Ernie Grunfeld
From Hoopedia
Ernest (Ernie) Grunfeld (born April 24, 1955, in Satu Mare, Romania) is an American former professional basketball player. He served as general manager of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association from 1989 to 1999, and as the Milwaukee Bucks' general manager from 1999-2003, at which time he became the President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. In May of 2005, Grunfeld was named by USA Basketball to a panel of nine basketball executives that will advise the United States’ men’s senior national program on matters including coaches and players selection.
Grunfeld came to New York City in 1964 with his father, Alex and mother, Livia. He enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at the University of Tennessee, where he left as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,249 points. He teamed with Bernard King at Tennessee to form the “Ernie and Bernie Show” and later played with King in New York. Grunfeld was a member of the 1976 Olympic Team that won gold in Montreal.
Prior to his arrival in Washington, Grunfeld’s long and prodigious list of accomplishments as one of the league’s elite general managers included two trips to the NBA Finals, four Eastern Conference Finals appearances and 12 playoff berths, including 11 straight from 1991-2001 with the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks. With 28 years of NBA experience as a player, broadcaster, coach and executive, Grunfeld’s vision and leadership have been paramount to the Wizards’ success.
Contents |
Playing Career
Originally drafted by Milwaukee with the 11th overall selection in 1977, Grunfeld played in the NBA for nine seasons. After two seasons in Milwaukee, he played for the Kansas City Kings from 1979-82 before signing with the Knicks as a free agent in 1982. Grunfeld retired following the 1985-86 season with a career average of 7.4 points per game in 693 career games played.
New York Knicks
Following his playing career, Grunfeld served as the Knicks radio analyst for the MSG Network from 1986-89. Prior to the 1989-90 season, he served as an assistant coach for the Knicks under Stu Jackson before his promotion to the front office.
During Grunfeld’s reign as the Knicks’ top personnel executive, New York advanced to the Conference Semifinals of the NBA Playoffs for nine consecutive seasons (1991-99). His tenure included five 50-plus win seasons, three Atlantic Division Championships and two trips to the NBA Finals. In eight full seasons of decision making for New York, Grunfeld’s Knicks teams compiled a record of 397-227 (.636) in the regular season and a 61-44 mark in the playoffs.
Grunfeld was named General Manager of the New York Knicks on April 23, 1991 and was later promoted to President and General Manager on February 23, 1996. His tenure in New York was punctuated by Eastern Conference Championships in 1994 and ’99, the latter of which marked the first time in NBA history that an eighth seed advanced to the Finals. Remarkably, after Patrick Ewing was felled by injury, the ’99 Finals squad featured an entirely different starting five than the previous Eastern Conference Champion Knickerbockers just five years earlier.
With Grunfeld’s vision, the mid-‘90’s Knicks completely rebuilt and reloaded to an elite level without missing a beat. Highlighted by trades for Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby, as well as the signing of free agent Kurt Thomas, Grunfeld’s moves helped catapult the Knicks to the Finals in ’99. Three years earlier, Grunfeld acquired both Larry Johnson and Allan Houston on the same day in ’96, solidifying his reputation as an astute decision maker. Under Grunfeld’s guidance, the Knicks played in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden from 1993-99.
Milwaukee Bucks
Grunfeld spent four seasons as General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, where the team’s 14 playoff wins during his tenure exceeded its cumulative total in the 12 seasons prior to his arrival. During his tenure, the Bucks posted a record of 177-151 (.540) and qualified for the playoffs three times. Included in the Bucks run of playoff success was a trip to the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, where they pushed Philadelphia to a deciding Game 7.
Grunfeld solidified his reputation as a top talent evaluator with a series of second round picks that helped build the Bucks’ roster. Grunfeld’s penchant for finding talent in the second round began when he selected Michael Redd with the 43rd overall pick in 2000, and has since watched Redd blossom into an All-Star performer. Grunfeld has also tabbed Jason Hart (2000), Ronald Murray (2002), and more recently Andray Blatche (2005), in the second round of the NBA Draft to stake his claim as a premier draft day executive.
Washington Wizards
Grunfeld joined the Washington Wizards organization on June 30, 2003, and in just his second year, with a roster that was largely assembled under his guidance, the Wizards won a Playoff series for the first time in over two decades in 2004-05. With their second consecutive playoff appearance in 2005-06, Grunfeld’s Wizards registered back-to-back playoff seasons for the first time in 18 seasons, and reached an organizational goal of becoming perennial Playoff contenders.
Grunfeld triggered Washington’s ascent to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference with the acquisition of a pair of talented performers in Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, both of whom blossomed into All-Stars in Washington. Now as a two-time All-Star and All-NBA performer, Arenas has proven to be the most significant free agent signing in franchise history.
After an appearance in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2005, Grunfeld bolstered the Wizards’ foundation with the acquisition by trade of Caron Butler and the signing of Antonio Daniels in the summer of 2005, complimenting one of the youngest and most versatile nucleuses in the NBA. Butler’s arrival from Los Angeles via trade for Kwame Brown, helped the Wizards feature the NBA’s highest scoring trio in the league for the second consecutive season. This past off-season, Grunfeld added toughness, defense and experience to the Wizards’ roster with a pair of free agent signings in Darius Songaila and DeShawn Stevenson.
Personal
Grunfeld and his wife, Nancy, have two children, Rebecca and Danny. Danny is a recent graduate and Academic All-American from Stanford University, who now plays professional basketball for EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Germany.
