Former Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld is an important and controversial figure in recent team history. Over his 16-year tenure from 2003-2019, he made a number of savvy trades for key players like Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Marcin Gortat and Nene. He constructed the first Wizards team to win a division title since 1978-79 and constructed multiple playoff-bound teams. But Grunfeld also made some draft picks and free agents that didn’t work out, especially toward the end of his tenure in Washington.
All that said, Grunfeld’s job performance in Washington is not the purpose of this post.