Can Danny?

The requirement of the ranking are at least three seasons at the helm. Also, we'll only be judging their recent work so guys like Elgin Baylor won't be hurt by their years of idiocy while Jerry West won't be able to point to his Laker days to cement his resume.

#1: Randy Pfund/Pat Riley (Miami Heat): It pains me to dub the leader of the showtime Lakers as the the top GM but he has done a great job building the Heat. They were on the decline five years ago (36 wins in 2002 and then 25 in 2003) but they put together a nice roster, good enough to make the Shaq deal a reality. Even without the Shaq deal, I was a fan of the Wade/Butler/Odom team from 2004.

#2: Rod Thorn (NJ Nets): I'm not sold on Josh Boone but grabbing Marcus Williams and Hassan Adams were two very nice moves. The Antoine Wright deal is all the more confusing after he disappointed last season. Still, Thorn has built an annual contender in New Jersey. Money issues cost him a key piece of the puzzle (Kenyon Martin) but I think the Nets are better with Vince anyway. If they can move Richard Jefferson for another big man, they could find themselves back in the conference finals.

#3: Geoff Petrie (Sacramento Kings): The Artest deal vaulted him back to the top. The Chris Webber deal was somewhat suspect. While Chris was overpaid, dealing him for three overpaid PF's didn't make a whole ton of sense either. Still, getting Bonzi Wells and Ron Artest this past season was a great move, and holding out and not giving Bonzi a huge deal is the right move. They have Kevin Martin to take over if Bonzi leaves. The one flaw that still hurts him and the Kings is his drafting over the past two years. Quincy Douby and Francisco Garcia were both bad selections and letting Gerald Wallace go in the expansion draft wasn't the wisest of moves. Still, Petrie is reloading the Kings for another run while never slipping below .500. He might be a blockbuster deal away (is it time to move Brad Miller?) from getting the Kings back to the Western Conference Finals.

#4: Larry Harris (Milwaukee Bucks): He hasn't been perfect (he overpaid for Bobby Simmons) but Harris has made some great moves to get the Bucks back into the playoffs. The Bogut/Villain frontcourt should be very interesting and Harris still had Magloire as a trade chip to add more help to the roster. The team could be under the cap next season which should help them add the final piece to the puzzle and get them contending for more than just a playoff spot.

#5: Elgin Baylor (LA Clippers): Picking up Elton Brand for the #2 pick in the draft was a great move. Being lucky enough to have Kevin McHale offer up Sam Cassell in return for Marko Jaric was amazing. While he overpaid for Cuttino Mobley, I'd argue that if ever a team NEEDED to overpay for someone, it was the Clippers because they needed to show that they weren't the cheapskates that they'd been over their entire existance. Elgin's grabbed Livingston, Kaman, and the promising Yaroslav Korolev in the draft. But this isn't to say he's been perfect. He traded for Elton Brand and then turned around and draft two PF's in the next draft (Wilcox and Ely). The Andre Miller deal blew up in his face and the team became such a disaster that they lost out on Lamar Odom. I can't believe he fell for Tim Thomas' playoff act in Phoenix and signed him. The team still doesn't have a legit backup big man and still doesn't have a lockdown perimeter defender that any and every team in the West needs. Elgin's done a great job putting together this team but he still has a couple moves to make before they are truly contenders.

#6: RC Buford (San Antonio Spurs): I'm going to be honest. This guy hasn't done much. He inherited Timmy D. but other than that he's basically just re-upped guys who other people acquired. Even Manu, whom he signed, was drafted by someone else. Still, he's made a couple of good deals (getting Turkoglu for Ferry, Nazr for Rose) and kept the team intact. This offseason and next will show what he's made of. The Spurs showed that they need some new life injected in them and so far, Buford's signed Jacque Vaughn and traded Rasho for Eric Williams. If he isn't careful, he could be the guy lets the Spurs decline to a solid playoff team instead of a championship contender.

#7: Donnie Nelson (Dallas Mavericks): Four years ago, Don's son was named GM and he's done a good job as the front man. While I think his Dad is still calling the shots, Donnie's reign has been a very solid one with one exception. Apparently losing Steve Nash wasn't the greatest decision, no matter how much Mark Cuban tries to spin it (claiming that the Mavs wouldn't be where they were without Erick Dampier). Dealing the Antoine/Antawn duo for Jason Terry, Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, and a future first round pick was a great move. (Dumping Raef for Antoine was also a steal). Josh Howard was a steal and taking a flyer on Desagana Diop turned out to be just what the Mavs needed. The Marquis Daniels signing is pretty much wiped out since they dealt him for Austin Croshere but they may have replaced him with Maurice Ager in the draft so who knows... Either way, the Mavs are looking good as contenders for a long time coming.

