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Ernest Grunfeld (born April 24, 1955) is a Romanian-American former professional basketball player and former general manager in the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA). In college at the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
, he set a new record as the school's all-time leading scorer. He won
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...
s with Team USA at the
1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...
and the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
. He began his professional career as a player with the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
. He served as General Manager of the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
from 1989 to 1999, and as the Bucks General Manager from 1999 to 2003, and then became the president of basketball operations for the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
from 2003 to 2019.


Early life

Born in
Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...
, Romania, Grunfeld immigrated with his parents, Alex and Livia, to the United States in 1964 when he was eight years old.Ernie Grunfeld
/ref> He is Jewish, and his parents are
Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...
s. He grew up in Forest Hills, in
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York City, where he attended Forest Hills High School. At 18 years of age, he played for Team USA in the 1973 Maccabiah Games in Israel, was the only high school student on the American team's starting five, and led the team in scoring with a 20-point average as the US took the
silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
.


College career

He attended the
University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
, where he played basketball with future NBA
Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors ...
. Nicknamed the "Ernie and Bernie Show", they averaged over 40 points per game. With 2,249 points, he set a new record as the school's all-time leading scorer. The record was broken by
Allan Houston Allan Wade Houston (born April 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A shooting guard, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; he w ...
in 1993.


Playing career

Grunfeld was drafted 11th overall by the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
in the 1977 NBA draft. On December 26, 1978, Grunfeld led all scorers with 27 points in a 143–84 blowout victory against the
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
. He played with the Bucks for two years and moved to the
Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
for the 1979–82 seasons. In 1981 he had a .535 field goal percentage. The Knicks signed him as a free agent in 1982, and he played there for four years, where he reunited with Bernard King. He retired following the 1985–86 season. Grunfeld averaged 7.4 points per game in his NBA career. In 1982 he averaged 12.7 points a game, and 21.8 per 40 minutes. In 1986 he was third in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage, with .426. He finished his career with a .477 field goal percentage and a .770 free throw percentage. His playoff shooting percentages were even better.


NBA career statistics


Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, 73 , , - , , 17.3 , , .443 , , - , , .657 , , 2.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , - , , 21.7 , , .493 , , - , , .761 , , 4.4 , , 2.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, 80 , , - , , 17.5 , , .443 , , .500 , , .771 , , 2.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, 79 , , - , , 20.1 , , .535 , , .000 , , .743 , , 2.6 , , 2.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 7.5 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, 81 , , 11 , , 23.4 , , .511 , , .143 , , .821 , , 2.2 , , 3.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 77 , , 0 , , 18.5 , , .443 , , .000 , , .827 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 76 , , 6 , , 14.7 , , .459 , , .222 , , .771 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 69 , , 0 , , 15.4 , , .490 , , .250 , , .740 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 1985–86 , align="left" ,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 76 , , 0 , , 18.4 , , .417 , , .426 , , .833 , , 2.7 , , 1.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 5.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 693 , , 17 , , 18.6 , , .477 , , .337 , , .770 , , 2.6 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 7.4


Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, 7 , , - , , 11.0 , , .531 , , - , , .800 , , 1.6 , , 2.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, 3 , , - , , 10.7 , , .556 , , .000 , , .333 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
, 15 , , - , , 42.2 , , .488 , , .500 , , .806 , , 4.2 , , 5.9 , , 2.0 , , 0.6 , , 16.8 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 6 , , - , , 19.7 , , .441 , , .000 , , .947 , , 1.3 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, 11 , , - , , 7.6 , , .478 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 2.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 42 , , - , , 22.5 , , .488 , , .500 , , .827 , , 2.2 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 8.9


National team career

Grunfeld was selected to participate as a member of the American basketball team at the 1973 Maccabiah Games, while he was still attending high school. The US team was defeated by
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in the final game. Grunfeld played on the team that won a gold medal at the
1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...
. He also participated in the basketball event at the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
, again winning the gold medal. He became an American citizen that year.


Sportscasting career

After he retired from the NBA, Grunfeld was the Knicks radio analyst for the
MSG Network The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...
from 1986–89. He then briefly worked under
Stu Jackson Stuart Wayne Jackson (born December 11, 1955) is an American basketball executive and former basketball coach. He currently serves as the director of basketball operations for the French professional club Élan Béarnais based in Pau. Jackson ...
as an assistant coach for the Knicks before starting his career in team administration.


