Author Topic: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA  (Read 3671 times)

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Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« on: December 08, 2012, 01:26:12 AM »

Offline JSD

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And it has a lot of us around here eating crow, including myself. 
The only color that matters is GREEN

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2012, 01:44:49 AM »

Offline jdz101

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And it has a lot of us around here eating crow, including myself.

How so??


how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck was chris bosh?

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2012, 01:59:48 AM »

Offline JSD

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And it has a lot of us around here eating crow, including myself.

How so??

- Memphis is stacked and has one of the best records in the NBA.
- He pulled off what ended up being a brilliant trade when he acquired Marc Gasol.
- Signed Zach Randolph when everyone else thought he was a cancer.
- Locked up the best perimeter defender in the nba for multiple years at $3 million.
- He drafted Mike Conley Jr.

I could go on...
The only color that matters is GREEN

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2012, 09:13:41 AM »

Offline wdleehi

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He was terrible in Boston.  He had to go. 




But this is why I usually like the idea of giving the top jobs (coach and GM) to guys with real experience.  Guy who have had the chance to have made mistakes (or witness them) and learned how to avoid the same ones. 

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2012, 09:23:01 AM »

Offline CelticG1

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Luck is such a huge factor in this.

Same with coaches. What hits one year could change in am instant.

Doc gets fired one year and now is looked at as one of the best in the league. Same with Wallace.

Just because one situation didn't work out doesn't mean you are doomed for the next 302 years

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2012, 09:26:57 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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Its tough for me to make him one of the best GMs when he couldn't talk his owner out of Thabeet. (or worse was on board with picking him). Then there is the whole trading Kevin Love and pieces for OJ Mayo.

As for the Pau trade again, still a bad trade even though it ended up working out 4 years later. When people talk about it being good/brillant I think of the Antoine Walker trade. It worked out eventually, but it wasn't in and of itself a "good" move.

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2012, 09:31:09 AM »

Offline slamtheking

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And it has a lot of us around here eating crow, including myself.

How so??

- Memphis is stacked and has one of the best records in the NBA.
- He pulled off what ended up being a brilliant trade when he acquired Marc Gasol.
- Signed Zach Randolph when everyone else thought he was a cancer.
- Locked up the best perimeter defender in the nba for multiple years at $3 million.
- He drafted Mike Conley Jr.

I could go on...
- he got lucky on the Gasol trade.  Marc wasn't expected to be as good as he is.  it's like saying Chicago was brilliant for drafting Jordan 3rd in the draft.  sometimes you just get lucky which is what happened here.
- Zach was a cancer.  They lucked out he got his act together.  He always had the talent.
- TA was looking for PT and got it there.  It's not a big or expensive deal and IMO it was a no brainer to offer it to him.  I think Danny botched it when he let TA go.
- drafting Conley was a stretch at that spot and his development time showed it was a stretch.  Wallace stuck with Conley, to his credit, but with a #4 pick that young, a GM should stick with them unless a great deal drops in their lap (which apparently didn't happen).

I'd need to see something actually brilliant before I even consider him a good GM.

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2012, 09:43:13 AM »

Offline bdm860

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Just because his team is good now, doesn't mean he's a genius.

I mean look at a guy like Joe Dumars?  Everyone thought he was a genius back in 2004, then look what happened.

Look at Elgin Baylor, put together a good Clippers team in 2006, even won Executive of the Year.  I wouldn't want to call him a GM genius because he had 1 good team in about 20 years as a GM.

If you can consistently build good teams and see value where others don't, I’ll call you a genius.  If you put together one good team, (especially over a long career) then I’m probably going to call it luck.

Anybody can win the lottery, even a broken clock is right twice a day, [fill in any other cliché statement about idiot’s being right here], etc.

After 18 months with their Bigs, the Littles were: 46% less likely to use illegal drugs, 27% less likely to use alcohol, 52% less likely to skip school, 37% less likely to skip a class

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2012, 10:03:31 AM »

Offline ssspence

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Its tough for me to make him one of the best GMs when he couldn't talk his owner out of Thabeet. (or worse was on board with picking him). Then there is the whole trading Kevin Love and pieces for OJ Mayo.

As for the Pau trade again, still a bad trade even though it ended up working out 4 years later. When people talk about it being good/brillant I think of the Antoine Walker trade. It worked out eventually, but it wasn't in and of itself a "good" move.

There's merit in all of this. Love for Mayo was particularly bad.

What I believe is underrated about the Gasol trade is: Pau's reputation as a pouter had begun to stick around the league. He was a major danger to a very fragile NBA franchise. Wallace needed to get the guy gone fast, and he managed to make out pretty well with the package he got over time.

There's a tendency to call it 'dumb luck' that Memphis did as well as it did in the deal. Marc Gasol was essentially the only named player in that deal for them, and he got pretty good pretty fast. I think Wallace deserved credit for seeing something there. He certainly was in the minority.

I'd also point out that Lionel Hollins turned out to be a really good hire.
Mike

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Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2012, 10:12:28 AM »

Offline wdleehi

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He is better then he was in Boston.  He has put together a good team. 


He isn't one of the best though.  The best would take that team and make the last big trade to put them over the top.  I still do not see a title winning team there. 

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2012, 10:20:39 AM »

Offline Who

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He isn't one of the best though.  The best would take that team and make the last big trade to put them over the top.  I still do not see a title winning team there.
I don't think Memphis needs a big trade.

Just some better fitting small pieces. A bench that better complements it's starters.

More shooters.

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2012, 10:22:31 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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He isn't one of the best though.  The best would take that team and make the last big trade to put them over the top.  I still do not see a title winning team there.
I don't think Memphis needs a big trade. Just some better fitting small pieces. More shooters.
They did look pretty scary when Wayne Ellington nailed 7 3s against Miami.

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2012, 11:08:14 AM »

Offline pearljammer10

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He is better then he was in Boston.  He has put together a good team. 


He isn't one of the best though.  The best would take that team and make the last big trade to put them over the top.  I still do not see a title winning team there.

Ill go with this. You cant knock the guy for putting together a good team, but at the same time he isnt brilliant by any means.

You can play the luck or strategy card all day long but you could really say that about any GM.

If KG blows out his knee in year one and we dont win a championship is Danny looked at as making a bad trade because we gave up too many assets for an old now injured PF/C?

If Patrick O Brian turns into a double double guy was Ainge a genius for bringing him in? The list is endless.

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2012, 11:19:51 AM »

Offline Brendan

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Love for Mayo and Thabeet were particularly bad moves. Gay contract was high.

I think he's got a Supersonics type team - fun team to watch, can make runs in playoffs, not good enough to win it all, except the Sonics team was probably a bit better peak.

He's done a good job, net positive as GM, but not one of the top3, which would be one of the best.

Re: Chris Wallace is one of the best GMs in the NBA
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2012, 12:01:39 PM »

Offline ssspence

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The Thabeet pick can't be ranked with the Love trade.

Real world scenario: If you had questionable job security in your second go around as as NBA GM, and despite making a good case for an alternative, the guy who signs your check -- who happened to be a pretty grumpy owner at that -- insisted on another player, would you plant some sort of stake in the ground? Put some sort of ultimatum on it?

When the owner's pick fails, it's not your fault, but had Wallace's alternative pick been anything less than a star, he'd have been blamed begrudgingly from that day on, and likely fired considering the heat he was still under for the Gasol trade.

At least most of the guys behind Thabeet were wings or tweeners. Atlanta's selection of Marvin Williams at the 2 in 2005, for example, was a far less defensible move. 
Mike

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