Ernie Grunfeld
Ernie Grunfeld
Ernest "Ernie" Grunfeldis the General Manager of the Washington Wizards. He was also once a professional basketball player. He served as general manager of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association from 1989 to 1999, and as the Bucks' general manager from 1999–2003, at which time he became the President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth24 April 1955
closer eye highly negatives people player rated special
The special ones, you keep a closer eye on. He was a very highly rated player and very unselfish. I used to tell him that one of the negatives people say about you is that you're too unselfish. That's a negative you'd like to have. He's very tough, very competitive.
absolutely agency believed commitment couple create crucial culture develop free guys hard improve last player premium seen trades tried work
I've always believed that player development is absolutely crucial to a franchise, ... You can do some things with trades and free agency but you have to develop your own players. I think you've seen some of our young guys really improve the last couple of seasons. What we've tried to create is a culture of hard work and commitment and we've put a premium on working with our young players.
add basketball cares guys number player proven tough type unselfish versatile
The number one thing I like about Caron is that he's a hard-nosed, tough basketball player, ... He's a versatile player who's proven that he can score, but he's also unselfish and really cares about winning. Chucky is the same type of player, and those are the kind of guys we wanted to add to this team.
beginning good liked number pick players solid wish work
Kwame was the number one pick here and it probably didn't work out the way he would've liked or we would've liked, but we wish him the best, ... Sometimes a new beginning is good for everyone and we feel we have two very solid players for him.
add agent arenas ball continue fair final goals including informed larry offer perennial players playoff regarded rejected remain returning team
Larry Hughes's agent informed us that Larry is not returning to Washington, ... He rejected our final offer which we regarded as very fair and very meaningful. We have a lot of outstanding players on this team including All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, and we will add players that will continue to make us a very competitive ball club. Our goals remain the same which is to be a perennial playoff contender.
added elected excited forward larry moving players sign wish
We made Larry a significant offer, but he elected to sign with another team. We wish him the best. We're moving forward and we're excited about the players we added to our team.
adds depth familiar player programs seattle veteran winning
Calvin is a veteran player that adds depth to our frontcourt, ... He's experienced, he's been a part of winning programs in Seattle and in Dallas, and he's familiar with Washington.
basketball focused good later looks news recover stuff sure worry
Right now we're just focused on making sure he comes out of this okay, ... The good news is that it looks like he's going to recover from this . We'll worry about the basketball stuff later on.
attention case effort
Every case is a different case, ... We'll give him all the attention that we can. At the same time, he's going to have to put the effort in on his own.
condition doctors good informed spoken
We have spoken to Andray and the doctors have informed us that he is in good condition and doing well.
along bring deep good ranked situation team upside
We had him ranked as a first-round talent, ... We think he really has a good upside with the use of the NBDL. This makes it a better situation for all of us. We have a deep team and we're going to be able to bring him along slowly.
opportunity preferred since situation
Since we upgraded our backcourt situation the way we have, he didn't think he has an opportunity here. He preferred being in another situation.
opportunity preferred since situation
Since we upgraded our backcourt situation the way we have, he didn't think he had an opportunity here. He preferred being in another situation.
came close deal pick
When you only have the 49th pick to deal with, you don't have much leverage, ... We had some conversations, but nothing really came close to getting into the first round.