#8: Joe Dumars (Detroit Pistons): Talk about an up-and-down five years. He was the toast of the town upon building his championship team but then proved completely incapable of maintaining it. He found a way to make the Darko pick look even worse by dumping the Serbian Gangster for Kelvin Cato? He lost Mehmet Okur and Mike James, who were key bench components. Either Okur or Darko could have filled in for Ben Wallace but since they are both gone, Dumars had to sign Nazr Mohammed. The Flip Murray signing, however, was a nice move and adds some punch to the bench. Amir Johnson was also a steal at the end of the 2005 draft. Dumars hasn't been perfect but he's making the right moves to keep the Pistons at the top of the Eastern Conference.

#9: Jon Paxson (Chicago Bulls): Jon gets high marks for what he's done but he is far from finished. While he's done an impressive job rebuilding, I still think there are some pieces missing. And if you are paying an aging big man like Ben Wallace big bucks, you better add those pieces quickly. Right now, Paxson is the hardest guy to place. He could move to the top of the line or the Bulls could falther or just be mediocre and Paxson would essentially be a glorified Memphis-era Jerry West. A lot of it depends on this years draft and how well Ty Thomas and Thabo Sefalosha perform. For me, the Bulls are the most interesting team to watch this season because lord knows how all that talent is going to fit together.

#10: Rick Sund (Seattle Supersonics): The man moved Vin Baker which basically makes him at the very least, a one-hit wonder. Sort of the Dexy's Midnight Run of GM's. Grabbing Earl Watson and Chris Wilcox were key moves which helped the Sonics close the season at 14 - 10 and has things looking up. He has a tough decision to make with Rashard Lewis and Chris Wilcox which could affect his rating but right now, he's done a very good job building this team around Ray Allen. I'm not completely sold on his project center fetish (Swift, Petro, and Sene in the last three years) but those guys are solid picks. If the Sonics were in the East, they'd likely be a playoff team.

#11: Ernie Grunfeld (Washington Wizards): Ernie had an advantage since he took over a team with cap space and was able to steal Gilbert Arenas away from Golden St. To be honest, after that move, I'm not all that impressed with Ernie's work. Was Antawn Jamison really worth Stackhouse, Laettner, and the #5 pick? Apparently not since he draft some Euro-PF this season (Oleksiy Pecherov). Antonio Daniels, Etan Thomas, and Brendan Haywood aren't exactly the greatest trio to invest long term deals on. Ernie's basically had one good move and a bushel of questionable calls.

#12: Jerry West (Memphis Grizzlies): While the Battier for Rudy Gay/Stro Swift deal was great, other than that, West has been pretty bad as the Grizz's GM. And I don't mean bad meaning good, I mean bad meaning mediocre. His drafting hasn't worked out. He inherited Pau Gasol but then spent a draft pick on Drew Gooden as if two soft perimeter PF's should be able to complement one another. His run of Troy Bell, Dahntay Jones, and Hakim Warrick isn't exactly helping either. West did help Pat Riley in Miami by dealing Jason Williams and James Posey for Eddie Jones. And then there's always Brian Cardinal. West's legacy in Memphis now rests on the shoulders of Rudy Gay. He is the only player on that roster with the potential to come in and lift the Grizzlies into the second round. The vets (Jones, Mike Miller, Damon Stoudamire) aren't going to do it and neither are the young guys (Swift, Warrick, Jones).

#13: Carroll Dawson (Houston Rockets): Dawson should be banned from making draft day deals. Over the last five years he's traded: Stro Swift, Rudy Gay, Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong for Eddie Griffin and Shane Battier. Getting T-Mac for Franchise and Mobley was good and lucking out to get Yao Ming makes any GM look smart. Trading Rafer Alston for Mike James was a disaster. But John Lucas might turn out to be a find and Luther head is solid. If T-Mac can stay healthy, the Rockets could make some noise but they'll need to improve their power forward position if they really want a shot at the Finals.

