GMs are often evaluated by whom they draft and whom they pay. While the former receives significant fanfare, the latter is every bit as important when it comes to fielding a consistent winner. Sadly, the W's have been terrible at assessing impact, value and worth relative to the market/league.

From Mullin&Co's first batch of extensions featuring Fisher and Foyle to the recent additions of Maggette and Turiaf, the common theme remains the W's paying a premium to sign complementary talent. I'm not suggesting Turiaf will be the disaster Foyle was or Maggette will struggle to reconcile his role(s) the way Fisher did, but none of these guys are franchise players. If overpaying weren't bad enough, the team seems to miss the mark when it comes to adding role players who actually complement their "core" guys.

Armed with the flexibility to add another young, building block, the W's opt instead to sign secondary talent... grasping for a quick fix when they should be taking a step back to better evaluate their situation and the best course of action.

If you're going to front load an offer sheet in an effort to dissuade a team from matching, do so for a player like Andre Iguodala--not Ronny Turiaf. Have the patience to sort out the available options(even the unlikely ones) rather than rushing to sign the first b-list player who'll take your money.

If you run a fast-paced offense and you lose your best playmaker, you might want to redirect those resources to someone who actually makes plays for his teammates. The W's instead work their way down their list of unrestricted free agents. They throw at money at one guy after another until Corey Maggette graciously accepts a W's offer that bests his MLE options by a significant sum.

At the end of the day, I can't help but question the franchise's commitment and wherewithal to build a contender.

Did they really deny KG an extension when the parties were talking trade scenarios? Totally indefensible, imo.

The W's seem content to compete for the final playoff spots in the West. Don Nelson, Baron Davis & Co. sell out the lower bowl and now it's up to Cohan's lackeys to keep this team well in the black. I don't pretend to know the dynamics at play within the front office, but I doubt Mullin would have had the ok to tank for a high pick if he and his staff deemed it the W's best chance to contend down the road.

Needless to say, this has been a disappointing off-season. I expect the W's will be a relatively competitive team. Nelson can coach iso. ball and he'll take advantage of the mismatches he has on a given night. Ellis is a dynamic player, who might surprise and shine as a facilitator. The W's do have a good amount of talent on this team, but I think they could and should have done better of upgrading the roster this summer.