Ranking the Front Office from Every NBA Team from Worst to First

It's no secret that it's awesome being a sports fan, but it can also be frustrating as hell.  Come on.  As much as we've cheered and applauded the teams we love, haven't we cursed in frustration a bit more?

Ironically, when we do get frustrated, we tend to blame our team's coaching or our players for the underachieving.  Yet, why not blame the men who hired them and sign the checks?  I'm talking about the front offices responsible for putting these guys in charge.

In basketball, a key example of an owner who should be blamed 100 percent for his team's performance is New York Knicks principal owner James Dolan.  He gets so overly involved to the point where he doesn't even seem to be aware that he is killing his team.

That being said, let's count down every NBA team's front office, going from the worst to the best.

No. 30: Los Angeles Clippers

Look at it this way.  The Los Angeles Clippers have been around since 1970 (when they were first known as the Buffalo Braves) and have only made the playoffs seven times, four times since owner Donald Sterling (pictured) took over in 1981.

In his tenure as team owner, Sterling has developed a reputation for being cheap when it comes to the team.  He rarely spends more money than the bare minimum required and has been accused of racism multiple times.

The fact of the matter is that the Clippers finally have a shot at being contenders now that Blake Griffin has taken off and met all expectations.  Unless Sterling fills the roster with talented players to play around the reigning Rookie of the Year, Griffin will have little incentive to stay once he hits free agency.

Thus, Sterling is the perfect man to kick off this list.

No. 29: New Orleans Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets are a talented team, but their front office leaves something to be desired.  That's because, well, the team has no front office at the moment.  The franchise is under NBA control until a buyer is found and considering that, the moves that will be made come free agency will be limited, to say the least.

Hopefully a buyer will be found soon because to be honest, the team is too talented to just up and fold because of bad luck.

No. 28: Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings used to be great.  They went toe to toe with the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs semi-regularly and had a great core led by forward Chris Webber and center Vlade Divac.  Even Peja Stojakovic was a star with them.

Then, the band was broken up and the owners, the Maloof brothers, were left scrambling to put a team together that could win.  Since 2006, the Kings have not made the playoffs and are struggling just to stay in Sacramento.

Simply put, the Maloof brothers are cursed with trying to put together a winning team in an extremely small market.  As great as the Sacramento fans are, the city just isn't the right place to have a professional sports team.

As a result, the Maloof brothers are between a rock and a hard place and can't put together the money to produce wins.  Hopefully, the addition of Jimmer Fredette will increase the cash flow.

No. 27: Washington Wizards

I'll keep this one short, because I don't think it needs much explaining.  The Washington Wizards were on a rough stretch prior to Gilbert Arenas being suspended, and they certainly got worse after he was gone for the season.  Last year, once he came back, he was doing a good job before team management decided to trade him to the Orlando Magic for an underachieving Rashard Lewis.

What was owner Ted Leonsis thinking?  Trading the one-time face of the franchise for a glorified shooter with bad knees?  That just doesn't make any sense, no matter what the intentions were behind the deal.

No. 26: Cleveland Cavaliers

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert knows how to put a team together, but he has a problem in that he has no idea how to control his emotions.  Once LeBron James left Cleveland for the Miami Heat, the man actually wrote an open letter to all of the team's fans and published it on the Cavaliers' website.  In it, he guaranteed that his team would win a championship before James won one in South Beach.

Can you imagine the pressure the team must have felt at that point?  Not only would they have to deal without LeBron James and learn how to play without him, but the man signing the paychecks is cracking the whip demanding success already?

Hey, Gilbert, ever hear of a transitional rebuilding period?  It's no wonder that the team did so badly last year, with all the high expectations you set.

Hopefully, first overall pick Kyrie Irving will bring the team back to its winning ways.

No. 25: Golden State Warriors

I feel sorry for Joe Lacob (pictured) and his business parter, Peter Guber.  They've just bought a team that has two of the most talented shooters in the league in Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, but no solid bench players to back them up.

That could all change with the drafting of Klay Thompson, but the fact that GM Larry Riley and his predecessor, former Warriors legend Chris Mullin, barely invested in any effective bench presence is just, well, bad.

No. 24: Phoenix Suns

Steve Kerr is a prime example of how just because someone is a good player doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a good coach or front office guy.  He was the GM of the Phoenix Suns from 2007-2010 and in his short tenure, basically made some god-awful decisions.

First, he traded electrifying forward Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for an aging Shaquille O'Neal.  Some months later, he traded two more popular players in Raja Bell and Boris Diaw for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley.

