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James Harden, 76ers president in NBA game of chicken. Who wins? – USA TODAY
Whatever stress-free summer NBA general managers and basketball operations execs had, it’s over.
Time to win games and compete for titles. Time to develop players. Time for short- and long-term plans to take more shape.
Even championship seasons are in the rear-view mirror, and Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth turned from holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy to figuring out how to replace key players from a title team and win a second consecutive championship − not an easy task in an ultra-competitive Western Conference.
Let’s take a look at NBA front-office execs who are under pressure as the season opens:
Daryl Morey starts the season with a problem. James Harden wants a trade and Morey tried to accommodate the request but did not find a deal beneficial to the Sixers and their championship goal. Harden is unhappy, called Morey a liar and said he would never play for Morey, leading to a $100,000 fine for Harden from the NBA. Morey fired Doc Rivers as coach, hired Nick Nurse, who Milwaukee fired, and the Sixers are trying to win a title with 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid in his prime. Morey has one unhappy player, and if the Sixers can’t make progress in the playoffs (nothing better than a second-round exit since 2001), Embiid could be the next player who wants out of Philadelphia.
Tim Connelly went to Minnesota with great fanfare: a five-year, $40 million contract that included ownership equity. Plus great expectations. And in his first major player personnel move, he acquired Rudy Gobert from Utah for five first-round picks, including 2022 first-rounder Walker Kessler. The move didn’t work the way Connelly had planned. Gobert didn’t provide the necessary lift, and the Timberwolves lost four more games last season than they did in 2021-22 and had another first-round playoff exit. Let’s see what a healthy lineup of Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards can do along with offseason moves that appeared to improve the roster.
MAKING WAVES:Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and the ripple effect that will shape the 2023-24 NBA season
Two seasons removed from a title, the Bucks still have championship aspirations with Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they enter the season with a warning from him. In essence, he said if the Bucks aren’t contending for a title, he won’t sign an extension and will look elsewhere to play. That means Horst needs to deliver an atmosphere and roster that convinces Antetokounmpo. Horst is off to a good start by acquiring Damian Lillard from Portland. Horst and his staff are methodic with roster moves, and the Bucks’ ability to compete for a title is a significant story line this season.
Let’s be clear: Griffin has put together a roster centered on Zion Williamson, and it’s not Griffin’s fault Williamson has spent so much time off the court with injuries. When Williamson plays, the Pelicans have one of the West’s best teams. That just hasn’t been often enough. Sometimes, the exec takes the fall.
This comes with a caveat. Bulls ownership is patient, and like the Pelicans, the Bulls have had injuries (namely Lonzo Ball’s debilitating knee problems) that are out of Karnisovas’ control. The organization is budget conscious and does not like to pay more than one person for the job even if the attempt at a rapid rebuild has yielded just one playoff appearance (first-round loss) in Karnisovas’ three seasons.
Cronin was on this list in the summer and as recently as late September. But just before training camps opened, Cronin traded his star player, Damian Lillard, who had asked for a trade in July. It took Cronin the entire summer and a few days into fall to find the deal he liked for the franchise moving forward. It’s a rebuild focused on a youth movement, and trading Lillard is just another step. Cronin then traded Jrue Holiday, who the Blazers acquired from Milwaukee in the Lillard deal, to Boston. In the trades, Portland acquired Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon, Toumani Camara, three first-round draft picks and the right to swap draft picks with Milwaukee in 2028 and 2030. Cronin has been entrusted to make this rebuild work.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on X @JeffZillgitt