Michael Winger is a proponent of the NBA's new In Season Tournament and thinks it has been embraced by players and fanslarry french
Being a president of basketball operations is a coveted role, but for Monumental Sports & Entertainment President of Basketball Operations Michael Winger, overseeing not just the Wizards, but also the WNBA Mystics and NBA G-League Washington Go-Go, provided the opportunity to better multiple clubs through additional channels that some singular franchise might not have.
Speaking at SBJ’s Dealmakers conference in D.C., Winger discussed how his time with the Clippers and Thunder helped shape his approach to making personal decisions and deals in the front office.
Winger said he and his team try to “factor in the uncertainty” around player personnel and modeling to account for the valuation of the players. Despite all the preparation, Winger said most of the prep he does doesn’t always come through on the deal, but the preparation that helps you getting the deal done.
Winger: “You can work till the cows come home, and 75% of the work you prepare won’t be used.” He added the biggest skills needed to run a front office are building trust, both internally and externally, and creating relationships with other front offices.
Winger said he and his team would be “willing to take something less than a hundred percent on a trade if we're dealing with a team that we trust” because the organization needs to know information that is being shared is protected.
Winger also mentioned that the NBA’s newly launched In-Season Tournament has been really embraced and believes it is only going to grow.
“From the athlete perspective, they were behind this tournament and wanted to win,” Winger said.
While the Wizards might not have gone as far as Winger would have hoped, he believes the tournament is only going to improve over the next iterations.
Winger: “It's only going to get better because the teams, the league will keep refining what it looks like. It's just going to keep getting better and at some point there will be a winner and there will be a celebration of that winner. And then the other 29 teams are going to get to watch that celebration and they're going to recognize that, oh boy, wasn't part of that celebration and I want to be a part of that celebration.”
Winger was also asked about the newly created Player Participation Policy, which is to help limit load management.
He said the current policy is a “non-issue” for the Wizards given the team’s current competitive stage, but their roster is also composed of players “who want to play.” Winger says he believes the policy will serve its purpose and better the NBA for both the competition and the fans.
