NBA GM Rankings - Part 3 - Stick To Jumpshots

Famous former players who won titles but appear incompetent as GMs.

"I won as a player, so I think I should be a GM"

22. Higgins/Jordon CHA
Not clear who is to blame here between Jordan/Higgins/Brown, but the franchise exhibits no regard for cap management, with a bunch of highly paid mediocre players. They also haven't drafted well, which matches Jordon's profile in Washington. No hope for contending for a title any time soon. They are sort of fun though.

21. Bird IND
Began in 2003. He started off well by firing Isiah Thomas, hiring Rick Carlisle and moving out a bunch of roster trash. Nothing Bird has done has been overly stupid but he just keeps adding role players while the roster slowly declines. Does have Danny Granger, but 7 seasons is a long time to do nothing, even if Donnie Walsh takes some of the heat along with Bird.

20. Paxson CHI
Began in 2003. Paxson has made a lot of moves, some good some bad , but ultimately has made zero progress and usually ends up in the lottery. Overpaying for Ben Wallace was awful. Seems unwilling to make a bold move to advance the team towards title contention despite what seems like a solid young core at all times.

19. Kerr PHO
Completely messed up what Dantoni and Colangelo built, then tried to reverse direction. This should be an easy franchise to run - surround Nash with young athletes and cheap shooters. Its an attractive destination and they play a fun style. How do you screw this up? The answer is of course by trying to win a title. Kerr gambled and lost but deserves some credit for admitting it and going in reverse. His moves all have some logic. But whats next? Now he's either going to overpay Stoudamire or watch him walk away for nothing. The latter is preferable but far from optimal.