http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-was-sort-of-a-good-gm-according-to-new-study Paxson finished #2. Jim Paxson that is.
Thomas was always an underrated drafter. It's what he was best at. As a GM he failed at team-building, organizational culture/management, and overly pursuing win-now trades, which usually included him giving away his draft picks at way below market rates.
he did always seem to find decent players lower in the draft, interesting take though. i find it strange that he had such an astute eye for talent, but zero eye for when that talent was shitting the bed
Yeah, those were some nice selections in Toronto. The teams sucked, but expansion teams are supposed to suck. Thomas's tour with the Knicks was an unmitigated disaster...I never wanted him to leave. In the end, a GM should be judged by what his team achieves relative to the resources ownership gives him. In New York, ownership trusted him implicitly and gave him the keys to the vault. From the 2003-04 season through the 2007-08 season, Thomas's big- spending Knicks compiled a 151-259 (.368) record. His most successful team and only playoff appearance (swept by Nets in 1st round) was that first year before he could really get to tinkering. In the world of GM suckage, Thomas's Knicks tenure remains the gold standard and I don't see any other owner ever allowing someone to threaten it. God, I miss him.
I have a different take on IT with the Knicks. He used the big budget to show respect to certain players. I don't think he was trying to win, but make a statement. Not what you want in a GM, but it was a reasonable thing to do for a few years. They could have sucked like Toronto did, or sucked and treated players right. The third option was to win, but the Bulls haven't won with their game plan either. It's not so easy.
Thank goodness Paxson was wrong about Eddy's heart being an issue (it wasn't) and also thank goodness Curry turned down the DNA Test / 50 year, 400K a year offer that was on the table. The Bulls really made out with those two draft picks that Paxson stated he didn't expect to be high lottery picks. If Curry took that DNA test, the Bulls would have been screwed. I'm not sure what was a better deal for the Bulls. Curry turning down Paxson's DNA demand / 50 year, 400K a year offer or Ben Gordon turning down Paxson's 6 year, 56 million dollar deal. Either way, Bulls fans won. Bad GMs suck.
That LMA for Tyrus trade was awesome for us. Signing Wallace, dumping Chandler, and playing a whole season with PJ Brown was a real winner. James Johnson was an elite pick, who clearly worked out well for us. Not trading up to draft Wade was a franchise changer - not for the better. Hiring Vinnie then assaulting him was genius. Gar is the real deal, tho. He convinced the Chairman to pay the LT.
