Mike Bibby, and Kevin Martin, and all he has to show for them is Carl Landry, Donte Green, Omri Casspi, and a little bit of cap space.Cap space is a nice thing to have but Sacramento hasn't exactly been a mecca for the league's free agents when you consider Vlade Divac is still their biggest free agent signing ever.Petrie has also caught flak for hiring head coach Paul Westphal. After a 9-9 start the Kings finished the season 25-57 and owners of the league's fourth-worst record. The Kings also had the second-worst average attendance in the league this season.Petrie does get credit for drafting expected Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans. It's obvious by the trading of Martin that Evans is now the centerpiece of the team and it will be Petrie's job to give Evans a team that he will want to commit to long-term when he's eligible for his first big-money contract.Petrie has already proved that he can quickly build a winning team with just three solid moves. From 1998 to 1999 he traded Mitch Richmond for Chris Webber, signed Divac, and drafted Jason Williams. By 2000 they were one win away from knocking off the eventual champion Lakers in a first-round series.He already has his franchise player in Evans. Now he just needs to figure out if he can lure the right free agent to California's capital with the cap space he freed up and use some of Philadelphia Eagles jersey
those young players he's acquired over the last three years to trade for the final piece.3) Donnie Walsh, New York KnicksWalsh's objective since taking over as Knicks GM was to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, Isiah Thomas, and position the team to sign two max free agents this summer.Had Walsh been the GM of any other team he'd probably be lower on the list. But the allure of the nation's No. 1 media market should make it easier than some might think.Walsh did the unthinkable this year by getting the Rockets to take Jared Jeffries off his hands. Sure it cost him his most recent lottery pick Jordan Hill, a No. 1 pick in 2012, and the ability for the Rockets to swap picks with the Knicks in 2011 in order to do it.But if Walsh succeeds in luring at least one of the top-tier free agents to New York then it will have been worth it. If he can't then he might have to wait until the summer of 2011 once Eddy Curry's expiring contract can also come off the books.2) Gar Forman, Chicago BullsGive Forman credit for taking chances. His Bulls were a playoff team last season and were in position to make the playoffs again this season when he pulled the trigger on a couple of deadline deals.Forman knew the trades might make his team worse but he knew they would better the team's chances of landing a top-tier free agent this summer with the cap space to offer a maximum contract.So out went John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas and in came Hakim Warrick, Joe Alexander, and Ronald Murray.Wednesday night's win in Charlotte earned the Bulls the right to lose to the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. So Forman managed to not only clear cap space but his team also made the playoffssomething that might make them a much more attractive destination for free agents.1) Pat Riley, Miami HeatThe Heat finished the season as hot as any team in the league. They took advantage of the injury to Andrew Bogut to pass the Bucks for the fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round match-up with the Boston Celtics.It has to be a plus for this summer's free agents that a team that was considered by many to miss the playoffs finished 12 games above .500. That's remarkable for a team that started Joel Anthony, Quentin Richardson, and Carlos Arroyo down the stretch.Riley is one step ahead of Walsh in that he already has one of the league's best players on his team and only needs to acquire one more star to convince Dwyane Wade to stick around long-term.But what Riley really deserves the most credit for is not making a move and trusting that he had a team in place that could serve as the supporting cast once he acquires an additional superstar.Those Who Wish They Could Rebuild Right Now but Can't (From Best to Worst) This list is made up of teams who are also waiting for contracts to expire. The difference is that unlike the previous list of teams who are trying to rebuild, these teams will have to wait at least another year for those contracts to expire.Each of these teams had chances to speed up the rebuilding process but instead either chose not to, or like Dumars and Colangelo, had the financial freedom to turn things around and flubbed it.7) John Hammond, Milwaukee BucksHammond only makes this list because he doesn't fit into any of the other categories. Because the Bucks still have more than $25 million committed next season to Redd and Dan Gadzuric, Hammond is still a year away from putting his full stamp on this team.With Skiles, Bogut, and Jennings he's in a much better place than any of the other guys on this list.So even though Hammond made what I would consider the most undesirable list he's also in a better position than any of Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
these guys to ascend to one of the better lists almost immediately.Even though Redd is coming off another knee surgery he's still an expiring contract next season at a time when many teams will be looking to shed salary in anticipation of the league's new collective bargaining agreement.6) Joe Dumars, Detroit PistonsI once labeled Dumars the Jerry West of his generation. Both were former players who were always given the greatest amount of respect by their peers. There was a time when everything Dumars touched turned to gold.Even the sign-and-trade deal that sent Grant Hill to Orlando worked out better for the Pistons than it did the Magic because it netted four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace.Dumars signed Billups when every other team he'd played for had given up on him. He also stole Rip Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, drafted Tayshaun Prince after 22 teams passed up on him, and fleeced the Hawks for Rasheed Wallace.Before last season the only real blemish on Dumars bio was