Among Larry Bird, Joe Dumars, Mitch Kupchak and Kevin McHale, there are enough championship rings to fit 10 different fingers.  

These elite NBA champions are now running the four teams that advanced to the conference finals ? the Pacers, Pistons, Lakers and Timberwolves, respectively.
     
Why?  Because the NBA is different from other leagues, where complicated and distinct facets of the game, such as the NFL?s complex defensive schemes, make GM-ing in those sports an impossible task without specialized knowledge and experience.  

Dan Marino quit twenty days into the job as head of the Miami Dolphins football operations.  But in the NBA, ex-All Stars are having success, and the trend toward hiring them to run teams is growing.  

Most aspects of the game are interchangeable and from point guards to centers, if you know one position, you know them all.  Plus these legends demand instant respect among their players, a rare commodity in today?s climate of very young, very unproven talent earning millions of dollars.