When the Wizards acquired Kirk Hinrich last month, one reported reason for the trade was that team president Ernie Grunfeld has long been a fan of Hinrich's game. As Michael Lee noted, Grunfeld has long "coveted" Hinrich as a player.
↵Grunfeld elaborated on his history following Hinrich in a press conference earlier today at Verizon Center. In introducing Hinrich, Grunfeld mentioned that he looked at him heavily in the 2003 draft, when he was still the general manager for the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks had the eighth pick in that draft, and Grunfeld had zeroed in on Hinrich as one of the players he hoped to take. However, the Bulls snapped him up one pick before the Bucks, and Grunfeld was forced to settle for T.J. Ford.
↵"I think it's safe to say that if he wouldn't have gone before us, he would have gone to us in Milwaukee," Grunfeld said.
↵Seven years later, Grunfeld has his man.