I think it's too early to say anything about David Kahn as a GM.
Excellent decision -- to trade Mike Miller and Randy Foye for the #5 pick
Excellent decision -- to draft Ricky Rubio. A special prospect.
Excellent decision -- to sign Ramon Sessions to a cheap contract. Talented player on a cost effective deal. A short term band aid until Rubio arrives + a very valuable trade asset.
Excellent decision -- trading Telfair and Smith to the Clippers in a cost saving move that created additional cap space for 2010.
Excellent decision -- trading Songaila to the Hornets in exchange for Antonio Daniels in a cost saving move that created additional cap space for 2010.
Very good decision -- trading the #18 pick (Ty Lawson) for the Bobcats 2010 draft pick
Good decision -- trading Cardinal for Darko Milicic. A good risk reward acquisition. A two month trial to see if Darko is worth pursuing this summer. Plus, a major upgrade talent wise from Cardinal to Darko.
Solid decision -- acquisition of Alando Tucker
Solid decision -- acquisition of Nathan Jawai
Solid decision -- signing Sasha Pavlovic to a cheap contract
Undetermined decision -- hiring Kurt Rambis. I like Rambis as a coaching prospect but his system doesn't suit their current crop of talent. If Kahn molds the team more into Rambis' vision then this will become a good hire. If not, it's a bad hire. Too early to say.
Poor decision -- drafting Jonny Flynn. A weak prospect that high in the draft ... If Kahn hadn't made this mistake several others would have stepped up so I'm not going to be harsh on him for the pick ... Kahn decided Flynn was the best talent available and significantly superior to players who played a more beneficial position (DeRozan). I like the thought process and it should serve him well in the future.
Poor decision -- drafting Wayne Ellington at the end of the first round
Poor decision -- poor use of two mid-second round draft picks since considerable talent was available late in the draft.
Very poor decision -- signing Ryan Hollins to that contract
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I also like Kahn's lack of confidence in Al Jefferson's abilities.
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I think David Kahn is getting too much criticism for the job he has done so far.
It's way too early to say what type of a GM he's going to be.
Cool analysis.
However, i'm not sure such decisions exist in a vacuum.
-was it a good choice to draft rubio if you weren't sure he was coming over? I'd bump that down a few spots.
-Was it a good decision to trade Lawson for a future first rounder when he's probably better than the player you kept at number 6 of the same draft (Flynn)? At worst, i'd say they are equal talents, but wouldn't you have gotten much MORE in return for Flynn (#6 pick)? So would you rather have Lawson+The haul from trading #6 or Flynn+The haul from trading #18? I'd take choice #1.
-I'd move Darko into "Undetermined." At this point he's past the "maybe he needs a change in scenery" stage. However, if it's true that they traded for him to impress the euro connection so that rubio is motivated to get over here, then it's an excellent decision.
