by Chris Humpherys

Created on: February 16, 2010

More often than not, the NBA superstar athlete is unable to translate the success he had on the floor onto either the sidelines or front office.  There are exceptions to this rule, such as Pat Riley, Bill Russell, KC Jones or Rudy Tomjanovich, but for the most part, top-tier players have had difficulty leading their teams from the bench as easily as they did when they were in uniform.  Imagine Coach Jordan condemning a player for not dropping forty a night.  It’d be like Mozart asking a pupil to compose the perfect symphony.  They simply expect too much. 

The best coaches are generally the more cerebral, fringe players, if they ever even played at all.  Phil Jackson averaged seven points and four rebounds over his career but he’s the winningest coach of both the Chicago Bulls AND the Los Angeles Lakers.  Red Auerbach never played a minute in the league.

One would think the greatest players ever would be able to at least scout talent, yet time and again they’ve proven woefully inadequate when it comes to building a championship franchise.

Five perennial all-stars come to mind, ferocious on the court but inept in the front office.  Accordingly, here’s sportschump.net’s list of Five Best (Players) to Worst (GM’s).

5 - Joe Dumars

I know what you’re saying.  Joe Dumars built a championship franchise, but this is the NBA and fans want to know what you’ve done for them lately.  This year, the Pistons are 23 games out of first place and a shell of their former selves.  Joe D is largely to blame.

On the court, Joe Dumars was a silent assassin, a key cog to Detroits’ run of back-to-back championships.  On a team loaded with Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Mark Aguirre and John Salley, it was Dumars who won the 1989 Finals MVP.

As GM, he helped build another Pistons dynasty, drafting Tayshaun Prince and trading for Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups.  He also hired Larry Brown.

Then came the 2003 NBA Draft and a decision that will haunt Joe Dumars forever.  With Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh still on the board, Dumars drafted Darko Milicic which rivals Portland’s selection of Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan as the biggest basketball blunder of all time.

After six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances but only one NBA title, Dumars decided to blow up the team.  He drafted Jason

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