Executive of the Year – Dennis Lindsey
The Executive of the Year Award is often one of the hardest to judge in my opinion, as several around the league could be considered worthy of the nod.
Daryl Morey of the Houston Rockets certainly deserves consideration for bringing in Chris Paul and turning his team into the powerhouse that they’ve become. Although he was highly criticized at the time, I believe that Kevin Pritchard of the Indiana Pacers deserves consideration for this award as well due to how his team has been able to rebuild and improve on last season, despite being nothing short of forced to trade their superstar in Paul George away.
The list could go on and on, but among those that find themselves extremely deserving is none other than Utah’s very own Dennis Lindsey. What the Pacers have been able to do after losing a star has been impressive, but especially if Utah closes out the year to earn a playoff bid, I’d argue that Dennis Lindsey has managed an even more spectacular turnaround.
Think about it for a second, the Jazz lost both of their two leading scorers from last season for absolutely nothing in return. Zero. Indiana at least got Victor Oladipo (who has transformed into a star) and Domantas Sabonis back for Paul George. No other team that lost their franchise player has been able to respond like either of these two teams have.
If Utah makes the playoffs, Dennis Lindsey should be Executive of the Year. Getting this team constructed in a way that the playoffs would be even possible after what happened last summer was putting on a GM clinic. Show me a GM who had a better summer. #TakeNote
— Kaleb Searle (@kaleb_searle) March 8, 2018
But not only did Lindsey miss out on Gordon Hayward and get nothing in return, but by the time Hayward’s 4th of July decision was finally resolved, the free agent market had largely dried up. Therefore, Dennis was forced to go out and essentially make something out of nothing by adding the likes of Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Ekpe Udoh on extremely savvy deals.
He also added rookie Royce O’Neale, who has gone from largely an unknown to an exceptional role player on a nightly basis. Oh yeah, and that Donovan Mitchell guy? It was Dennis Lindsey who orchestrated the trade to add him to Utah’s ranks. How well has that worked out? And while it’s still early, the trade to bring in Jae Crowder appears to be a perfect fit thus far as well.
And while one may argue that the Jazz being in 10th place right now makes Lindsey’s so-called pivot after the Hayward departure look less than successful, the Jazz still have an excellent chance to climb up the standings, and regardless of where they finish, they’ve certainly remained an absolutely competitive team that would almost certainly be in the thick of things in the West already if it weren’t for the early injuries to Rudy Gobert.
If the Jazz do indeed make the playoffs, then this argument will be erased completely, Lindsey will be vindicated and he will have an even stronger case for Executive of the Year. At this point, he’s nowhere near the frontrunner, but with what he’s accomplished this season and considering the trajectory the Jazz are on regardless of how the year ends up, he’s certainly a worthy candidate for consideration.