From Intern to General Manager

On June 7, the Seattle SuperSonics hired Sam Presti as their new general manager. Presti became the youngest current general manager in the NBA at thirty years old. He also became the second youngest general manager in league history to Jerry Colangelo, who was 28 years old when he took the job with the Phoenix Suns in 1968.

Presti was born in Concord, Massachusetts. His career started in high school when he was the captain of the Emerson College basketball team. While at Emerson, he was a Rhodes Scholar candidate and the first in the school’s history. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 2000 in communications, politics and law.

In 2000, he began his career in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. Presti began with the Spurs as an intern making $250 a week. After one season, he was named the team’s basketball special assistant. In September 2002, he was promoted to assistant director of scouting. The Spurs named Presti the director of player personnel in September 2003, and then became the Spurs assistant general manager in September of 2005.

Presti launched himself through the Spurs organization when he led the design and implementation of the Spurs scouting database, a system that is now being used by numerous teams throughout the NBA. He spent valuable time around great leaders like Avery Johnson, Danny Ferry, Steve Kerr, Terry Porter, Peter Holt, Greg Popovich, R.C. Buford, and P.J. Carlesimo.

Presti stresses his belief in team defense and strong character players. He also values versatile players, who fit into the team’s system. He has said that taking responsiblity for performance and effort is something that he holds highly.

During the first two months of his time with Seattle, Presti already has experienced a great deal. Seattle is threatening to relocate under their new ownership, led by Clay Bennett. He has also added Kurt Thomas, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Wally Szczerbiak, and Deltone West, while trading Ray Allen and their 2007 draft pick, which became Glen Davis. Additionally, Presti hired Carlesimo, who he worked with in San Antonio. Presti also allowed Rashard Lewis to leave for Orlando for a maximum value contract.

In a short time, Presti has begun to shape Seattle into the contender that the Spurs have been over the last decade. With Durant and Green leading the way, along with cap flexibility and future first round picks, the SuperSonics should turnaround their fortunes quickly.

Grant Hill Joins the Phoenix Suns

Yesterday, Grant Hill's agent, Lon Babby, announced he is leaving the Orlando Magic after several injury-plagued seasons to join the Phoenix Suns. Babby said Hill agreed to a two-year deal worth about $1.8 million for the first year, with a second-year player option for about $2 million.

This move was setup by a series of moves that Suns general manager, Steve Kerr, made. The Suns shipped small forward James Jones to the Trail Blazers as part of the deal in which Portland bought the 24th pick from Phoenix for $3 million Thursday. Jones has one guaranteed year left on a contract that pays him $2.9 million and a player option of $3.15 million for the 2008-09 season.

The Trail Blazers had a $3,000,000 trade exception that they moved to Phoenix in this trade. Therefore, the Suns saved just over $6,000,000 in salary owed to Jones over the next two yaears, plus the $3,000,000 in the exception. In the end, moving Jones to the Blazers became more than a $9,000,000 benefit for the Phoenix Suns.

Plus, with the Suns over the threshold, that $3 million would have been subject to the NBA’s dollar-for-dollar luxury tax penalty. By clearing some cap space there, the Suns created a spot for Hill to join the team.

Let's compare the two players numbers from last season:

James Jones (Suns)
76 Games, 7 Started
18.1 MPG
.368 FG%
.378 3P%
2.3 RPG
0.6 APG
0.4 SPG
6.4 PPG

Grant Hill (Magic)
65 Games, 64 Started
30.9 MPG
.518 FG%
.167 3P%
3.6 RPG
2.1 APG
0.9 SPG
14.4 PPG

The two players' numbers are somewhat similar, with Hill playing more minutes per game and scoring more points per game than Jones. At the same time, Jones was on the second-best team in the league, and his minutes were limited with superior players in front of him in the rotation.

Now, lets compare the salaries of the two players:

James Jones
26 years old
2007/08: $2,904,000
2008/09: $3,156,000 (Player Option)

Grant Hill
34 years old
2007/08: $1,800,000
2008/09: $2,000,000 (Player Option)

On the surface, you can see that Hill's numbers were better than Jones' and he will be making less money over the next two seasons. Although Jones' best days maybe ahead of him, and Hill's are most likely behind him, this was a great move by the Suns. In their pursuit of a championship next year, Hill will be much more valuable than Jones would be. Jones fell out-of-favor with Suns head coach, Mike D'Antoni, only playing 171 minutes in eleven playoff games at the end of this season. Additionally, Hill will take over the role of the point man when Steve Nash is out of the game. In previous seasons, Boris Diaw played this spot for the Suns, but Hill should be more efficient.

The signing of Hill was a no-risk deal, which is structured well-enough that if his injury woes resurface, the franchise will not be handcuffed. Phoenix selected Wisconsin SF, Alando Tucker, at pick number 29, who will eventually replace Hill once he ends his career. Tucker is experienced enough that if these problems do come up with Hill, he will be able to step-in and make a difference with his tremendous athleticiscm and ability to play bigger than his height.