10 worst NBA front offices

With a backcourt the caliber of John Wall at point guard and Bradley Beal at shooting guard, shouldn’t the Washington Wizards annually be a team playing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the very least? They were that in 2014 and 2015, but a change in front office philosophies made that impossible in 2016, as the Wizards missed out on the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Former Wizards head coach Randy Wittman wasn’t without his warts. His frequent mood swings on the sidelines and late-game play calling were especially cringe-worthy at times. However, he was a good head coach for Washington that could do the hardest thing in the NBA very well: win road playoff games. Twice did the Wizards advance in the Eastern Conference Playoffs as an underdog under the Wittman era.

However, the Wizards decided it was time to go all-in on playing small ball in 2015-16 and Wittman didn’t have either the roster or the coaching acumen to adapt appropriately. A .500 finish in 2015-16 wasn’t enough to keep him in the Nation’s Capital for another season.

Even with a dynamic backcourt of Beal and Wall and a solid power forward in Marcin Gortat, the Wizards continue to stay in the mediocre middle of the NBA because of two men: majority owner Ted Leonsis and general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Leonsis tends to wait too long to make moves and would rather let a contract expire than fire someone or waive a player.

Though Grunfeld was a collegiate star at Tennessee and a solid rotational player in the 1980s, he hasn’t exactly been a terrific general manager since coming to Washington in 2003. Though he gets deserved credit for the Wall/Beal selections, he’s botched three NBA Drafts horribly: 2009, 2011, and 2013.

In 2009, Grunfeld traded Washington’s No. 5 overall pick for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Neither re-upped with the Wizards the following offseason, leaving Washington with no assets or leverage in 2010 NBA free agency. Ricky Rubio went No. 5 in that draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Stephen Curry went No. 7 to the Golden State Warriors, and DeMar DeRozan went No. 9 to the Toronto Raptors.

2011 was especially painful for the Wizards faithful, as Grunfeld reached to draft Jan Vesely at No. 6 over guys like Kemba Walker (No. 7 to Charlotte), Klay Thompson (No. 11 to Golden State) and Kawhi Leonard (No. 15 to San Antonio through Indiana). Grunfeld then settled for Chris Singleton at No. 18 over players like Tobias Harris, Nikola Mirotic, Reggie Jackson, Kenneth Faried, and Jimmy Butler. Neither Vesely or Singleton are in the NBA less than five years late.

2013 could be another bad draft by Grunfeld, depending entirely on how Otto Porter grows in year four. For now, players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, C.J. McCollum, Steven Adams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Dennis Schroder have been better NBA players.

Overall with Grunfeld in the final year of his contract with the Wizards, Leonsis might end up parting ways with his longtime general manager if Washington doesn’t make the playoffs in 2017 under new head coach Scott Brooks.

Next: 6. Chicago Bulls.