Executive career

Grunfeld was appointed director of administration in the 1990–91 season and was moved to vice-president of player personnel on April 23, 1991. He was then appointed vice president and general manager on July 21, 1993. He became president and general manager on February 23, 1996. During his time with the Knicks, Grunfeld and his family were residents of
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,079, an increase of 489 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 10,590, which in turn reflected a ...
. During his eight-year tenure with the Knicks executive, the team had a record of 397 wins and 227 losses (.636), and a 61–44 playoff record. They won the Atlantic Division three times and reached the NBA finals twice. At the time of his removal from his general manager post, during the 1998–99 season, the team had a 21–21 record and were on the verge of not making the playoffs. They eventually got in with a 27–23 record. He was responsible for bringing every player on that roster to the team except for
Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New ...
. Before the start of the season, he organized the trade of
Charles Oakley Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association ( ...
to the
Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...
for
Marcus Camby Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...
, and
John Starks John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard. Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four ...
to the
Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
for
Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...
. Many people blamed him for the Knicks' poor play. However, they came within 3 games of winning the championship, losing to the
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
in 5 games. At first it was said that he was being temporarily relieved of his duties as general manager. When the season ended with the result that came about, it was said that all was forgiven and he would be reinstated. However, he took the job as the Bucks' general manager on August 13, 1999. He held the position for four seasons, during which the Bucks made the playoffs three times and enjoyed 14 playoff wins. The team won 177 regular season games and lost 151 (.540 average).


Washington Wizards

He was hired by the
Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
as president of basketball operations in June 2003. During his tenure, the Wizards have held a record of 536–678 (44% win rate from 2003/2004 to 2017–2018), which includes six seasons with fewer than 30 wins alongside eight Eastern Conference playoff appearances. Candace Burker of ''The Washington Post'' noted that "Grunfeld ranks as the second-longest tenured general manager in franchise history, trailing only Bob Ferry (1973–1990), who guided the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA championship."


