Post by Phoenix Suns on Jan 6, 2018 15:41:12 GMT -6
1) Minnesota Timberwolves
My vote for EOTY goes to the Wolves.
He is the biggest threat to the league over the next several years, and maxed out his re-signs through both periods, which I can appreciate as we're in the same position and you get constantly diminishing returns on big trades since you can't re-sign guys who don't hit the next window.
He traded for Blake Griffin, Dame Lillard, and CJ McCollum without touching his core of KAT and Turner, which put him into contention this season.
He then took a massive risk on Tyreke Evans, trading Jrue Holiday for him. He couldn't keep Holiday anyway due to his 10m hit, so gambling on Evans 3m a year was a smart move, and could break the league if he stays healthy.
Blake and Evans both have serious injury concerns, but there are no free lunches in Guru.
His low key moves were solid, too. He sneaked Alex Len into a deal, which could pay off down the road as he's the C you want to own in Phoenix.
What pushes him over the edge for me in winning my vote is getting Will Barton's fantastic contract, along with swapping his low value 2018 1st for Vancouver's 2021 1st, all in the same deal, which is absolute robbery -- and 90% of the league didn't even notice.
It's very hard to make impactful moves when your team is already good because you have very limited roster spots, diminishing returns on re-signs, and core pieces you can't touch, so to manage that much without shipping any of them off is tougher than it looks, and his craftiness in accomplishing that much impressed me the most.
2) Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte resisted pressure and bad advice, and held onto Drummond and re-signed him, which proved an excellent decision.
Aaron Gordon finally took the leap, providing Hornets with his second core piece.
He then traded for Victor Oladipo on the cheap, and 'Dipo exploded this season, suddenly turning Charlotte into a legitimate franchise that can turn the corner next season, on top of having half the league's 1st round picks the next three years.
The Ingram trade from last season is looking better and better, trading Tyreke for Jrue was interesting and risky, with Hornets trading Evans' ceiling/low salary for Holiday's floor/average salary. A prudent move that could be a win, but it's too early to judge.
What puts Charlotte 2nd for me is his stellar rookie draft and rookie signings.
He got the #1 consensus pick in Fultz, hit on Bam Adebayo and OG Anunoby, then struck gold with Kyle Kuzma in OSFA. In a matter of mere months, he went from being a punchline to one of the top 5 franchises I'd want to own in Guru long-term.
3) Toronto Raptors/New York Knicks
I couldn't really decide between these two, they both were excellent GMs this season and both deserve EOTY consideration.
Toronto turned the corner and became a playoff team with a lot of shrewd moves, trading away Fultz for John Wall, while also acquiring Draymond Green in big moves.
He drafted Dennis Smith Jr. which was a very astute pick, while having some nice small pickups of good contracts like Demarre Carroll/Avery Bradley/Thaddeus Young, while also managing to move Normal Powell's prohibitive contract, while keeping Porzingis and Kemba Walker safe and sound on his roster.
Knicks sharpened his team into a finely turned championship contender, leading the league all season after acquiring Westbrook in a blockbuster trade and re-signing him.
DeAndre Jordan was a solid pickup to add another 30 FPPG player, while holding onto Curry and Simmons.
He was also clever in letting the rest of us kill each other in the offseason free agency, then swooping in at the last minute and signing a bunch of solid roleplayers to cheap deals to round out his cap-starved roster.
My vote for EOTY goes to the Wolves.
He is the biggest threat to the league over the next several years, and maxed out his re-signs through both periods, which I can appreciate as we're in the same position and you get constantly diminishing returns on big trades since you can't re-sign guys who don't hit the next window.
He traded for Blake Griffin, Dame Lillard, and CJ McCollum without touching his core of KAT and Turner, which put him into contention this season.
He then took a massive risk on Tyreke Evans, trading Jrue Holiday for him. He couldn't keep Holiday anyway due to his 10m hit, so gambling on Evans 3m a year was a smart move, and could break the league if he stays healthy.
Blake and Evans both have serious injury concerns, but there are no free lunches in Guru.
His low key moves were solid, too. He sneaked Alex Len into a deal, which could pay off down the road as he's the C you want to own in Phoenix.
What pushes him over the edge for me in winning my vote is getting Will Barton's fantastic contract, along with swapping his low value 2018 1st for Vancouver's 2021 1st, all in the same deal, which is absolute robbery -- and 90% of the league didn't even notice.
It's very hard to make impactful moves when your team is already good because you have very limited roster spots, diminishing returns on re-signs, and core pieces you can't touch, so to manage that much without shipping any of them off is tougher than it looks, and his craftiness in accomplishing that much impressed me the most.
2) Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte resisted pressure and bad advice, and held onto Drummond and re-signed him, which proved an excellent decision.
Aaron Gordon finally took the leap, providing Hornets with his second core piece.
He then traded for Victor Oladipo on the cheap, and 'Dipo exploded this season, suddenly turning Charlotte into a legitimate franchise that can turn the corner next season, on top of having half the league's 1st round picks the next three years.
The Ingram trade from last season is looking better and better, trading Tyreke for Jrue was interesting and risky, with Hornets trading Evans' ceiling/low salary for Holiday's floor/average salary. A prudent move that could be a win, but it's too early to judge.
What puts Charlotte 2nd for me is his stellar rookie draft and rookie signings.
He got the #1 consensus pick in Fultz, hit on Bam Adebayo and OG Anunoby, then struck gold with Kyle Kuzma in OSFA. In a matter of mere months, he went from being a punchline to one of the top 5 franchises I'd want to own in Guru long-term.
3) Toronto Raptors/New York Knicks
I couldn't really decide between these two, they both were excellent GMs this season and both deserve EOTY consideration.
Toronto turned the corner and became a playoff team with a lot of shrewd moves, trading away Fultz for John Wall, while also acquiring Draymond Green in big moves.
He drafted Dennis Smith Jr. which was a very astute pick, while having some nice small pickups of good contracts like Demarre Carroll/Avery Bradley/Thaddeus Young, while also managing to move Normal Powell's prohibitive contract, while keeping Porzingis and Kemba Walker safe and sound on his roster.
Knicks sharpened his team into a finely turned championship contender, leading the league all season after acquiring Westbrook in a blockbuster trade and re-signing him.
DeAndre Jordan was a solid pickup to add another 30 FPPG player, while holding onto Curry and Simmons.
He was also clever in letting the rest of us kill each other in the offseason free agency, then swooping in at the last minute and signing a bunch of solid roleplayers to cheap deals to round out his cap-starved roster.