Front Office Archetypes

A General Manager or "GM" in NBA terms is the person responsible for overseeing player acquisitions, managing a coaching staff, and overall just building the basketball team.

There are several nuances involved in being a General Manager. Whether it's evaluating draft talent, understanding the value of players and assets, or knowing how players fit together, General Managers need to be able to do a lot.

A good or bad General Manager is the difference between an NBA franchise thriving for decades at a time, or being stuck in mediocrity with few ways out. Examples of GMs who successfully built teams that thrived for years and shaped their era include Red Auerbach with his 1960s Boston Celtics, and Jerry West with his Showtime Lakers and the start of the Shaq and Kobe era.

Not all GM's succeed, however. There are several times in history where GMs, whether in good or bad situations, are not able to transform their team into real contenders, given a certain time frame.

Some GMs don't even share the same goals, especially in this modern era of teambuilding. While every GM is different in certain ways, they usually fall into 1 of 3 archetypes, which often leads to very different future outlooks for each team.

General Manager Archetypes:

Archetype 1: "The Asset Overlord":

The Asset Overlord is a GM who focuses on building up long-term assets, including valuable young players and draft capital. Teams that have a GM like this usually see large playoff windows with many opportunities to constantly develop and improve. These GM's usually favor a slow and steady rise rather than a flashy and risky rise, often leading to better long-term outlooks and a favorable view from the fans. Examples of GM's who fit this archetype are people like Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Joe Cronin of the Portland Trail Blazers. Both GM's have utilized trading superstar players to gain valuable young players and draft capital in order to pave the way for a future filled with promise and success.

The Asset Overlord wins through patience and structure.

Archetype 2: "The Gambler":

Not every front office thinks of patience as a virtue, however. The Gambler is a GM who doesn't care to wait for young player development and to grow through the draft, and would rather trade their way up to contention. They often throw around draft picks and young players to teams that look to trade away their superstars. Teams that have a GM like this often see long periods of struggle, followed by a meteoric rise to contention, and usually end with a reshuffle after their stars either request a trade or simply age out. Examples of GM's who fit this archetype include people like Leon Rose of the New York Knicks and Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers. Both GM's have quickly left behind eras of mediocrity by making blockbuster trades for players that completely shift their timeline.

The Gambler wins through acceleration and agression.

Archetype 3: "The Owner's Blueprint"

In the minds of some front offices, winning at the highest level isn't the top priority. The Owner's Blueprint is a GM who rarely makes risky moves and prefers to keep the team afloat and profitable rather than at risk of being undesirable to the fanbase. These GM's typically avoid going into the luxury tax for a team they know won't contend, despite outside pressure. Teams with GM's like this rarely fall outside of playoff contention, but don't typically move into finals contention. They stay in the middle ground of being good enough to sell seats and keep a positive future outlook, while also not being flashy enough to put the team in a real winning position, and avoiding most risk. Examples of GM's who fit this archetype are people like Kevin Pritchard of the Indiana Pacers and Marc Eversley of the Chicago Bulls. While Kevin Pritchard has begun to move out of this category, both have historically floated around .500 basketball while remaining profitable and favorable to the fanbase.

The Owner's Blueprint survives through stability and risk management.

How your GM's archetype is defined heavily alters the future of your franchise. It's imperative that your front office, and specifically the team owner, recognize the situation your team is in and hire a GM that fits that situation. Succeeding in doing this often leads to successful eras of basketball, similar to that of Red Auerbach and Jerry West, who were mentioned previously.

Players define eras, but General Managers are the people who create them.