Transactions

As the Wizards' general manager, Grunfeld signed free agent point guard
Gilbert Arenas Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (; born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Arenas attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Arizona lat ...
, who went on to have one second team All-NBA and two third team All-NBA seasons. In 2004, Grunfeld traded the number five pick in the
2004 NBA draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...
along with
Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's team. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ...
for All-Star
Antawn Jamison Antawn Cortez Jamison (; born June 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He serves as director of pro personnel for the Washington Wizards. Jamison playe ...
. Grunfeld also traded
Kwame Brown Kwame Hasani Brown (born March 10, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Selected by the Washington Wizards in the 2001 NBA draft, Brown was the first No. ...
for All-Star
Caron Butler James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During a 14-year career he played for the Miami ...
(who was later traded in a deal for
Josh Howard Joshua Jay Howard (born April 28, 1980) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the UNT Dallas Trailblazers men's basketball team. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. H ...
). In the 2007 and 2008 NBA draft classes, Grunfeld selected Nick Young and Javale McGee respectively. While young and athletic, the two players soured in Washington and were dealt in 2012. In the
2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...
, Grunfeld traded the team's first-round pick (5th overall) for Mike Miller and
Randy Foye Randy Foye (born September 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Villanova University. He was selected seventh overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, but was immediately traded to ...
, both of whom only spent one season in Washington. In the
2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...
, Grunfield selected the consensus number-one overall pick
John Wall Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. (born September 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Raleigh, North Carolina native, Wall was chosen with the first overa ...
. Grunfeld drafted
Jan Veselý Jan Veselý (born 24 April 1990) is a Czech professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he can play both the power forward and center positions. He was selected sixth overall in the ...
and Chris Singleton in the first round of the
2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...
. In addition,
Shelvin Mack Shelvin Bernard Mack Jr. (born April 22, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player who is an analyst for CBS Sports. He played college basketball for the Butler Bulldogs. High school career Mack attended Bryan Station High Scho ...
was selected in the second round. All three players were off of the team three seasons later. Vesely and Singleton are currently not in the NBA. In the
2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...
, Grunfeld drafted
Bradley Beal Bradley Emmanuel Beal Sr. (born June 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators before being selected by ...
at number three overall and drafted
Tomas Satoransky Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomas (surname), a French and Croatian surna ...
in the second round. In the 2013 NBA draft, Grunfeld drafted
Otto Porter Otto Porter Jr. (born June 3, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas and was selected with the third overall ...
at number three overall as the Wizards jumped five spots in the lottery process. He acquired
Glen Rice Jr. Glen Anthony Rice Jr. (born January 1, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Brillantes del Zulia of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2013 NBA draft, but was imme ...
in a draft day trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. The Wizards traded their first-round pick in the
2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...
along with
Emeka Okafor Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi "Emeka" Okafor (born September 28, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Okafor attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas and the University of Connecticut, where in 2004 he won a national champ ...
for
Marcin Gortat Marcin Janusz Gortat (; born February 17, 1984) is a Polish former professional basketball player. The , center is the son of boxer Janusz Gortat. He was drafted in the second round by the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 NBA draft and played for the O ...
in a trade with the Phoenix Suns in October 2013. Grunfeld sold the Wizards 2014 2nd-round pick for $2 million to the Lakers, who then drafted
Jordan Clarkson Jordan Taylor Clarkson (born June 7, 1992) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for two seasons with Tulsa before transferring to Missou ...
. In July 2014, he signed former NBA Finals MVP
Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...
to replace
Trevor Ariza Trevor Anthony Ariza (born June 30, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an NBA championship in his first stint with the Lakers in 2009 ...
,
Kris Humphries Kristopher Nathan Humphries (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, New Je ...
in a sign and trade with the Boston Celtics (trading a 2015 2nd round pick), and
DeJuan Blair DeJuan Lamont Blair (born April 22, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 2007 to 2009. Blair entered the 2009 NBA draft where he was selected as the 37th overall ...
in free agency. On December 15, 2018, he was involved in a trading controversy surrounding
MarShon Brooks MarShon Scitif Brooks (born January 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Standing at , he plays at shooting guard and small forward positions. Origi ...
and
Dillon Brooks Dillon Brooks (born January 22, 1996) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks, where he was named a consensus second-te ...
. Later on that same day, he traded
Austin Rivers Austin James Rivers (born August 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rivers led Winter Park High School to back-to-back Florida 6A state championships ...
and Kelly Oubre Jr. to the Phoenix Suns for the return of Trevor Ariza. On April 2, 2019, he was fired by the Washington Wizards.


Halls of Fame

In 1987, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. In 1993, Grunfeld was inducted into the
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...
. In 2008, Grunfeld's number 22 that he wore while at Tennessee was retired, making him the second Tennessee Volunteer in Men's Basketball to be retired along with his teammate
Bernard King Bernard King (born December 4, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player at the small forward position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 14 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors ...
. He was also inducted into the
PSAL The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
Wingate Fund Hall of Fame.


Personal life

Grunfeld's son,
Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
, played for
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
(2002–2006), the German
Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
team
EWE Baskets Oldenburg Baskets Oldenburg, for sponsorship reasons EWE Baskets Oldenburg, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Oldenburg, Germany. The club plays in the Bundesliga. The club's name is derived from the team's main sponsor EWE AG, ...
(2006–2007), and
Gandía BA Gandia Bàsquet Athletic is a professional basketball team based in Gandia, Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most ...
, a professional basketball team in Spain, and received
Romanian citizenship The Romanian nationality law addresses specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between Romania and the individual. Romanian nationality law is based on '' jus sanguinis'' ("right of blood"). Current citizenship policy in Romania is in ...
to be eligible to play for the
Romania national basketball team The Romania men's national basketball team ( ro, Echipa națională de baschet a României) represents Romania in international basketball competition. The team is administered by the Romanian Basketball Federation (FRB). Romania has qualified ...
.


See also

* List of select Jewish basketball players


References


External links


Basketball Reference stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunfeld, Ernie 1955 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 1973 Maccabiah Games Forest Hills High School (New York) alumni Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players Kansas City Kings players Maccabiah Games basketball players of the United States Maccabiah Games medalists in basketball Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association general managers New York Knicks assistant coaches New York Knicks announcers New York Knicks players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Forest Hills, Queens People from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey People from Satu Mare Jewish Romanian sportspeople Romanian emigrants to the United States Romanian Jews Shooting guards Small forwards Tennessee Volunteers basketball players United States men's national basketball team players Washington Wizards executives 21st-century American Jews