#14: Danny Ainge (Boston Celtics): Draft night moved him up in my books (even though I wanted Rudy Gay over Telfair) but there's still time for him to screw everything up, which he has a knack for doing. I'm not sure if the owners are partially to blame but his fluctuation from rebuilding (trading 'Toine) to needing to be relevant (trading for 'Toine) is frustrating. And since I'm not as wowed by his drafting (which is admittedly very good but not as great as people like to act) as others, his stock isn't very high with me.

#15: Mitch Kupchak (LA Lakers): Relied on Shaq to do his job and recruit Karl Malone and Gary Payton, even though neither was a good fit for the triangle at that point in their career. When they backfired, he ended up having to deal Shaq. His attempts to build around Kobe haven't been that great. Dealing Caron Butler in a sign-and-trade for Kwame Brown turned out disastrous and none of his other moves have been that great. When you're best move is drafting Luke Walton with the 32nd pick, it means you probably haven't done much good in five years.

#16: Kevin O'Connor (Utah Jazz): Odds are not looking good that Ronnie Brewer's skills will translate in the NBA, I mean take a look at Kevin O'Connor's last five years of drafting: Raul Lopez, Ryan Humphrey, Aleksander Pavlovic, Kris Humphries, Kirk Snyder, and then trading up to NOT take Chris Paul (going with Deron Williams). The one thing he has going for him is that he got Jarron Collins, Mo Williams, and CJ Miles in the second round, although he couldn't keep Williams from jetting. O'Connor also overpaid for Carlos Boozer and apparently decided to retire the shooting guard position in honor of Jeff Hornacek since the Jazz haven't had a top 2-guard since Horny hung 'em up. All this being said, Williams, Harpring, AK47, Boozer, and Okur isn't THAT bad of a lineup. And despite O'Connors poor draft history, I think Brewer should be a solid pro. Still, O'Connor had cap space and high lottery picks and built a .500 team.

#17: Billy King (Philadelphia 76ers): Billy King is the anti-Ernie Grunfeld. He's made one bad string of moves which pretty much ruined his reputation. King was actually putting together a team that fit around Iverson (defensive minded big men (Brian Skinner, Sam Dalembert, Corliss Williamson) and athletic young swingman who could defend (Iguodala), a shooter to feed off of AI's drives (Korver). All they really needed was another defensive-minded guard and they would have been on their way to rebuilding the team A.I. brought to the Finals. But then he dealt for Webber, who was the last guy you'd want to team with Iverson. And then he overpaid Korver and Dalembert. And then the Sixers stopped winning. To be fair, the Korver and Dalembert moves wouldn't be as bad if not for Webber. Chris was just the anti-thesis of what the Sixers needed, which was a Ben Wallace type player. King was essentially a couple of role players away from giving A.I. the squad he needed to make another run but is now, instead, having to figure out if the ship is salvageable or if the Sixers would be better off without A.I. Personally, I really like his draft this season. Carney and Jones could help out now. If they could ship Webber out for some defensive help, King might actually be able to get the Sixers back in the hunt.

#19: Isiah Thomas (NY Knicks): If you look at the team he inherited, it was terrible and overpaid. The team he's built is talented... and terrible and overpaid. And any GM that looks at his combustible squad and thinks, "What this team needs is Kenyon Martin!" should be fired on the spot. The only logic behind that must be Isiah thinking two negatives make a positive (but three negatives are back to equalling a negative) so, realizing he has about seven negatives on his roster, he thinks one more will give him an even number of negatives which would then equal a positive. If that even qualifies as "logic". Still, there's part of me that remembers NBA Live '95 and thinks that somehow, some way, you can make this all work. In fact, I think you can make a pretty good team out of the pieces in NY. Say what you want about Renaldo Balkman, but he was exactly what this team needed; a tough minded guy who doesn't care about points and loves to play defense. Mardy Collins isn't a star but he too is a guy that fits. His point guard skills and defense make him a nice complement to Stephon. While Isiah has made some horrific signings and bad trades, his young core from the last two drafts of Frye, Lee, Balkman, Collins, and Nate Robinson is pretty impressive. Jamal Crawford is a nice enough talent and Jalen Rose and Mo Taylor are solid coming off of the bench and expiring deals to boot. And with Frye, Lee, and Balkman handling the dirty work, Eddy Curry can focus on scoring. The problem, of course, is that that Knicks also have Marbury, Francis, Jerome James, Quentin Richardson, and Malik Rose. If the Knicks could somehow get a true PG and move Steph to the 2, things could work out.

