The NBA's 10 best GMs of the last decade

Bob Myers is the greatest front-office thinker/tinkerer of the 21st century.

His roster-building around Steph Curry’s generational shooting turned the Golden State Warriors into a dynasty.

His plug-and-play strategy has pinpointed veteran additions throughout the years aiding depth, spacing, and toughness (i.e. Leandro Barbosa, Shaun Livingston, David West, David Lee, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, and Otto Porter Jr.) while maintaining synergy with Steve Kerr’s coaching style.

The current arms race for long, positionless shooters started with Meyers’ 2013 signing of Iguodala, who became the blueprint for the kind of two-way, do-everything perimeter player the NBA prioritizes. Myers pulled off the most significant coup in recent history when he got Kevin Durant to join the 73-win Warriors in 2016. Convincing Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to acquiesce to Durant’s game was another accomplishment and led to the most potent offense in the history of the NBA. There has never been as much pressure on a successor as for Mike Dunleavy Jr., who was promoted when Meyers stepped down this summer.

After two decades of nepotism and cronyism rotting MSG, Knicks owner James Dolan opted against the splashy name — Isiah Thomas, Phil Jackson — for former agent Leon Rose, a well-connected people person to be the face of the team. Since taking over as GM, Rose has reversed course from the Dolan edicts of yesteryear, building through the draft, establishing culture fits, and emphasizing high-character players over washed vets. The team now boasts league-leading continuity and, more importantly, team-friendly contracts and an excess of draft picks. Last summer’s signing of point guard Jalen Brunson gave the franchise its best point-of-attack since Clyde Frazier and the best free agent signing since Allan Houston in 1996. Behind Brunson, the Knicks are now a guaranteed playoff team, with expectations for a 50-win season and continued competence. Considering New York City as a playground for millionaires, they boast the best chance to land the next disgruntled superstar.

It’s been said in hell that the only GM to deal with is Danny Ainge. Just ask the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Philadelphia 76ers — three teams he has fleeced severely over the last decade. Ainge is a terror to negotiate around the league. But his shrewd capitalization of talent turned the Boston Celtics into the current two-headed dragon with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The 2017 Kyrie Irving trade was a massive misfire, but it’s a testament to his ability to pivot that trading for a malcontent superstar didn’t clear the caches for future flexibility.

And now, with the Utah Jazz, Ainge continued the fleecing, leveraging the Timberwolves to take on Gobert’s erroneous contract and attitude in what could be considered the worst trade in the 21st century.

Ainge makes sure he squeezes out every last asset in trade, ensuring the team he’s dealing with has a short shelf-life post-trade.

Just look at the Cavaliers after the Irving trade or the Timberwolves post-Gobert.

I’ve lamented the slippage in Pat Riley’s majesty on this site. And every year, he lights a fire under his under-sized, less-talented rosters to upset playoff contenders year after year. Jimmy Butler is the perfect avatar for Riley’s smug, take-no-crap mentality. Not to mention the dynasty he built through Heat legend Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James in the early 2010s. Riley hasn’t had a player of that caliber since James left in 2014, but he hasn’t needed it, as he has reached the Finals twice in 2020 and 2023 behind Butler’s brilliance.

He also nabbed defensive powerhouse Bam Adebayo with the 14th pick in the 2017 Draft.

He has also mined the undrafted bargain bin for plug-and-play role players in Max Struss, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, and Haywood Highsmith.

On paper, it would be easy to project the Heat squeezing into the Play-In tournament this postseason with a bloated roster and top-heavy talent.

But Riley has proven you can never count out heart.

Presti is worshiped as a deity in Oklahoma City. And why wouldn’t he?

Presti operates within the smallest market in the NBA and survives/thrives purely on the draft, where he has selected three future MVPs in consecutive years (Kevin Durant in 2007, Russell Westbrook in 2008, James Harden in 2009).

But you can’t mention the brilliant without admitting the squandering of that superstar trio, making the Finals only once, with zero championships.

Presti might be the best Lottery talent evaluator, zigging where others would zag (e.g. Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Jalen Williams). Outside the Lottery is when he has whiffed more times than not, wasting picks on projects that never become NBA-ready. (Looking at you, Aleksej Pokuševski.) Thunder U 2.0 is a chance for him to build the next Presti progeny — positionless, ball-handling dudes who can gel into the next great contender. The 2019 Paul George trade gave him the leverage needed to fleece the Clippers of picks, swaps, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is already better than George, earning All-NBA First Team last season with no end to his growth in sight.

