1. Mike Gansey, Cleveland Cavaliers Assistant General Manager
Most basketball fans wouldn’t think of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first place to look to find a solid under-the-radar general manager candidate in a big-time search like the Bulls have going. But there’s a potential hidden gem that the Bulls could find here with the Cavs assistant general manager and G-League affiliate Canton Charge general manager Mike Gansey.
Originally hired with the Cavaliers front office and holding a leadership role in the Charge front office since 2012, Gansey made his way up the managerial ranks pretty fast. He was the director of development league operations with the Cavaliers (and G-League affiliate Charge) out of the gates.
Since then, Gansey was promoted to become the Charge general manager prior to the start of the 2015-16 season, and he was also promoted to become the Cavaliers assistant general manager in the 2017 offseason. The biggest honor he’s taken home since beginning his front office run in the NBA and development league is the G-League Executive of the Year with the Charge back in 2017.
Gansey played the last of his college ball with the West Virginia Mountaineers, and spent much of his professional playing career in the D-League in the late 2000’s. He’s still just 37 years old, so he’s one of the youngest potential candidates to fill the general manager opening that the Bulls could pursue.