#20: Larry Bird (Indiana Pacers): ECF's. EC Semi's. First round. Jermaine O'Neal superstar to Jermaine O'Neal trade bait. Clearly, this is defintion of what you don't want to see happen in your first three years as a GM. Larry Bird signed Jermaine O'Neal and fired Isiah Thomas at the start of his second reign in Indy. After that, it was all downhill. He lost Brad Miller for Scot Pollard. He traded Al Harrington for Stephen Jackson who proceeded to be the third man in the Artest brawl which was the reason it escalated from just crazy Ron-Ron in the stands to an all-out riot. He overpaid Jamaal Tinsley. He then traded Ron Artest for Peja, who upped and left. On the bright side, the Pacers did get a trade exception out of it but I think Artest is worth more than a seven million dollar trade exception. But Larry has made a bit of a resurgance in the last months. I actually like the Shawne Williams pick (although if you are building for the future, why not take Green over Granger last year?) and dealing Croshere for Marquis Daniels was a great move. If he can use the trade exception to get a big man to team with JO, he'd move up the list but as of now, the Pacers are completely falling apart on Larry's watch.

#18: Billy Knight (Atlanta Hawks): Knight has done a decent job of building a team in three years. The problem is that this team should be a whole hell of a lot better. Drafting Josh Smith was tremendous. Drafting Josh Childress, not so much. Joe Johnson is overpaid but he is still a very good and underrated player. I don't even have an issue with him giving up Boris Diaw in the deal but losing their first round pick (top three protected) next year? Horrible. Marvin Williams? Could be very good but probably won't ever be Chris Paul. Still, despite his flubs, I like the Hawks. Claxton is a solid PG, joe Johnson is a star, Josh Smith will be a star this season, Zaza is a good big man. Shelden Williams was a reach and I can't say I'm a big fan. The Hawks don't look very close to breaking free of the curse of Isaiah Rider. They haven't made the playoff since they dealt Steve Smith to Portland for the infamous malcontent formerly known as J.R.

#21: Kevin McHale (Minnesota Timberwolves): Over the past five years, McHale has done next to nothing to make his team better. While the Knicks could make a couple of moves to fix themselves, the Wolves are in complete disarray. And this is coming from someone who thought they actually made out in the Szczerbiak deal. Also, reports are that the initial deal that McHale wanted to make was just Mark Blount for Kandiman straight up, which would have been one of the worst deals imaginable. An expiring deal for Mark Blount? McHale's owner saved him from an even worse fate. Isiah put his faith in Stephon Marbury, which turned out to be a mistake. McHale has the right guy in Garnett and STILL can't win. The fact that Garnett is mentioned in trade rumors is a sure sign of the horrific job McHale has done. KG should be untouchable. Drafting Randy Foye and signing Mike James doesn't make much sense either. How many overrated PG's do the Wolves need? They have James, Jaric, and Hudson all eating up cap space. James, Foye, and Ricky Davis is your backcourt? So what, KG's going to get ten shots a game this year? McHale has done a horrific job and has essentially wasted the career of the Big Ticket.

The Rest: Bryan Colangelo (Phoenix Suns) is making Toronto a very interesting team but is it a very good team. Can Bargnani and Bosh coexist? Steve Patterson (Portland Trailblazers) made a ton of moves on draft day and added some real talent in Portland. He still has to find a way to get rid of Darius Miles though. Otis Smith (Orlando Magic) made a great deal for the Magic (stealing Darko and Carlos Arroyo for nothing) but his drafting skills seem questionable (JJ Redick, Fran Vazquez). Jeff Bower (New Orleans) had a nice 2005 but I'm not sold on his 2006. Chandler and Peja are frail. I don't mind Tyson but I can't stand Peja. Taking two questionable big men in Cedric Simmons and Hilton Armstrong also is questionable. They gave away Kirk Snyder. I'm just not convinced that Paul, Mason, Peja, West, and Chandler is going to get the Hornets to the playoffs in the West. Mark Warkentien (Denver Nuggets( replaced Kiki in Denver and has resigned 'Melo, traded Powe to the C's for a future pick and literally done nothing else. Danny Ferry (Cleveland Cavs) had a great draft day (Shannon Brown, Daniel Gibson, Marcus Vinicius) but the Larry Hughes signing didn't work and needs to be cleaned up. Bernie Bickerstaff (Charlotte Bobcats) has done a good job but, man, I'm not sold on May, Okafor, or Morrison as of yet. Not that they don't have talent, I'm just not sold on them. How he handles soon-to-be free agent Gerald Wallace should be interesting.