PHILADELPHIA — Part of the reason everybody thinks they can be a general manager is because they can. That’s the problem with most general managers. They think like most people. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why most general managers get and keep their job.
They do things that appeal to a critical mass of people, which means they end up winning headlines and press conferences. Most people would have traded for Andrew Bynum, and signed Ryan Howard to a massive contract extension, and traded up to draft Markelle Fultz.
This alone is often a good indicator of a general manager’s shortcomings. After all, a general manager is paid good money with the thought that his time and expertise will result in optimal moves. But if the moves a GM consistently makes are the same ones that would be made by people who have devoted a fraction of the time and expertise to their consideration, there are only a couple of conclusions one can draw.
