NBA Draft 2012: 5 GMs Who'll Be Canned If They Bomb This Draft

For NBA General Managers, there are few days in the year more important than draft day.

Draft night can be a night where they can change the direction of the franchise and make their team contenders for years to come if they do things correctly. But if they don't, it could cost them their job.

Especially with early draft picks, if GMs make the wrong call on a player, it could stagnate the progress of the team and leave fans wondering what might have been if they had just made a different pick.

Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. Darko Milicic over Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony. I could go on and on about all of the detrimental mistakes made throughout the years on draft night.

For GMs, making the wrong call is simply not an option if they want to avoid a trip to the unemployment line, so let's take a look at what GMs must have a good draft on Thursday if they want to keep their jobs. 

5. Daryl Morey: Houston Rockets

Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets is well known for using Billy Beane, Moneyball-esque statistical analysis when making player personnel decisions; and like Beane, it has yet to produce substantial results.

Morey's five year tenure in Houston has produced only one playoff series win, and the team fell apart towards the end of this season, missing the playoffs.

During Morey's tenure,  the Rockets have made a series of uneventful draft selections, with his best move probably being the signing of Luis Scola in his first season. 

The Rockets must pick up an impact scorer in this year's draft if they want to take the next step and build around Luis Scola and young players like Goran Dragic and Chandler Parsons.

Unless they can pull of a blockbuster deal and get a guy like Dwight Howard, the only way Morey will be able to buy himself more time is by picking up a promising player or two in the draft. 

4. John Hammond: Milwaukee Bucks

John Hammond is another executive who seems to be treading water with his team.

Hammond won the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2010, but his Bucks have made the playoffs only one time since he became the General Manager, and his draft picks have been complete busts overall

Hammond made one great pick (Brandon Jennings), but also has selected Tobias Harris, Joe Alexander, and Larry Sanders in the first round during his tenure. Not a recipe for success.

Not to mention his head-scratching deal to bring Monta Ellis on board with Jennings last season, making the Bucks' back court one of the most shot heavy in the league.

With the 12th pick this year, Hammond must make the right move if he wants to be employed much longer. 

3. Joe Dumars: Detroit Pistons

Although some believe Joe Dumars should stick around for the future, most believe his time as Pistons GM is running thin.

There is no denying Dumar's overall success since he got to Detroit. He has made the playoffs eight out of 12 seasons and led them to the NBA Championship in 2004. 

Still, the NBA is a "what have you done for me lately" league, and Dumars has taken the team in the wrong direction over the last five or so seasons.

The Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva signings did nothing to improve the team, and the Pistons have not been able to find a suitable Head Coach since Larry Brown left town.

Plus, Dumars dismantled the championship team he helped build, keeping only Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace (Wallace is in his second go around with the team). 

Then there's that whole drafting Darko Milicic over Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony decision that Dumars will never live down.

Still, after drafting Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight, the Pistons seem to be heading in the right direction. If they can find another solid selection with the ninth pick this year, it will allow Dumars to hold on to his position.

If not, Detroit could be looking to head in a new direction and fire their long time GM. 

2. Bryan Colangelo: Toronto Raptors

Bryan Colangelo was tremendously successful during his tenure as the General Manager for the Phoenix Suns during the 2000's, but he has not found the same success since coming to Toronto.

Despite winning the 2007 Executive of the Year award with the Raptors, Colangelo has seen Toronto make the playoffs only once during his reign.

Toronto drafted Andrea Bargnani first overall in 2006, and although Bargnani has been a good player with the Raptors, with  players like LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy,  and Rudy Gay drafted below him, the move has to be viewed as a crucial mistake. 

He also has been unable to make up for the loss of Chris Bosh since he bolted to the Heat in 2010, and Toronto has not been in the playoff hunt the last two seasons.

Colangelo will have one more chance to redeem himself when the Raptors pick eighth overall in the draft on Thursday.

If he can find the right piece, and make solid moves in free agency, maybe Colangelo can re-create the success he saw with the Suns. 

If not, he will be looking for a job somewhere else in the NBA this time next year. 

1. Geoff Petrie: Sacramento Kings

Like Dumars, Geoff Petrie has seen plenty of success during his run as General Manager with his current team. 

Petrie turned the Kings into one of the premier Western Conference teams during the late 90's and early 2000's behind Chris Webber.

However, despite being on the job for 17 seasons, there are few GMs in the league with more pressure heading into Thursday's draft than Petrie.

Petrie's Kings have not made the playoffs since 2006, and they have had a carousel of Head Coaches since Rick Adelman left town.

Despite having promising young players such as Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings finished just 22-44 last season, the second worst record in the Western Conference.

Last year the Kings drafted Jimmer Fredette in the lottery which did not pan out in his rookie season, so Petrie is under tremendous pressure not to make another mistake with the fifth pick in this year's draft. 

If they choose incorrectly and the Kings struggle again next year, the longest tenured executive in the NBA could see his time as Kings General Manager come to an end in the near future.