Thrown into the Fire

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, it is my true belief that the majority of NBA general managers are not good at their jobs.  This is a huge reason why the NBA has become a collection of super teams with no parity.  If all GMs were as good at what they do as a Mitch Kupchak or Sam Presti, then lopsided trades and horrible free agent signings that keep teams in the NBA cellar for years on end would never happen.  But unfortunately this isn't the way it is.

Today I'd like to take a look at Rob Hennigan.  At the age of 30, he became the youngest GM in the history of the league when the Magic hired him this past summer.  Immediately after hiring, the rookie GM was asked to undertake the easy task of running the team's draft, hiring a new head coach, and then trading Dwight Howard, the best player in franchise history, who had become disgruntled with the organization.

"This shouldn't be too hard..."

Orlando had the 19th and 49th picks in this years draft.  Middle round picks are a place where a team should hope to draft solid role players and that is exactly what the magic did.  Great start rookie!  In Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O'Quinn, the Magic got two young and versatile forwards, two nice pieces to rebuild their team into the future.  After that, all hell broke loose.

Hennigan's next task was to select a new head coach for the franchise.  After much deliberation, he picked former Magic point guard Jacque Vaughn. I can understand the perceived benefits that come with selecting a rookie coach.  In fact Avery Johnson exploded onto the scene with the Dallas Mavericks a few years ago guiding his team to the best record in the NBA and an NBA finals berth (today Johnson coaches the Brooklyn Nets).  The similarities between Avery and Vaughn are easy to see.  Both were savvy, undersized point guards in their playing days.  Great floor generals who could potentially be excellent head coaches.  But the Magic's situation is different from many other teams.  They are about to start from scratch, and a rookie head coach, combined with a rookie general manager, may not be the best option for a team in need of strong guidance for the next few years.  

From Player to Coach

Next up was the toughest job Hennigan will likely ever have to face.  Trade the organization's franchise player and arguably the second best player in the NBA, Dwight Howard, and try to get equal value in return.  This is a nearly impossible task.  Whenever a team gives away the best player in a trade, it is tough to get comparable talent back, especially when the player being moved is a transcendent one like Howard.  

Over the summer, the Magic had three main trade partners; the Nets, Rockets, and Lakers.  On paper, all three deals seemed good.  The Nets offered draft picks, a young budding wing player in Marshon Brooks, a scrappy forward in Kris Humphries, and arguably the NBA's 3rd best center in Brook Lopez.  This deal eventually fell through because the Magic refused to pull the trigger, but in retrospect would have been the best deal for the Magic.  They would get young and proven talent as well as good draft picks because the Nets would not have been a dominant team right away.  The Rockets deal was not as sweet as originally thought, only including a couple picks and not as much young talent from the Rockets as the Magic wanted.  The eventual trade that ended up happening was with the Lakers.  In this trade, the Magic decided that they did not want to receive the second best center in the trade, Andrew Bynum, because of the fact that he only had one year left on his contract.  They also didn't get the third best player in the trade, Andre Iguodala.  What they did get, was two decent, young prospects in Maurice Harkless and Nicola Vucevic and shooting guard Aaron Afflalo.  A serviceable NBA started but by no means the best player a team should receive when giving away the likes of a Dwight Howard.  The Magic also got a bunch of draft picks, but none that will be anywhere near the top 10.  The trade the Magic made will keep them locked as a lottery team for many years, and the prospects for immediate improvement look bleak.  

You lose win some, You lose some

If Rob had made the Nets trade happen, he would have had young prospects, high draft picks, and wouldn't have helped the Lakers build yet another super team in Los Angeles.  The Magic's future would look much brighter than it does today.  It's hard to blame a rookie GM for his efforts on this.  It was a no win situation.  But, had Rob made the right move, his franchise would have been ready to rebuild, not trying to stay afloat.