As a strategist, Masai Ujiri has built a career as the guy you hire when you need a successful rebuild. He manipulated the Knicks into trading the house for Carmelo Anthony in 2013 when he would have surely signed with them outright that summer. Then he groomed a group of high-floor young guys into assets the team could use to build toward the current championship team (The pick the Knicks sent Denver turned into Jamal Murray).

Then, with Toronto, he scammed Dolan again, sending them bum-ass Andrea Bargnani for the 2016 first-round pick that would turn into Jakob Poeltl, who would then be packaged with DeMar Derozen for Kawhi Leonard in 2018. Leonard’s single-season tenure with the Raptors would give them their first and only championship, marking the most profound high-risk, high-reward trade in modern history. He is now tasked with taking the Raptors into a new era after letting championship point guard Fred Van Vleet walk to Houston in free agency and netting back Poeltl in a trade last season. Ujiri is willing to take big swings and is the perfect decision-maker for a roster needing a shake-up.

Former role player journeyman Calvin Booth put the finishing touches on the Nikola Jokić-led Nuggets to win the organization’s first chip last season. Since taking over in 2020, Booth has valued continuity over big trades, keeping head coach Mike Malone in place even after under-whelming playoff performances. His biggest move was trading for Aaron Gordon in 2021, which paired Jokic with the gritty, athletic floor-spacing he needed. It took a few seasons for Gordon to get healthy and return to his early potential with the Orlando Magic. But the patience paid off last season, as Gordon evolved into one of the best defenders in the NBA.

Booth filled the margins with grizzled veterans in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, who both played major parts in their championship run. The Nuggets flexible cap sheet and acute culture will have them contending for as long as Jokic is an MVP candidate, which should be for the next decade. If third-option Michal Porter Jr. can grow as a defender, they might become the league’s next dynasty.

While R.C. Buford stepped back from general managing duties in 2019 when elevated to CEO, he is still the final decision-maker for the organization after building the Spurs dynasties of the 2000s and early 2010s.

He was behind the George Hill for Kawhi Leonard draft night trade and the Leonard to Toronto deal that set them on the tanking path for Victor Wembanyama.

No team has experienced a seamless transition from one superstar epoch to another than the Spurs, thanks to Buford’s proficiency at building for the long term. Under Buford and Gregg Popovich, the Spurs have been the league’s premier no-drama, no-nonsense culture, bating emulation and jealousy. Buford’s relationship with the Spurs stretches 35 years, and his fingerprints are all over the team’s five championships. That is sure to be continued with the future dominance of Wembanyama.

Kobe Bryant’s former agent was expected to face stonewalled negotiations as he tried to build a contender around LeBron James.

But since the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade that led to a championship in the 2020 Bubble, Rob Pelinka has succeeded chiefly in the margins.

Pelinka reshapes the roster yearly without giving up major assets or a boatload of draft picks.

Instead, he evolves along with James’ declining skill set. The work he did this past summer might be the best supporting cast James and Davis have had in L.A.

Just look at the way he was able to pivot after the Russell Westbrook disaster, flipping Brodie while reacquiring guard D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota in a three-team, eight-player deal. Los Angeles also netted Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt from the Jazz. Beasley was let to walk while Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a Swiss Army knife on defense. Pelinka also found Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso as undrafted goldmines. Pelinka hasn’t been the flashy big spender in L.A. Instead, he has continuously found ways to improve the team with high-IQ vets and hidden gems.

Building around Giannis Antetokounmpo is easy. Not only is he the best player in the world, but he’s someone every fellow star wants to play alongside. Hence, Damian Lillard expanded his trade list to Milwaukee to play with Giannis. Jon Horst built the 2021 championship through internal development and the cunning use of three future first-round picks and two additional Draft pick swaps. The pairing of Giannis and Kris Middleton has been the nexus of the team’s championship window. As Middelton’s health remains in question, Horst wasted no time swinging for the fences to acquire Dame Dolla. You must make those trades when you preside over a generational talent in a small market. Unlike the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Dončić or the Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid, Horst is doing everything he can to keep Giannis on track for contention with the Bucks. There is zero reason to believe Lillard will be the last move he will make.