In Brian Windhorst’s ESPN column this week, he addressed the Executive of the Year award and the drama that goes into the voting.
Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti is likely in the running for the award after being forced into offseason moves from trade requests by his stars, but figuring out a way to do so while remaining competitive now and getting future assets.
But voted on anonymously by peers, there’s little historical consistency for why the winners win, Windhorst writes.
Here are three of the examples Windhorst lists as franchise-altering moves over the last decade that did not result in recognition:
- 2011: Miami Heat president Pat Riley didn’t win after signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade.
- 2014: Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge didn’t get a vote after fleecing the Brooklyn Nets for Boston’s aging stars, in part because the Celtics performed poorly on the court that season.
- 2019: Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri didn’t finish in top three after trading for Kawhi Leonard and firing 2018 Coach of the Year Dwane Casey to hire Nick Nurse.
“It’s an award with voting that is sometimes rife with jealousy, pettiness and even occasional low-key insults … the Executive of the Year is often where real drama can be found,” Windhorst writes.
He then asks a question about what the executives will base their vote on: “Do NBA executives believe great management is based on immediate opportunity or savvy long-term planning?”
If immediate opportunity, that would favor the Los Angeles teams. The Lakers and Clippers both acquired stars and finished at the top of the conference.
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Maybe executives would rather award the Miami Heat, whose moves were slightly more shrewd than simply attracting superstars: Granted, they did sign a superstar in Jimmy Butler, but trading Hassan Whiteside allowed them to open the door for Bam Adebayo. Other young players have blossomed, and they traded for Andre Iguodala.
If it’s long-term planning, the New Orleans Pelicans could fit in that boat. They flipped disgruntled star Anthony Davis, who had demanded a trade, in exchange for key pieces to kickstart their future.
That’s similar to the Thunder and Presti, who, unlike the Pelicans, are in the playoffs. The team acquired a massive haul of picks for George and Westbrook while landing three starters in Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Presti is likely to get a significant number of votes after he remade the Thunder roster under duress,” Windhorst wrote.
Simply acquiring and retaining stars hasn’t worked out for Presti in terms of this award in the past. He finished 10th after trading for George and re-signing Westbrook in 2018, according to Windhorst. He fished 13th the next year after signing George to an extension.
Maybe continued playoff berths with an eye on the future will sway more fellow executives.
“It seems Presti will get more credit for trading those stars than he did for acquiring or keeping them, which fits in perfectly with the nature of the voting for this award.
“Perhaps the GMs prefer to recognize their peers when they’ve been the victim of a star demanding a trade. Or maybe they are willing to give them notice when it seems their teams are less of a threat. Either way, it’s consistent with this award over the years.”