Peachtree Hoops: NBA General Manager Rankings: Rick Sund Checks In At No. 24

[Hawksquawk]

Mike Prada of SB Nation ranks Atlanta's Rick Sund at No. 24 in this year's rankings of the best General Managers in the NBA. Sund drops two spots in the rankings this year after coming in at No. 22 before last season. 

Prada classifies Sund as a company man and points out his affordable signing of Al Horford to an extension prior to last season as a positive. However, he brings up the extensions given to Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams as negatives and also says the Hawks overpaid for Kirk Hinrich at the trade deadline last season. Here is Prada's bottom line summary in regards to Sund.

BOTTOM LINE: Sund's competent and his owners don't make life easy with their budget, but the Hawks' inability to escape the NBA's middle class is as much his doing as anyone else's. It looks like he'll have to deal 

Josh Smith

 to cut costs, and that's unfortunate because Smith's contract and demeanor really isn't the team's problem.

The difficult thing in ranking Sund and GM's in particular is that each of them work in different environments and with different limitations. We don't know for sure but suspect that Hawks ownership played a big part in the selection of Larry Drew as coach and the decision to give Joe Johnson a max extension last summer. 

Exit Question: Is this ranking fair? Why or Why not?

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