drafting Darko Milicic when he could have had Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Kirk Hinrich, or Chris Kaman instead.But even that move was hard to argue with since the Pistons won a championship with Milicic on their roster.But lately it seems that almost every move Dumars has made has left people scratching their heads more often than not.Dumars traded team leader Chauncey Billups last season for the expiring contract of Allen Iverson only to waste all of the cap space he accumulated on Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon.Now Dumars is stuck with a roster that seems stacked at shooting guard and small forward but is thin at point guard, power forward, and center.Dumars will now try to unload Tayshaun Prince's expiring contract and/or the remaining three years and $38 million of Hamilton's contract that takes him through his 35th birthday.The next move Dumars makes might be the most important. Whether that's moving Prince or Hamilton, the long-term future of this team is in the hands of a GM whose future might be decided in the next 18 months.The team has hired Citigroup to figure out the team's value in an impending sale. While no new owner would commit the public relations homicide that would come with firing Dumars, there is a growing contingent of Pistons fans who might be in favor of it.5) Bryan Colangelo, Toronto RaptorsColangelo went into the summer ofSan Diego Chargers jersey
2009 with one goal in mind. He needed to convince soon-to-be free agent Chris Bosh that the future in Toronto was bright enough for Bosh to stick around long-term.So Colangelo signed Bosh's old college teammate and close friend Jarrett Jack and traded for Hedo Turkoglu, Reggie Evans, Marco Belinelli, Antoine Wright, and Amir Johnson.The result is a team that missed the playoffs and, in all likelihood, will lose Bosh either without compensation or in a sign-and-trade deal.It would be in Colangelo's best interest to sign-and-trade Bosh since the team won't have much cap space to replace him should he leave as a free agent.Colangelo's future in Toronto might be tied to the Bosh situation. If he fails to either re-sign Bosh or sign-and-trade him then I don't envision Colangelo would be around in the summer of 2011 when the expiring contracts of Evans and Marcus Banks could create another $10 million in cap space.4) Larry Bird, Indiana PacersNobody really knows what Bird is trying to do other than waiting for the summer of 2011. The Pacers currently have three players in Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Troy Murphy, and T.J. Ford who have large contracts that expire after next season.There were rumors earlier in the season that Bird and Ferry were discussing a trade that would have sent Murphy to the Cavs for expiring contracts but the Cavs ultimately made a move for Jamison instead.Now Pacers fans are left playing the waiting game while the team tries to build around Danny Granger and recent draft picks Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert, and Tyler Hansbroughnone of whom have even made the Rookie/Sophomore game.In the meantime, the league's best arena has seen it's average attendance drop to less than 14,000 per game.3) Ed Stefanski, Philadelphia 76ersYou can blame Stefanski's predecessor, Billy King, for the horrible contract of Samuel Dalembert but you can definitely hold Stefanski responsible for the contracts of Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams, and Elton Brand.Even though the Sixers have close to $23 million in contracts set to expire after next season the team still won't be in position to become a contender with a shrinking cap and so much money committed to those three guys.There were rumors that the team was looking to move Iguodala at the deadline for Amar Stoudemire but nothing happened. Look for them to try to move him again to a team that strikes out in free agency but has the cap space to absorb the final four years and $57 million left on his deal.As for Brand, the only question is whether or not Stefanski will still be the team's GM when Brand's contract finally expires in 2013.2) Larry Riley, Golden St. WarriorsYou can't fault Riley for all of the injuries this team has suffered this season. Now that the Warriors are for sale the question is whether or not Riley will still have a job when the new ownership takes over.On the bright side, he drafted likely Rookie of the Year runner-up Stephen Curry and the team still has a number of young lottery picks drafted by former GM, Chris Mullin.The big question going forward is if the personnel of this team will be able to fit in with a different coach's system. Even if the team's new owner allows Don Nelson to finish out his contract the odds are it will likely be his last.Riley probably won't be able to make any moves until after the ownership change when his fate will be decided. San Francisco 49ers jersey
Whoever the GM is will probably try to package Monta Ellis with one or two of their other young players to fill a need.1) David Kahn, Minnesota TimberwolvesGive Kahn credit for lowering the expectations for his team almost immediately. While some of the other bottom-feeders were trying to sell their fans a bill of goods Kahn let it be known that his team was still years away from even making the playoffs.The question for the Wolves is how patient will their fanbase be after another disastrous year? Kahn will most likely see what he can get this summer for either Al Jefferson or Kevin Love.The Wolves should have three picks in the first round of the drafttheir own pick, the Bobcats' pick, and Utah's pick. That's not necessarily a good thing since I'm not so sure getting even younger is the smartest thing for them to do. Kahn might want to consider either selling or trading Utah's pick since it will be the lowest of the three.Even though Kahn has acted on the wishes of owner Glen Taylor, you have to dock him points for both trading Mike Miller and Randy Foye for the right to draft Ricky Rubio and for trading the draft rights to 18th-overall pick Ty Lawson for Charlotte's 2010 first-rounder.Charlotte's pick will be the 16th overall.
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