is only 4th on my ballot, especially when you consider the Kings ran laps around every other team in the CSL and could’ve easily had up to 67 wins if they hadn’t rested their starters down the stretch. The Kings are the deepest team in the league, and they have plenty of starpower to go with it. A deadly combination. Simply put: the Kings are the gold standard for CSL franchises. Ryan is a victim of his own success when it comes to this award, since the Kings are elite seemingly every year. But if there’s a Kings team that stands out amongst the many great Kings teams, it should be this year’s 64 win team (that could’ve gotten up to 67 wins).

5. Silogical (MIA) – The Heat were the best team in the East all year, I wouldn’t argue with anyone having Silo on their ballots. Similarly to Ryan, Silo is also a victim of his own routine success. Still, the 57 win Heat signed Wendell Carter for a veteran’s minimum in free agency, put him in a position to flourish and maximize his strengths, then sweet-talked the Knicks into trading a very intriguing future 1st. That’s a series moves that highlight a multitude of skills by Silo. Also keep in mind that the Heat built this team while maintaining maximum flexibility going forward. They own 5 firsts and will have an absurd amount of CAP room this offseason to mold this team however Silo envisions. Masterclass stuff.


Just Missed
These are the execs that had elevated success this year and just missed my personal shortlist, but a case can easily be made for any of them and I fully expect them to wind up on a number of ballots.

1. drumr (CLE) – Personally, I thought the Cavs were going to be a middling team this year with superstars MPJ, Monk, and Simmons all 31+. DDS can be very unforgiving to aging players. But I was wrong, and the Cavs were a force and in a tight battle for the 2-seed in the East nearly all season. Josh tweaked and experimented with his team to find the best version of this Cavs team with limited assets to move. Onu taking a step forward and having his best season as a pro certainly helped, and Josh deserves credit here.

2. Marcos_Beck (CHI) – The Bulls were in the lottery a season ago, and Marcos turned the team’s direction around in one move, by bringing in Bruno Fernando for a very reasonable price. And voila, the Bulls transformed into a 47-35 team despite terrible injury luck (highlighted by Fernando missing 29 games). Marcos also gets top marks for hitting a home run in the draft with the selection of Terrence Clarke 12th overall. The future is bright in Chicago with Marcos at the helm.

3. rh0xxy (PHI) – Rhoxxy loves trading, and the Sixers certainly churn through players. What doesn’t change about this squad is that they generate a ton of steals every year, and they seemingly win 50+ games every year. The 52 win Sixers caught fire down the stretch to earn the 2nd seed in the East. Rhoxxy is an underrated coach that knows how to get the most out of his players, and he knows how to identify players that fit the system he runs.

Honorable Mention (no particular order)
These are the execs that deserve their flowers for a job well done in the past CSL year, even if they’re not on my personal shortlist.

- Flaming Homer (ATL) – Another 52 win for Andre’s Hawks. He’d be higher on my list if it weren’t for voter fatigue! Elite GM/Coach.

- KW (HOU) – Another incredible GMing job to turn Houston’s direction around in one off-season. Winner of free agency with the signings of Reddish and Hayes. I don’t always understand Kyrus’s coaching madness or roster construction, but they’re always entertaining. He’d have been higher if he addressed the dearth of playmaking on the team.

- WillyJakkz (ORL) – They did it! They made the playoffs!

- Hardenwithnod (WAS) – One win away from making the playoffs, Gary’s done a very commendable job to speed up the rebuild. They weaponized their cap space to lure Bruno in free agency, then flipped him for assets. Then flipped some of those assets for more assets. The Wizards are loaded and loaded with interesting young players and picks to supercharge the rebuild. If Gary can hit on some of these, he could win this award next year.

- StOfTheStep (IND) – TJ somehow finds his way onto someone’s ballot every year. One day I’ll find out whose. Today is not that day.

[Stockton12]

Jon surprised everyone including himself as no one thought he would have a 60 win season I think he will win it

Andrei did an incredible job getting Memphis that far after losing bruno he's one smart gm

Bt is always up there and silo did well without having a star on his team

[hardenwithnod]

Thanks for the shoutout, we are pretty happy with the progress we have made this year. We have more picks now and have lots of cap space to operate again this off-season, so we are looking forward to try and take another step.

[cb4raptorscb4]

Really nice list. The fact Andrei still put up 50+ wins after losing Bruno is impressive. He got Eric freakin Stuteville to come out of no where and average 20+ ppg in 24 minutes this season LOL

[emplep7]

Appreciate being mentioned here as it was definitely a fun year in OKC even though we crashed and burned in the playoffs. Some excellent GM jobs this year from several teams which is great to see.

I’m certainly not a coach of the year candidate with that playoff performance…

[andrei]

thanks Doug for the shoutout. It was a fun year for us experimenting with the lineups and trying something new.

I'll vote for Phil as I love the idea of a patient rebuild and he did an amazing job with the Jazz.

[bt]

Appreciate the nod, can include yourself in that mix too that's for sure.

Like how it's your combo or definition of exec as when I read the headline, I just instantly thought GM and moves being made and would have the exact same top 3 with Marcos as the 4 but as a mix, explains the rankings.

[Jestor]

I would put Jon 1st, Phil 2nd, and andrei 3rd, but yeah, top 3 is pretty easy this year.

Also, I'm expecting KW to once again get his former player back in Davison in free agency, because Reddish fucked me over last year, so it's time for another former Rocket to fuck me this year.

[Flaming Homer]

What a great recap and so many options to choose from. I can't even say right now who impressed me the most, especially seeing the order changed a bit after seeing round 1 and 2 in the playoffs.
Doug, Ryan, Jon and Silo put up an impressive run during the regular season. Teams like Utah, Memphis and Cleveland all exceeding at least my expectations in them. Great season and congrats to every GM!!

I just sucked this year, not the right trades and could not find one really working strat this season.
Maybe its already fatigue in the same homegrown roster, who knows.