Kurt Helin
1. Daryl Morey, Rockets
2. Bob Myers, Warriors
3. R.C. Buford, Spurs
Because this is voted on by other executives (not the media), and because neither of the top two guys are terribly popular with their peers, this could go a lot of directions. Myers and Morey were almost a coin flip for me, but Morey did beautifully what the Knicks and Lakers organizations failed to do — give Mike D’Antoni a team built to play his style of basketball, not square pegs for round holes.
Dan Feldman
1. Bob Myers, Warriors
2. Daryl Morey, Rockets
3. Masai Ujiri, Raptors
Myers signed Kevin Durant. Sure, the Warriors general manager lucked into Stephen Curry’s injury-caused smaller contract extension and an unprecedented salary cap explosion. But Myers closed on Durant. That’s enough. It doesn’t hurt that Myers also lured bargain bigs Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee and David West.
Morey was a close second, as he created a complete culture around James Harden with Mike D’Antoni, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams. Ujiri re-signed DeMar DeRozan with much less fuss than expected and swung value in-season trades for Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, who will have the Raptors ready if the Cavaliers stumble in the playoffs.
Dane Carbaugh
1. Daryl Morey, Rockets
2. Danny Ainge, Celtics
3. Bob Myers, Warriors
It’s hard to look past a solidifying Boston Celtics team and not give some amount of credit to Danny Ainge, even if it seems like he did not make The Big Trade for the 387th season in a row. Bob Myers has to be in this conversation with the best record in the NBA and because Kevin Durant may or may not have decided to sign with the Warriors long before last summer. But I come back to Daryl Morey, who lost a star player in Dwight Howard but was smart enough to couple James Harden with Mike D’Antoni. It’s all about fit in this league, and Morey found the right one this season in Houston.