Fansided

Report: Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld not operating in final contract year

By Brad Rowland

facebooktwitterreddit
Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld speaks to the media during a press conference to introduce Otto Porter Jr. at Verizon Center. Porter was selected with the third pick of the first round in the 2013 NBA Draft. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld speaks to the media during a press conference to introduce Otto Porter Jr. at Verizon Center. Porter was selected with the third pick of the first round in the 2013 NBA Draft. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports /

Throughout the 2013-2014 NBA season, it was widely believed that Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld was operating as a “lame duck”. To translate, Grunfeld was thought to be in the final year of his contract with the club, but in the midst of a Wizards playoff run, there is a report circulating that Grunfeld is actually under contract through 2015.

Mike Wise of the Washington Post reports the news:

"After saving Ted Leonsis almost $100 million during a reputation-swallowing rebuild, the ErnDog showed he stills knows how to build a contender. No other GM observes Earth Day like Ernie, who is able to recycle trash into Trevor Ariza. Getting Marcin Gortat for Emeka Okafor before the season . . . brilliant. Andre Miller as a rent-a-vet? Solid. Oh, and who knew he had another year left on his deal after this season that no one knew about until now (That’s right, a little news for you.)"

To be honest, Grunfeld has been on the heat seat for some time, and the success of the Wizards this season has been incredibly beneficial to him. In the past, he traded a top-5 pick for Mike Miller and Randy Foye (yikes), drafted Jan Vesely in the top-5 (yikes), and in the more recent past, selected Otto Porter in the top-3 of the NBA Draft. There have been some successes for Grunfeld and company during his tenure, but it was almost assumed that he would be out following this season.

Now, Washington’s new-found success and the assertion that he was already contracted for next season makes it a virtual certainty that Grunfeld will be back, and that is big news.

Home/NBA