So here's where things appear to be headed in terms of responsibility (the official org chart is probably relatively flat between 1 and 3):
0. Owner: Mark. He gets the final say, just like any owner.
1. CEO: Cynthia Marshall. She seems to handle stuff like marketing, public relations, HR, ticket sales, etc.
2. President of basketball operations: Finley. I see him overseeing stuff like the G-league, game scheduling, basketball personnel, legal issues, internal player discipline, etc. Important stuff, but less roster-based than some people think.
3. GM: TBD, and the primary target of the search firm. He'll be the main guy managing the roster, coaching staff, and I imagine the scouting department.
4. Coach: Mosley. The young and well-liked players coach who is due for a lead gig either here or elsewhere.
Personally, I don't think the news that Mark won't be hiring a guy like Masai or Ainge to do both 2 and 3 is surprising in the slightest. Not only do I think both guys are kinda overrated and full of themselves (if they're so indispensable, why do neither have contracts right now?), but I also don't think dividing those responsibilities between two voices is automatically a problem.
The idea of Finley managing all of the basketball office stuff isn't even that big of a deal, as I think people are overthinking that role in terms of how it really affects the product on the floor. And internal or not, I think Mosley is a great coach and exactly the type of guy they should be looking for over other big-name retreads. I have no problem with him at all. So the key hire right now is the same one that we knew about from the moment Donnie was fired -- GM. Get the right guy in that position who has the required strategic basketball mind and connections around the league, and the entire front office team can work just fine. That's where an agent or a well-respected assistant GM would be a nice fit.
The wildcard to me is the unstated 5th spot:
5. Analytics: Voulgaris. The nerd who crunches all of the numbers looking for an edge.
I think Voulgaris needs to go. He may be smart, but he's undeniably an organizational cancer. I'll also believe he's not coming back only when I see them hire someone else for the job. Mark's silence on him right now speaks volumes, but I'm holding out hope that he's waiting to see if the new GM has another guy for the same role in mind before publicly pulling the plug.
So to sum it all up, I sorta see where Mark is going with this and am not the full doomer just yet. The key to making the team work is to hire a talented GM to focus primarily on the roster, and that's still on the table. And the key to making sure the internal bullshit is fixed is to officially remove Voulgaris from the organization. That's still TBD, and I'll reserve my right to hate on Mark if he doesn't make that change along with the next GM.
0. Owner: Mark. He gets the final say, just like any owner.
1. CEO: Cynthia Marshall. She seems to handle stuff like marketing, public relations, HR, ticket sales, etc.
2. President of basketball operations: Finley. I see him overseeing stuff like the G-league, game scheduling, basketball personnel, legal issues, internal player discipline, etc. Important stuff, but less roster-based than some people think.
3. GM: TBD, and the primary target of the search firm. He'll be the main guy managing the roster, coaching staff, and I imagine the scouting department.
4. Coach: Mosley. The young and well-liked players coach who is due for a lead gig either here or elsewhere.
Personally, I don't think the news that Mark won't be hiring a guy like Masai or Ainge to do both 2 and 3 is surprising in the slightest. Not only do I think both guys are kinda overrated and full of themselves (if they're so indispensable, why do neither have contracts right now?), but I also don't think dividing those responsibilities between two voices is automatically a problem.
The idea of Finley managing all of the basketball office stuff isn't even that big of a deal, as I think people are overthinking that role in terms of how it really affects the product on the floor. And internal or not, I think Mosley is a great coach and exactly the type of guy they should be looking for over other big-name retreads. I have no problem with him at all. So the key hire right now is the same one that we knew about from the moment Donnie was fired -- GM. Get the right guy in that position who has the required strategic basketball mind and connections around the league, and the entire front office team can work just fine. That's where an agent or a well-respected assistant GM would be a nice fit.
The wildcard to me is the unstated 5th spot:
5. Analytics: Voulgaris. The nerd who crunches all of the numbers looking for an edge.
I think Voulgaris needs to go. He may be smart, but he's undeniably an organizational cancer. I'll also believe he's not coming back only when I see them hire someone else for the job. Mark's silence on him right now speaks volumes, but I'm holding out hope that he's waiting to see if the new GM has another guy for the same role in mind before publicly pulling the plug.
So to sum it all up, I sorta see where Mark is going with this and am not the full doomer just yet. The key to making the team work is to hire a talented GM to focus primarily on the roster, and that's still on the table. And the key to making sure the internal bullshit is fixed is to officially remove Voulgaris from the organization. That's still TBD, and I'll reserve my right to hate on Mark if he doesn't make that change along with the next GM.