How to Manage an NBA Basketball Team
Running an NBA team is one of the biggest challenges in pro sports. There are many responsibilities, including putting together a cohesive coaching staff, finding and signing talented players, keeping the team under the salary cap and making sure that players and coaches have good working relationships.
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Instructions
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Put together a solid working roster of players. It's not simply a matter of going out and getting all the superstars you can afford. Instead, it's about getting players who work together cohesively. This is how a general manager can excel. Getting players who bring out the best in each other will help your team win more games than putting together a roster with the most talented players in the league.
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Make sure you have a roster that has a proper mix of young players and veterans. Young players who are in their first, second or third years will probably have more speed, quickness and energy than older veterans. There are times when your coach will need the speed and quickness of youth to get the team over the top in a game and there are other times when a veteran's cool demeanor under pressure will get the team a victory. Having a mix of young players and veterans will also help keep your team under the salary cap, which is a league requirement. Salaries of your players cannot go over a certain level or teams could be penalized for the transgression. In 2009-10, the NBA salary cap was $57.7 million.
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Find the best coaching staff available for your team. This does not mean the best head coach. The coaching staff includes the assistants. Communication between the team's general manager and coaching staff is essential. If the coaches are unhappy with the type of players on the team, they must communicate this and give a good reason why. Both the coaching staff and the general managers need to put their egos aside and communicate easily so the team can be cohesive and effective.
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Establish rules for the player's off-the-court behavior and enforce them. There have been many off-the-court incidents involving NBA players over the years. Giving the players rules for behavior might seem childish, but it is also likely to establish boundaries over what is acceptable behavior. You don't want the team to become embarrassed by off-the-court misbehavior, and this is a way to attempt to limit the problems.
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Put together a scouting staff. Your scouts will evaluate college players as well as European players. You must find scouts whose opinions you trust. It's not a matter of your scouts telling you that a player has dominated in college. Your scouts must be able to give you a valuable opinion on whether the player's skills will translate to the NBA.
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