NBA fans had jokes after Clippers’ Lawrence Frank wins executive of the year award

Is Lawrence Frank really the Executive of the Year in the NBA?

There’s seemingly never been more second-guessing about end-of-season NBA awards than there has been following the NBA’s unprecedented, interrupted 2020 campaign, and the results have led many fans and analysts to call for awards to reflect postseason play rather than exist as regular-season awards.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo won a second consecutive MVP award in 2020 and added a Defensive Player of the Year award to his collection – but the Greek Freak’s season ended in the Eastern semifinals, and he notably did not lock down Jimmy Butler as the Heat star knocked the NBA title favorites out of the playoffs. The Lakers are now one win away from an NBA title, and several Lakers players have repeatedly made the case that Anthony Davis should have won the DPOY award as he has been sensational in the playoffs.

On Thursday, the NBA announced that Clippers president Lawrence Frank is the executive of the year. The honor is a regular-season award that excluded all games in the bubble. Frank beat second-place Sam Presti from Oklahoma City, and Miami’s Pat Riley. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka finished seventh in voting.

There’s no doubt that Lawrence Frank made some bold moves to make the Clippers title contenders. He helped orchestrate the acquisition of two All-NBA superstars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George – but as was made evident in the playoffs, the Paul George trade was an extremely high-risk move to open up a two-year title window that has already been half-wasted.

It’s entirely possible that if the Clippers fail to win a title next season, the George trade (which sealed Kawhi’s arrival) could tank the franchise if those two players choose to leave. The evidence that the Thunder won the trade is right there in the Executive of the Year voting – Presti finished second!

The results of the playoffs also makes Pelinka’s seventh-place finish difficult to reconcile. With the arrival of Leonard and George, the Clippers improved their winning percentage from .58 to .68, but by many accounts have chemistry problems and just fired their coach. The Lakers went from a 37-win team to the top of the Western Conference, and are on the verge of winning a title. We ultimately judge players and executives by the results of the playoffs, so there’s no reason the NBA should be restricting voting on a team-building award to the regular season.

NBA fans had plenty of jokes.

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