Worst of all, he then traded Shaq to the Cleveland Cavaliers for practically nothing, aka an aging Ben Wallace and inconsistent Sasha Pavlovic.  Sure enough, Kerr stepped down as GM in 2010.

Today, the Suns are a shell of what they once were, Steve Nash being the last of the old guard.  The front office is still trying to clean up the mess left by Kerr.

No. 23: Detroit Pistons

I understand that last season, the Detroit Pistons were in the middle of an ownership change.  Yet, what was happening on the court was just ridiculous.

The players clearly had no respect for then-coach John Kuester; they hated playing for him and it was clear they were showing it on the court.  I understand that the ownership change was first priority, but couldn't someone have stepped in and fired Kuester before he became the laughingstock of the NBA?

No. 22: Minnesota Timberwolves

GM David Kahn has certainly made some crazy moves in his two years as GM, but I don't think he deserves the bad reputation he has earned.  He is basically the head of the front office of a franchise that has been in dire straits since Kevin Garnett got traded and that would be a tough task for anybody.

Yet, what puts the T-Wolves at the lower half of this list is one decision that Kahn made: the one to hire Kurt Rambis as head coach two seasons ago.  Rambis has since been replaced with Rick Adelman, but a 32-132 record over two seasons is hard to erase for anybody.

Why didn't Kahn go with an experienced head coach to lead a team as young as the Timberwolves in the first place?  I guess we'll never know.

No. 21: New Jersey Nets

Don't get me wrong.  I love that Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov is so determined to win.  Really, I find it admirable.

Yet, did he really need to gut the team just to acquire Deron Williams?  Looking at the players involved, he more or less got impatient that rookie Derrick Favors wasn't panning out and traded him along with valuable point guard Devin Harris in exchange for a point guard who was basically traded because of his attitude.

On top of that, there's no guarantee that Williams will even be in a Nets uniform after next season.  Prokhorov talks about luring stars like Dwight Howard to the Nets, but how will he do that if Williams leaves?

No. 20: Utah Jazz

Kevin O'Connor was doing a fine job as GM, but then he traded Deron Williams instead of just riding out what remained on the volatile point guard's contract.  The Jazz finished 39-43 last year, seven games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Mark my words:  Had Williams not been traded, the team would have made the postseason.  It just seems as though O'Connor decided to teach the man a lesson and banish him to New Jersey for supposedly being the reason longtime coach Jerry Sloan resigned out of nowhere.

Even if that is true, don't sacrifice your franchise's season just for the sake of making a point.

No. 19: Toronto Raptors

Bryan Colangelo probably has one of the toughest jobs in the world.  He is responsible for turning the Toronto Raptors into a contending basketball team, but the fact that the team is in Toronto is the hardest part.  We all know that no matter what teams are around, Toronto and all of Canada will always put hockey first.

That being said, couldn't have Colangelo been better prepared for the impending departure of Chris Bosh?  Instead of having a solid big man to replace the man, he instead had a too-skinny Ed Davis and an unimpressive Amir Johnson.  I know I'm forgetting Andrea Bargnani, but that man doesn't know defense from a hole in the ground.

Hopefully, with new head coach Dwane Casey, the team will undergo some sort of turnaround and put Colangelo back in the positive light that won him Executive of the Year in 2007.

No. 18: Milwaukee Bucks

John Hammond is not a bad GM by any means.  He just works for a small \[market team and has limited funds with which to work.  Yet, I'm scratching my head regarding one particular move he made.

With the 10th pick in this year's draft, he took BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette and then traded him in a three-team deal that saw the Kings end up with Fredette and the Bucks end up with Stephen Jackson and Beno Udrih.

Um...excuse me?  Why trade away someone who could save the franchise for a shooter with an attitude and a bench player?  Tobias Harris is a fine player to end up with post-draft, but he is no Fredette.

If this trade works out for the Kings and sinks the Bucks, Hammond could find himself in some hot water.

No. 17: Charlotte Bobcats

Had it not been for the men they selected in the draft, I would have put the Charlotte Bobcats much lower on this list.  Michael Jordan has done a fine job as an owner thus far and while he still has some bad contracts to get rid of (cough—Tyrus Thomas—cough), the team has a bright future.

Yet, I hope he's ready for the point guard controversy he started.  Kemba Walker and D.J. Augustin on the same team?  This should be a good one to watch, folks.

No. 16: New York Knicks

I know I'm probably being overly generous ranking the New York Knicks so high, but hear me out.  Yes, James Dolan is a horrible owner.  Yes, it's obvious that Isiah Thomas is still involved in some key decision-making.

