march madness nba

March 30, 2007 (AP) -- The NBA season is a year round circus for league GMs and front-office execs. Come March, the juggling act grows more complex, and there’s no telling how many balls are up in the air for these personnel gurus.
At a critical time when a number of NBA teams are battling to find a spot in the playoff race, and others are racing to find themselves a more cozy seed, there is a whole lot of up-and-coming talent competing on stages right next door… also known as March Madness.
“This is the busiest time of the year for us, but we have to go out and see these college kids,” said Ernie Grunfeld, Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations and nine-year NBA veteran. “We try to do a little bit of everything. I recently saw several Wizards games, but now I’m leaving for a European scouting trip where I’ll be in four different cities in five nights. As soon as I return, I’ll catch up and see what’s going on with the team.”
About 3,000 miles west, Hall-of-Famer Elgin Baylor, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Vice President of Basketball Operations, subscribes to the same theory.
“We have a lot of people out there scouting all over the country and throughout Europe. We might have more than one pick, so we have to focus and remain very diligent and conscious about the draft,” said the 14-year NBA veteran and All-Star. “The trade deadline is gone, so we go with the players we have. The coaching staff is working as hard as they can, and I am hoping we can hang in there and fight through to the playoffs.”
Hopeful his Clippers will rise above the pressure - particularly the injuries plaguing the team’s leaders - Baylor says he presumes his players, like the rest of the world, are following the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m sure they are watching their own colleges to see how they’re doing, but these guys are focused on our season and winning,” he said. “As an NBA player, I was always watching the college games. Aside from following my school, Seattle, I was interested in seeing whom my team could get in the draft. But I always stayed focused on winning.”
Orlando Magic Assistant GM Dave Twardzik is honing his energy on the college competition, while managing to keep tabs on his team back home.
“Once college seasons starts, I see very few NBA games, maybe only 15 Magic games this year. I’m basically responsible for the draft, so my thrust is scouting,” said Twardzik, who played four seasons with both the NBA and ABA. “Our scouting is so separate from the NBA stuff, so Otis Smith [Magic GM] and I check in with each other often and keep each other informed on both fronts.”
Across the board, the NCAA tournament comes at the close of an eventful season of college basketball evaluation.
“March Madness is part of the evaluation process, but we can’t formulate an opinion on only two games or so. We try to see the players we are keeping an eye on multiple times. The tournament is just one piece of the evaluation puzzle,” said Twardzik.
Over in Toronto, where the playoffs are evolving from a dream to reality, the Raptors’ front office is buzzing.
“You’ve got one eye on your team, it’s progress, and all that goes with it…like injuries. On the other hand, you’re always looking to improve your team through the draft,” said Raptors’ Senior Basketball Advisor Wayne Embry.
The 11-year NBA veteran, whose favorite time of the year is March, says he has tremendous confidence in his coaching staff and the direction his team is heading.
“I’d like to be there more with the players, but they understand what we are doing, trying to improve the team,” he said. “There was a point when they were playing in college, hoping scouts were in the stands watching them. When I come back from a scouting trip, the guys are always quizzing me on who I saw, who was good, who was impressive.”
This day and age, staying informed about NBA happenings at home isn’t all that tough, and it’s no wonder the college tournament stands are filled with NBA scouts and their multiple gadgets.
“It used to be that we’d be sitting in the stands calling back home to get an NBA score,” said Embry. “Now that we’ve got our BlackBerries and laptops, most of us are at a game clicking on Web sites and checking our phones. And that happens through most of the post-season."
Over in Indiana, it’s all about the here and now for NBA icon Larry Bird, Pacers’ President of Basketball Operations.
“At this point, we concentrate on the NBA season the most. You have to scout, you have to know what’s going on in the college ranks, but our focus is on the Indiana Pacers,” said Bird, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
This comes as no surprise, as Larry Legend, whose team is currently hanging on the playoff race by a thread, is wholeheartedly attentive to the NBA, all the time.
“When I was playing, March was only about the NBA for me,” said the Indiana State standout. “Maybe if I went to a school like NC State or UCLA, it would have been different. I can remember only watching the final game, usually with my agent.”
Same goes for Isiah Thomas, who says that during his playing days, March was a time when the Pistons were just heating up and gunning for the NBA Championships. But after 13 illustrious seasons in the Motor City, Zeke is in the thick of a whole new ballgame.
“I try to watch as many tournament games as I can because there is so much good, young talent out there,” said Thomas, Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. “But I definitely have to balance that part of the job with staying focused on our team and our next opponent in the middle of our playoff run.”
Cleveland GM Danny Ferry and his Cavaliers can find a bit more solace in the team’s current playoff standing. While his mind is focused on his own stomping grounds, the 13-year NBA veteran says March is his time to enjoy.
“I’ve been following the college season very closely, so now I am watching as more of a fan,” said the outwardly proud Duke alum. “Of course we also watch the tournament from a scouting perspective, but by now, we’ve already gotten a good feeling and understanding for the players we are interested in. If anything, their tournament play gives them a checkmark next to their name.”
The juggling act known as March - complete with intense competition, nail-biting anticipation and high-pressure performances - has NBA execs scurrying throughout the globe. With the present and future success of their teams at stake, there’s no time to drop even one ball… and there’s no clownin’ around about that.