Philadelphia 76ers: 5 candidates for vacant general manager role
By Bret Stuter
3. Mike Zarren, assistant GM, Boston Celtics
If there is any front office worth pillaging, it’s that of the Boston Celtics. They have been very successful in the past four seasons. Not only have they enjoyed a good history, but this team’s future appears very bright indeed.
The Boston Celtics have had plenty of ammunition with which to build a contender, but unlike many teams who learn they are building an “almost” contender, this front office did not hesitate to roll the dice and take some chances.
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In the 2017 offseason, the Celtics traded away then star point guard Isaiah Thomas and their 2018 Brooklyn Nets first round pick for Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving. So far, their strategy appears to have sustained the Celtics’ push into the conversation for next year’s NBA championship.
So the assistant who has helped to propel the team into that discussion is certainly deserving of consideration for a role with another team hoping to enter that discussion. Per his NBA biography, Zarren is “one of the leaders in the field of advanced statistical analysis of basketball players.”
His expertise runs firmly into handling the NBA salary cap in terms of contracting for players. It’s difficult to be good in virtually all aspects of the NBA front office, but Michael Zarren certainly seems to fill all responsibilities. Poaching him from the Celtics would not only add a valuable executive to the Sixers organization, but deplete the front office of a competitor at point blank range from a critical offseason for both teams.