Time to start talking GM.
Obviously there are several names out there and it seems like the final candidate will come from this pool. Initial rumblings were that Seattle was looking at the Phoenix tandem of David Griffen as GM and Marc Ivaroni as head coach. That duo would be expensive but instantly give us some credibility. While things are pretty silent I am now getting the impression that Sam Presti is the preferred candidate and that the silence is due to the fact that they are waiting for San Antonio and Detroit to be eliminated from the playoffs.
The candidates in my book are Presti, Griffin, former Denver GM Kiki Vandeweghe, Detroit assistant GM Alan Ostfield. There is some rumbling in the media that San Antonio's RC Buford could be considered as well but my hunch is that he is simply too expensive. Also you would have to wonder why he would leave the Spurs for Seattle
My gut tells me that you cannot go wrong with the guys from either Detroit or San Antonio. Both those clubs have been built solidly and it seems like with the exception of Tim Duncan their models are somewhat duplicable. In the case of Griffen I am not certain how much of Phoenix' magic relates to him, and how much of the credit goes to the departed Bryan Colangelo or lucky lightning in the bottle with Steve Nash. I've heard some things about him which cause me concern.
Vandeweghe is interesting to me partially because of his track record but also due to his persona. During his stay in Denver he was extremely high profile and he got people excited. In addition he was willing to be very gutsy with his moves. He was not scared to trade away his core players and his energy excited the fan base. Given the arena situation I wonder if that has enough value to offset his drafting of Tskitishvili and the fact that he gave up three first round picks for Kenyon Martin?
Two questions our there. The first is specific, of those guys which do you prefer? Secondly what are you looking for out of a GM candidate?
For the record let me say that I have openly endorsed bringing in guys from proven franchises. Any of these guys from Phoenix, San Antonio, or Detroit have an instant credibility that this organization needs greatly. Vandeweghe is the only one currently unemployed.
Vandeweghe is an interesting candidate for me because of his "buzz" factor. I know that when he was in Denver he was extremely high profile