Introduction
On 12 June 2012, Rob Hennigan became the surprising 3rd finalist for the Orlando GM amid talk of a management cooperative. On 20 June 2012, Hennigan was hired. Hennigan is 30 years old and became the youngest GM in the NBA.
| Decision | Grade | Reasoning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire Dave Twardzik and 6 scouts | A+ | The Magic front office was the second-worst in the league at drafting. |
| 2 | Fire Adonal Foyle | A | House cleaning means removing all marks of the Otis Smith era. |
| 3 | Did not trade D12 before draft | --- | |
| 4 | Select Andrew Nicholson with the 19th pick | A- | Magic need a point guard. But the only legitimate point guards left in the draft were Tony Wroten (25th) and Maquis Teague (29th). |
| 5 | Select Kyle O'Quinn with the 49th pick | A+ | KOQ is more and more looking like a second-round steal. |
| 6 | Hired Scott Perry as Assistant GM | B | This was a questionable decision. The Pistons have had a tremendously bad record in decision-making. Perry was also very involved in the Michigan Fab Five Scandal |
| 7 | Hired Matt Lloyd | A | 39-year-old Lloyd brought a much-need statistical approach. |
| 8 | Re-sign Jameer Nelson | A | |
| 9 | Retain JJ Redick | A | |
| 10 | Chose not to match Ryan Anderson for $9 million | B | Hennigan is interested in salary cap space and hitting the lottery. But Anderson represents a mini Kevin Love. But, $9 million was only slightly overpriced for a 24-year-old trade asset. |
| 11 | Traded Ryan Anderson for Gustavo Ayon. | A | Earned a huge trade exception and a cheap underpaid player with an expiring contract and a team option. |
| 12 | Did not trade D12 to the Brooklyn Nets | A++ |
Conclusion:
Hennigan has displayed patience and foresight. He had decided from Draft Day that he would not resign Ryan Anderson. He planned accordingly and drafted Nicholson. As fans, we might not agree but Hennigan came in with a plan and implemented it.
He placated Dwight Howard's trade request but simultaneously showed that the Brooklyn Nets could not give a decent offer.
Hennigan's main strength has shown. He drafts very well. It is still far too early to determine how well his draft picks will perform. But in the Summer League the results were:
All-Summer-League 1st team: Alec Burks, Lance Stephenson, Austin Daye, Andrew Nicholson, Miles Plumlee
All-Summer-League 2nd team: Brandon Knight, Reggie Jackson, Lazar Hayward, Jared Sullinger, Kyle O'Quinn
In the above group, the only 2012 draftees were Andrew Nicholson (19th), Miles Plumless (26th), Jared Sullinger (21st), and Kyle O'Quinn (49th). In other words, Hennigan drafted 2 of the Top 4 draftees in the Orlando Summer League! Let me repeat that.... Hennigan drafted 2 of the BEST PERFORMERS in the Orlando Summer League. But, remember this sample size does not include the sample size in Vegas Summer League. The notable draft picks to play in the Orlando Summer League that did not shine were Andre Drummond (9th), Maurice Harkless (15th), Perry Jones (28), Orlando Johnson (36), Khris Middleton (39), Tyshawn Taylor (41), Kim English (44), Kevin Murphy (47), and Tornike Shengelia (54).
For the first 25 days on job: Hennigan's deserves an A+.
Inspired by: aTasteLikeBurning; Mike from Illinois. This is my first fanpost. But I have been lurking this blog since it was the Third Quarter Collapse.
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