The Hornets

I expected the Hornets to be in the play-offs this year, but I had no idea they would be this good (partially because they are never on television).

As I watched the game tonight, I realized that nobody mentions Jeff Bower among those who deserve the Executive of the Year Award. Instead, Danny Ainge and Mitch Kupchak's names are mentioned.

I see this as a problem with professional sports. We glamourize the big deal, but do not reward the true art of building a team.

Bower did not make any big moves in the off-season, though drafting Julian Wright at #13 appears to be a steal now. During the season, he did not make a blockbuster move, choosing instead to add Bonzi Wells in a swap of former Sacramento Kings for Bobby Jackson.

However, last year, his big deals went unnoticed because the Hornets suffered so many injuries that knocked them out of the play-offs.

Trading for KG and Gasol were no-brainers. No GMs would have messed up those deals. I'm not sure acquiring KG or Gasol illustrate a GM's acumen. Sure, they changed the face of their franchises, but they were no-brainer deals. I actually thought Ainge's most savvy move was signing James Posey and Kupchak's best move has been to resist Kobe's pleas and not trade Andrew Bynum, as well as a series of unheralded draft picks like Sasha Vujicic and Jordan Farmar who now contribute.

Similarly, Bower did not make any one astounding move. Paul fell in his lap, which shows as much about Atlanta and Milwaukee as it does about his skill as a GM. However, look at the Tyson Chandler deal. J.R. Smith and P.J. Brown for Chandler. When the deal was completed, which led to Chicago signing Ben Wallace, everyone annointed Chicago the front runners in the Eastern Conference. Nobody said that the Hornets got the better end of the deal. Chicago is in ruins, having dealt Wallace and Smith and watching Brown walk as a free agent, and Chandler is defending Tim Duncan better than anyone in the league while running the pick-and-roll alley-oop with Paul like Nash-to-Stoudamire circa 2006. In retrospect, that deal looks almost as lop-sided as the Gasol for Kwame Brown trade, but nobody thought that at the time. That's the type of deal that makes a GM.

The Chandler trade was not the only move. Acquiring Peja Stojakovic was not a huge move and many people were skeptical, feeling Peja had peaked as a player and did not have much to offer. Morris Peterson lost playing time and fell out of favor in Toronto. Jannero Pargo. Melvin Ely. Bobby Jackson.

No big piece, beyond the drafting of David West (a steal) and Chris Paul (ditto). But, he fit the perfect complementary pieces around West and Paul through a series of trades and signings. He built a championship contender the old fashioned way, like the Spurs.

The Spurs had a bit of luck (Duncan) and used some great evaluation skills to find two hifdden gems in the draft (Ginobili and Parker). Then, Buford and Popvich fit pieces around the stars: Oberto, Barry, Finley, Bowen, Vaughn, etc. No big pieces, just pieces that fit and help the Spurs win. Joe Dumars built Detroit in a similar fashion, acquiring players when their value has dipped (Billups, Hamilton, Wallace) and allowing them to leave when their price is too high (Okur, Ben Wallace) and drafting very well for their draft position (Prince, Stuckey, Maxiell).

Bower never did anything noteworthy enough to win an award. However, he built a franchise which has a chance to compete for the NBA championship for the next five years, as Paul and Wright have yet to reach their prime, West and Chandler have just hit theirs and Peja is still at the end of his. If he continues to make savvy moves and stays true to his method, the Hornets are poised to be one of the top organizations into the next decade.

Bower's job in New Orleans reminds me of Geoff Petrie making Sacramento relevant. He drafted Peja and left in Europe. Then, he drafted Jason Williams and Hedo Turkuglo. He trade Mitch Richmond, possibly the most popular Sacramento King, for Chris Webber and then signed Vlade Divac, away from the Hornets, no less. In a couple moves, Petrie built one of the best teams in the NBA for a 5-6 year stretch. New Orleans drafted West, then Paul and Wright; traded Brown, one of the most popular Hornets for Chandler, and signed Peja and now the Hornets should be one of the top teams for the next 5-6 years.

I think it is unfortunate that these moves, which really show a GMs true skill go unnoticed and overlooked in favor of the splashy moves or the superstar deals. Hopefully some voters will appreciate the craftsmanship Bower showed in building the Hornets into a contender, even if it did not happen overnight.