Comments on: Don’t ruin Brandon Knight by looking too closely at his stats right now

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:53:24 +0000

Ultimately, there are only a handful of men alive on this planet who have proven they can effect positive change as a GM in the NBA and Dumars is certainly one of them.

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:48:30 +0000

BTW: Dumars is the greatest visionary that ever gave Charlie V 7 million a year because he’s the only one who did so………..joke. I never liked Charlie V, tried to get behind him and would find it hard to muster up any enthusiasm ever again for him at this point so I don’t just agree with everything Dumars does, but I also didn’t really have anyone I wanted him to sign out of that free agent class and I don’t think it’s really that big a deal. You see, and this is not about drinking kool-aid, Dumars has built up equity with me and I’ll make an analogy. If I were a Boston fan and they started to stink next year after Garnett and Allen come up the books, I would pretty much have Danny Ainge’s back for several years because after his first few years as GM, when it seemed like he didn’t have a clue what he was doing, he turned it all around one summer and put together a contender and by doing so, he created a degree of creditability that would take several years to erase. People cry “bullshit” over Dumars’ comments of building up the talent base over years but that is what it takes and when GMs start a job, they generally do so by creating a five year plan. When you have been to the top and the time comes to rebuild, I think the GM who has taken you to to the top should receive the same pass that any rookie GM would get but this fan base is not giving that to Dumars because they don’t understand what rebuilding looks like.

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:19:21 +0000

And you can add Willis Reed’s long tenure as Nets GM to the list. I used to attend Nets games and Willis would walk out into the stands and meet the fans during a period when the Nets had been just awful for a decade and the fans treated him enthusiastically and well. Laser offered 1000 dollars for someone to bash Dumars head in. That’s the difference .

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:16:42 +0000

I agree that it should be separate but I was trying to demonstrate how badly he is being treated given how other HOF players have been while serving as GM. Criticizing some of his individual moves is right and logical but there is a level of vitriol from a lot of people in this fan base that is just puzzling to me and the fact of Joe’s playing career adds to my sense of puzzlement that he is so hated.
I think the objective facts of the case would put Dumars closer to being a Jerry West GM than an Unseld or Baylor and he is being treated worse than any of them as far as I can tell and the “haters” are definitely acting as if his record was like to Baylor’s or Unseld’s when they were total failures from start to finish and presided over decades of losing basketball.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:45:20 +0000

That's overly dramatic. There are people who hate him and want him fired, there are people like yourself who think he's the greatest visionary who ever gave Charlie Villanueva $7 million a year.

Most people are in the middle. They realize he brilliantly built a champion with a series of shrewd moves and they also realize he's made some key boneheaded moves that have the team where it is now.

Also, his playing career has nothing to do with his GM ability. Should be looked at completely separately, IMO. What he did here as a player is untouchable and great and he'll always have that legacy. As a GM, he should be scrutinized the same way any GM would.

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:34:54 +0000

Ok, but seriously, Dumars gets treated worse on these boards than if he had run the Bullets/Wizards like Wes Unseld for 25 years or like Elgin Baylor ran the Clips for three decades and Dumars was a friggin HOF player for this team and won two rings, won a ring as a GM and has now missed the playoffs TWICE in a row. He’s a terrorist!?!

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:19:10 +0000

Jokes man. It’s just sports. If we can’t have a good time, what the hell are any of us doing here?

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:13:55 +0000

You look more like you deserve to be called “hater” everyday.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:08:47 +0000

Don’t do it Mike. Then the terrorists/Joe Dumars win.

By: Max

Max — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:00:37 +0000

Well said.