GM Power Rankings

Here are my first ever GM power rankings. They are completely subjective and biased and are not scientific at all. Sometimes I picked one guy over another because I just liked him personally. Also, at times I didn't pick the actual GM but the guy who's really in charge. So the title here is pretty liberal. Just go with it.

1. R.C. Buford/Gregg Popovich--The Spurs won the championship last year, so they've got to be at the top of this list. Buford and Popovich are always able to find the perfect complimentary players to orbit their superstars. They know how to manage the cap better than any team in the league and have had a fifteen year run of dominance as a result.

2. Donnie Nelson/Mark Cuban--This is mostly based on cajones. The Mavs have missed out on free agent after free agent the last few years, so this summer they laid it all on the line and overpaid for Chandler Parsons. At least right now they've overpaid. When Parsons is an all-star the next three years, it'll look like a bargain. Nelson has also made some moves that make the Mavs competitive but also flexible.

3. Pat Riley--Yeah, they've lost LeBron and failed to add anything to the team around him. But Riley orchestrated that Heat dynasty and made some pretty good recovery moves once James left for Cleveland. As long as he's in charge, Miami will be in the running for the playoffs.

4. Daryl Morey--The master of acquiring assets and advanced statistics. Morey swung and missed this offseason, but he keeps the Rockets flexible and has been able to land two superstars out of virtually nothing. Don't ever count him out.

5. Danny Ainge--This guy is constantly wheeling and dealing. Right now things look bleak in Boston, but Ainge is stacking assets and will have the pieces and cap room to go after any big free agents that become available. He also hired Brad Stevens, the perfect coach for building up the Celtics again.

6. Neil Olshey--The Trailblazers almost became Cleveland West a few years ago. LaMarcus Aldridge was getting ready to leave and there were just a few overpriced veterans populating the roster. But Olshey drafted well, played free agency perfectly, and convinced Aldridge to stay. Now they look like a team on the rise.

7. Doc Rivers--This actually has more to do with the way Rivers handled himself and the Clippers last spring during the Donald Sterling situation. Rivers hasn't had a chance to make a lot of moves yet. But adding Spencer Hawes was a smart, underrated move that should pay dividends and shows that Rivers is concerned with smart basketball moves rather than headlines.

8. Masai Ujiri--The man who traded Carmelo Anthony is rebuilding Canada into a basketball powerhouse. I was incredibly surprised to see Kyle Lowry return, so it's obvious the players believe in what the Raptors are building. Ujiri has made some shrewd trades and seems more concerned with the long term future than just appeasing fans now. Plus I love Toronto's "We the North" playoff slogan.

9. John Paxson/Gar Forman--Chicago's executives are underrated. They've fielded a competitive team despite the horrible injuries that Derrick Rose has sustained. Now that they've replaced Carlos Boozer with Pau Gasol, I'm ready to vault them into the top ten. They always find what their team needs off the scrap heap and let Tom Thibodeau mold that player into a valuable contributor.

10. Sam Presti--I'd rank this Popovich disciple a little higher, because he's made incredibly smart and successful moves his entire tenure with the Thunder. But his inability to put quality pieces around Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook the last few years (plus that horrible James Harden trade) led me to rank him this low. Presti's biggest weakness might be Durant, whose talent erases a lot of personnel mistakes.

11. Larry Bird/Kevin Pritchard--The Pacers have done a great job of building a team through the draft and smart free agent moves. But I dropped them in the rankings because they tried too hard at the trade deadline last February with the additions of Evan Turner and Andrew Bynum. And I didn't like the way they handled the Lance Stephenson contract.

12. Ryan McDonough--This young GM is rebuilding the Suns faster than anyone thought possible. And I like the way he's handled the Eric Bledsoe contract situation, refusing to overpay. (Even though Bledsoe is a great young player)

13. Danny Ferry--No one's really paying attention to Ferry because the Hawks are getting good very quietly. They aren't quite yet a title contender, but they are only one big move away from having a chance to win the NBA Finals.

14. Bob Myers--The Warriors are another team that is poised to make a big leap with just one or two big personnel moves. I liked that Myers held firm on not trading Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love deal, because I don't think Love would have pushed the Warriors over the hump.

15. Sam Hinkie--This is sort of premature on my part, because we won't know if Hinkie's strategy will work for another few years. But I like what he's doing in Philly, and he's very creative.

16. Chris Wallace--The Grizzlies' GM has made some interesting choices lately, but he's the one who put together the talented Memphis roster. I like GM's who decide on an identity and build on it. That's what Wallace has done in Memphis.

17. Rob Hennigan--Orlando hasn't been the same since the Dwight Howard trade, but they are building a solid foundation and making smart moves. Hennigan makes good draft choices and has let key veterans leave when they've gotten too expensive. Again, this is a GM who knows what he wants his team to look like, and that's more important than most people think.

18. Mitch Kupchak--The Lakers' GM hasn't looked spectacular lately, especially after giving Kobe Bryant that albatross of a contact, but he's still one of the league's best. The Dwight Howard/Steve Nash trade didn't work, but it was a risk he had to take. Deals like that are hard to manufacture.

19. Dennis Lindsey--The Utah GM is another executive quietly building a solid foundation in Salt Lake City. Matching Gordon Hayward's offer sheet from Charlotte was big. Lindsey needs to hit on a draft pick (perhaps Exum?) because free agents aren't clamoring to come to Utah.

20. Rich Cho--Charlotte is an up-and-coming team in the East, and Cho is a big part of that. The Al Jefferson deal raised a few eyebrows, but it turned out to be a solid deal for a team needing a veteran. It didn't hurt that Jefferson played at a higher level than anyone expected. Bringing on Lance Stephenson was a risk, but it might pay off.

21. Phil Jackson/Steve Mills--This is another case where we don't have enough info to give an accurate grade, but I like how Jackson held his ground with Carmelo Anthony and made some subtle moves to make the team better in the short and long term. Jackson might be the guy who finally turns the Knicks around.

22. Ernie Grunfield--On the one hand, Grunfeld gave Gilbert Arenas a contract worth $100 million. On the other, he did trade Kwame Brown away, getting rid of one of the worst draft picks ever. The Wizards have a talented young roster, and should be better given the amount of high picks they've had the last decade.

23. Stan Van Gundy--He can't be worse than Joe Dumars. Right? It'd be impossible. And he's been good at every previous stop.

24. Flip Saunders--He's not done great as an executive so far, but he did get a pretty good haul for Kevin Love. I don't like that he's coaching the team, though. A good GM wouldn't do that.

25. Dell Demps--He's not horrible, but the Pelicans lucked into what will be one of the best players in the NBA in Anthony Davis, and Demps has failed to surround him with quality pieces. The Pelicans should be a playoff contender in 14-15, but they won't because of Davis' poor supporting cast.

26. Pete D'Alessandro--I have no idea what the Kings are doing. It really makes no sense, and D'Alessandro is the architect of this madness.

27. Tim Connelly--The Nuggets got some quality pieces from the Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade, but Denver has failed to develop those players into a good team. And part of that falls to Connelly. He needs to make some smart moves soon.

28. David Griffin--This guy should buy a lottery ticket.

29. John Hammond--I don't know what was worse--signing OJ Mayo or trying to create an tourist attraction with dinosaurs. Either way, Hammond isn't at the top of the basketball GM world.

30. Billy King--King is a good basketball mind, but what he's done in Brooklyn is just atrocious. They have no cap space, no draft picks, and a very old team that doesn't perform. They are without a doubt the most inefficient team when it comes to dollars to wins.