Yet, with Donnie Walsh at the helm, the Knicks actually made some pretty good moves.  They unloaded the awful contracts of both Jared Jeffries and Eddy Curry (only to bring the former back last season) and ended up acquiring two of the NBA's best in Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.

If a legitimate GM (NOT Isiah) can be brought in, perhaps Chris Paul can be brought in and the Big Three will be complete.

No. 15: Houston Rockets

As frustrating as it was to watch the Houston Rockets for the past few seasons, you can't take away that GM Daryl Morey has done a decent job despite the fact that the constantly injured Yao Ming essentially crippled the franchise for years.  Now that Yao is retired and the team is in rebuilding mode, perhaps the Rockets can finally get back to the playoffs and compete.

With the drafting of Marcus Morris, the Rockets will hopefully soar high into contention if the former Kansas Jayhawk becomes a star.  At that point, Morey will deserve a pat on the back and then some.

No. 14: Indiana Pacers

He was a great coach for the team, and now Larry Bird is a great executive for the Indiana Pacers.  He has been president of basketball operations for the team since 2003 and in his tenure at that position has done a decent job.

The retirement of Reggie Miller was a storm that took some weathering, but Bird and the team pulled through.  The Pacers were the No. 8 seed in the playoffs last year after missing out on the postseason for four straight years.

Who would have thought that a team led by Roy Hibbert and Darren Collison would have made the playoffs, and with a sub-.500 record to boot?

No. 13: Memphis Grizzlies

I've got to hand it to Chris Wallace.  Not only did he utilize the talents of a bunch of ragtag players and subsequently put together a playoff team, but he also managed to extend the star of said team in Zach Randolph.

Simply put, the Grizzlies looked damn impressive in the playoffs last season when they knocked out the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs.  Yet, Wallace will face his biggest challenge this offseason when future All-Star center Marc Gasol becomes a restricted free agent.  When the offers come flowing in, Wallace had better do all he can to match the offer Gasol accepts, if any at all.

No. 12: Denver Nuggets

When Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri traded both Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups away last year, I thought the team in the Mile High City was sunk.  Their two best players had just gone to another team in exchange for a handful of, essentially, role players.  How could the team compete?

Instead, the Nuggets actually seemed to perform better without Billups and Anthony and looked great on their way to the playoffs.  They lost in the first round to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but I have a feeling that Denver will become a perennial contender in the years to come with guys like Danilo Gallinari and Jordan Hamilton running the show.

If my predictions do come true, Ujiri could have an Executive of the Year plaque in his office fairly soon.

No. 11: Orlando Magic

I would put the Orlando Magic higher, but I just can't.  The team's philosophy of "let Dwight Howard do everything" is just flat-out wrong and trading Rashard Lewis for Gilbert Arenas was just a boneheaded move.  If they want to win a championship, GM Otis Smith needs to do what the Chicago Bulls did in the '90s and find talented players to complement Howard the way the Bulls did with Michael Jordan.

Still, the team makes the playoffs regularly and is able to compete with more versatile teams.  Thus, they are my No. 11 pick.

No. 10: Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers simply shocked me last season.  In all my years of watching hoops, I never thought a team led by Andre Iguodala and an injured Elton Brand would make the playoffs.  Sure, they were eliminated by the Miami Heat, but the fact that they even won a playoff game against a team as stacked as that speaks volumes.

Hats off to head coach and GM Doug Collins and here's hoping that he improves the team even more next season!

No. 9: Portland Trail Blazers

I honestly don't understand why the Portland Trail Blazers fired Rich Cho after just one season.  It can be argued that he didn't do much and that the team he worked with was pretty much one put together by his predecessor Kevin Pritchard, but Cho still did a decent job.  The fact that the Blazers were able to field a good team with Greg Oden out for the season yet again speaks volumes.

Also, let's not forget that Cho pulled off a blockbuster deal and acquired Gerald Wallace, quite possibly the best defensive forward in the NBA.  Though his tenure in the Rose City was short, this accomplishment should not go unnoticed.

Good luck to Cho, as he is now the GM of the Charlotte Bobcats

No. 8: Atlanta Hawks

Considering his short tenure with the Atlanta Hawks, GM Rick Sund is quite possibly one of the NBA's most underrated executives.  In 2008, when star sixth-man Josh Childress left to play in Greece, Sund pulled off some epic moves to keep the franchise in contention, most notably acquiring explosive sixth-man Jamal Crawford from the Golden State Warriors.

