Danny is NOT a top 5 GM!!! He tried to trade 4 first round picks for Justice Winslow for God's sake!
You might have noticed Winslow during Miami's recent resurgence... Wearing street clothes... Because Miami got exponentially better once he went down with an injury.
Oh really? Name me 5 GM's better. Winslow was a big time prospect and I wanted him too.
Those 4 picks were garbage anyway that ended up being players like Rozier and RJ Hunter.
He got lucky that they turned down the trade, so he's got luck on his side too!
He is DEFINITELY lucky.
Via Zach Lowe~
"Boston put Charlotte on the other end of a quantity-for-quality pitch," writes Lowe. "The Celtics offered four first-round picks for the chance to move up from No. 16 to No. 9: that 16th pick, No. 15 (acquired in a prearranged contingency deal with the Hawks), one unprotected future Brooklyn pick, and a future first-rounder from either the Grizzlies or Timberwolves, per sources familiar with the talks."
Source
http://www.celticsblog.com/2015/7/28/9058789/bostons-draft-day-offer-to-hornets-revealedAs for 5 GM's who are better... You were right it was a lot closer than I thought. I went back and forth between Presti and Ainge for the 5th spot but landed on Presti for 2 reasons: His drafting is impeccable. It literally blows Ainge's drafting out of the water. The counterpoint being that Ainge hires good coaches and Presti has struggled mightily with that. I just couldn't get past the thought that if you draft Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, Steven Adams, and Reggie Jackson, unload Jeff Green on an unsuspecting Danny Ainge, unload a secretly 38 year old Serge Ibaka for Oladipo, Sabonis, and a pick, and trade Cameron Payne for Taj Gibson and Mitch McGary you're a top 5 GM for that decade.
Final GM top 5:
1. R.C. Buford San Antonio Spurs
2. Bob Meyers G.S Warriors
3. David Griffin/Lebron James Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Daryl Morey Houston Rockets
5. Sam Presti Oklahoma City Thunder