The 10 worst front offices

By Sam Rubenstein

I’m in kind of a good mood today cause of the GIANTS. The latest carnival of the NBA is up here at the Nugg doctor.

There’s another Shawn Kemp coming back to play story out there, this time with the Bulls. If it happens, we’ll all be happy but don’t get your hopes up.

On Thursday before I left work, I threw a quick post up about how the T-Wolves hired Babcock. I read people’s comments and thought about their front office over the weekend, and how between the Joe Smith fiasco, their inability to sign one good free agent other than Spree and Sam, and their terrible drafting and trading, they might be the worst front office in the league. Sure, we all spent the past year(s) making Isiah jokes, but at least he’s trying. I liked Kevin McHale as a player and he seems to have a cool personality, but why is he still with the Wolves?

As I always say, when things are quiet and there’s not much to write about, rank something. Our top 50 player list is giving people something to read and discuss over the summer, so now I present my list of the top 10 WORST front offices in the league. I could just rank them all from 1-30, best to wost, but this is a celebration of the McHale-Babcock marriage. So, here are my choices for the 10 worst front offices. #10 is the 10th worst, and #1 is the worst.

10. Toronto Raptors – It’s a new regime, but the Villanueva trade was so bad they make the bottom 10. Beating out the honorable mention Denver Nuggets, who have no fear of injury risks and a fear of dependable shooters.

9. Memphis Grizzlies – They make the playoffs every year, but what for? They tinker, they make smart little moves, stockpile talent, and the 10 man rotation just doesn’t work for them in a playoff series. Some people think this is one of the best franchises in the league. I disagree. I think they’re a big tease.

8. Seattle Supersonics – The worst place to be in the NBA is a team that could go be a fringe playoff team every year and never get a high lottery pick. That seems to be the Sonic dream.

7. Portland Trailblazers – This is the most schizo front office in the league. Every year it’s a new plan. At least they’re younger now so they can use the rebuilding line. I can’t believe D Miles and Zach are still there.

6. Golden State Warriors – Ever since the Adonal Foyle contract it’s hard to take them seriously. Even the Baron trade – a no brainer at the time – hasn’t worked out. They haven’t made the playoffs in a hundred years and they max out everybody.

5. Orlando Magic – Draft picks go AWOL and superstars get disgruntled and leave them. If they lose Dwight, the league should really fold the franchise.

4. Atlanta Hawks – It’s starting to get better the past few years, even if it takes them 6 months to complete a trade.

3. New York Knicks – I, along with everyone you know, have already made every possible joke about them. The Isiah-Dolan dream couple has taken alot of the heat off other teams cause they can point and say “at least we’re not the Knicks.” But there are teams with legit first ballot Hall of Famers that are in just as much trouble as the Knicks.

2. Philadelphia 76ers – The Webber trade was make or break for the franchise. It broke, and now they can’t get A.I. any help even if they wanted to – which they usually don’t. The Korver and Dalembert contracts were just added bonuses to make the situation more hopeless.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves – They’ve ruined Kevin Garnett’s career. Sure, they gave him a hundered mill, so that was nice of them, but in all of those first round playoff losses the T-Wolves were almost never the better team. Maybe never. How do you have one of the most talented players in NBA history and barely make it out of the first round over a decade?