Throw in the re-signings of Joe Johnson and Al Horford, and the Hawks are one of the most deadly teams in the NBA.  Had Kirk Hinrich been healthy during the second round of the playoffs last year, I personally think that the Hawks would have beaten the Chicago Bulls.

It's about to be another tough offseason for Sund, so hopefully he has a few more tricks up his sleeve.

No. 7: Oklahoma City Thunder

Considering how he is just 35 years old, I'm surprised that Sam Presti has done so much already for the Oklahoma City Thunder.  He started with the team back when they were the Seattle SuperSonics and when the storm got bad, aka when P.J. Carlesimo didn't work out as head coach, he took initiative and fired the man.

Since then, Presti has overseen a franchise that just continues to get better.  Last year, after being the No. 8 seed in the playoffs the year before, the Thunder clinched the No. 4 seed in the postseason and made it all the way to the Western Conference finals.

Most of the team is coming back next year, so here's hoping that Presti can add a championship ring to his impressive resume.

No. 6: Chicago Bulls

Considering how for a long time, the Bulls struggled to even compete following the second retirement of Michael Jordan, Gar Forman has done a good job fielding a team after replacing John Paxson.  He realized that star point guard Derrick Rose needed a big man to complement him, so he brought in Carlos Boozer.  To bolster the bench, Forman signed electrifying three-point specialist Kyle Korver.

Simply put, the Bulls finishing with the NBA's best record last season should do all the talking for Forman's work.  Sure, they may have lost in the conference finals, but this team is just inches away from winning another title.

No. 5: Los Angeles Lakers

Mitch Kupchak has been in the Los Angeles Lakers front office for 25 years and in his time as GM, has made some pretty epic moves.  In 2000, his first year with full power, he signed both Karl Malone and Gary Payton as the Lakers went on to make the NBA Finals, where they were beaten by the Detroit Pistons.  Still, that did not deter Kupchak from his efforts to field a winning team.

Keep in mind, we're talking about the man who essentially ended the Shaq vs. Kobe feud by trading the dominant center to the Miami Heat.  That alone is quite possibly the ballsiest move in NBA history.

Throw in two championship rings since then, plus the acquisition of guys like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, and Kupchak's track record speaks for itself.

No. 4: Dallas Mavericks

Donnie Nelson is the last man on this list to win a championship ring and while most would think that is grounds to give him the top spot, it isn't.  It is amazing how he put together a team that essentially featured just one superstar in Dirk Nowitzki, but let's be honest:  The Heat would have won that series if LeBron James had demanded the ball in the second half.

Still, we cannot take away from the fact that Nelson knows his stuff.  Who would have thought that Tyson Chandler would have been the man to patrol the middle for the Mavericks and thus make some clutch plays throughout the season?

No. 3: Miami Heat

I need to give Pat Riley his due credit.  The fact that he was able to lure all three of the NBA's top free agents to Miami last season (though one was just re-signing) and make enough money available to sign them is simply amazing.  Sure enough, despite some struggles, the Heat made the NBA Finals and lost.  This is where Riley made a mistake.

Yes, the Heat are easily one of the most deadly teams in the NBA, but their success means nothing.  Riley forgot to sign adequate bench players and throughout the season, the team was without a legitimate point guard or center.  Sure enough, the defense suffered in the finals.

Yet, a new offseason is upon us and it's sure as hell that Riley and his basketball genius will be patrolling the market for players to fill both holes.

No. 2: San Antonio Spurs

Since taking over as GM in 2002, R.C. Buford has helped the Spurs win three championships.  He had a great mentor in Gregg Popovich, so it's no secret that the man knows how to win.  Last season, the team he put together was the top seed in the Western Conference after years of playing together.

I don't think we need to dwell on the fact that the Spurs were upset in the first round by a Memphis Grizzlies squad nobody saw coming, but we can write it off as a fluke.  The fact remains that the Spurs are easily the best team in the Western Conference and have a few more championships left in the tank.

No. 1: Boston Celtics

Love them or hate them, the Boston Celtics are the best-managed team in the NBA.  Danny Ainge puts his heart and soul into the franchise year after year and that is why the team constantly contends for a championship, winning one as recently as 2008.

On top of that, you have to respect a front office that is able to pull of trades for both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, not to mention already having Paul Pierce.  Also, who would have thought that short and skinny Rajon Rondo would turn into a star?

The players may be getting older and the team may have a rough offseason ahead, but watch as Ainge weathers the storm like a pro and the Celtics finish in first place again next season.