Cavalier Capital Allocation | Operating Models | Warriors: Depth as a Growth Level | Konnor Griffin Question | Prospect Redundancy
Investment Wisdom from Charlie Munger
Don’t ‘fall in love’ with an investment - be situation - dependent and opportunity-driven.”
Cavalier Capital Allocation
On January 15, 2026, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club appointed Johnny Heitinga as their First Team-Assistant Coach.
On February 11, 2026, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club fired Thomas Frank as their Head Coach.
On February 16, 2026, Johnny Heitinga left his role as First Team-Assistant Coach. He spent a total of 33 days at the club.
One of Football’s Biggest Inefficiencies is how we think about Assistants. The Archetype for a Football Assistant seems to largely revolve around loyalty. For Example, when Thomas Frank becomes the Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur, he brings an army of coaches from Brentford. They arrive as a package deal. Those army of coaches are naturally loyal to Thomas Frank. That isn’t to say they aren’t loyal to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. It is to say that their function isn’t exactly as Club Employees. As a result, when Thomas Frank leaves they leave. Forget long-term continuity, there isn’t even short-term continuity or transition. One army of coaches is replaced by a completely different army of coaches. None of this is good for the player, the coaches, or the club. While the result is Cavalier Capital Allocation and Instability, the Solution is Better Process and Considered Thinking.
Operating Models
This is a continuation of the McKinsey Talks Talent Episode about the Right Operating Model.
Excerpt 1: “Don’t always go for structure first. Think about the other factors, the other elements of your organization that can lead to performance. And avoid this whiplash effect, which again creates change fatigue, and here we go again, ITIS as I like to call it.”
Comment: When you change the Operating Model with regularity. When you change the Director of Football with regularity. When you change the Head Coach with regularity. When there isn’t a Clear Objective, you create a combination of instability and instability fatigue. When that happens, the players become insular. The Tottenham Example is instructive. These players first bought into the gospel of Ange Postecoglu. When that failed, they were subsequently asked to buy into the gospel of Thomas Frank. When that failed, they were subsequently asked to buy into the gospel of Igor Tudor.
Golden State Warriors: Depth as a Growth Lever
The Golden State Warriors are playing without Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. The Golden State Warriors are also playing without Draymond Green. The Golden State Warriors have severe limitations. That Said, the Warriors have 4 Wins and 5 Losses since Steph Curry’s Injury at the start of the month of February. Let’s be clear, the Warriors aren’t lighting the world on fire. But, the Warriors are extracting every bit of talent on their roster. Last Night against the Grizzlies was instructive, the Warriors received positive contributions from every player in their rotation. That includes 19 Points off the bench from Gary Payton II, + 23 from Pat Spencer, and 21 Points from Will Richard.
One More Thing, it’s one thing to have Depth and it’s another to Establish Depth. Often times, teams give up on Depth when they have their best player. That’s a mistake. The opportunity lies in incorporating and establishing Depth both in the best of circumstances and in the worst of circumstances.
Konnor Griffin Question
Of all the major functions in professional sports, I believe there is nothing harder than hitting a baseball. While we have immense data, it isn’t always clear when a player is ready to jump from the minor leagues to the major leagues. What I do know is that baseball teams delay calling up elite players that are ready to save money in the future. In doing so, they slow down the development of the player, the team, and the overall organization.
One of the common themes I am seeing in Spring Training is Prospect Redundancy. By that I mean, Teams have Multiple Prospects in the Same Position, Ready to Play in the Big Leagues. While it’s a good problem to have, because you can never have too much talent. It also creates difficult choices and invites misalignment. When you invite misalignment, you negatively impact both player and team development.
This brings me to Konnor Griffin. Konnor Griffin is 19. Konnor Griffin like most Top Prospects should go through the process. What is that Process? It depends, but in the most generic terms that process is graduating from Single-A all the way to majors as the player hits key benchmarks. But is that the Answer? Is Griffin Ready Now? Is Griffin’s Process, Routine, Approach, Swing Decisions, and Execution Ready for the Big Leagues?
Finally, how the Pirates navigate the Konnor Griffin question is going to be fascinating. The Pirates Front Office is under pressure to Win Now. The Pirates have made moves in the Off Season to Win Now. Do those Incentives Align with Griffin’s Short and Long-Term Development?