ESPN analyst: Suns should find GM from winning team
May 6, 2013, 10:00 PM | Updated: 10:30 pm
Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Jon Barry has a theory he feels the Phoenix Suns should adhere to as they continue to search for a new general manager.
“If I’m Robert Sarver or whoever’s going to make the ultimate decision, I’m going to franchises that I have seen that have won year after year, the consistency,” he told Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Monday. “Grab someone from San Antonio, grab someone from Boston.
“Get these people that have been there year after year after year; they develop young talent, their scouting is correct, they get European players, they do it the right way.”
Barry said it should not matter if the person has been a general manager before or not, as finding someone with a winning pedigree and the ability to find talent is paramount.
Supposedly, the Suns’ search is down to three: Boston’s Ryan McDonough, Milwaukee’s Jeff Weltman and San Antonio’s Scott Layden.
Of those three, perhaps it’s McDonough who is the most intriguing. Currently the Celtics’ assistant general manager, the 33-year-old has experience in the team’s video department as well as a scout, too.
Yet, he’s never been a general manager.
“There’s a ton of guys in this league that have pretty prominent positions that have been video coordinators, and that’s where they start,” Barry said. “I don’t get caught up in that.”
