Golden boy walks into dark

[tlongII]

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/123172170980290.xml&coll=7

The NBA's golden boy arrived at the Rose Garden on Saturday in a silver Acura MDX. He wore a gray pinstriped suit, had a fresh haircut, and a light purple dress shirt to go with a dark purple tie.

It's not lost on anyone that Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard has a blank check for an owner. And that the three drafts Pritchard handled for Portland he was given the resources to land five lottery picks. And also, the GM has Jeff Ma, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology card-counting genius responsible for "Bringing Down the House," writing computer-algorithms for his scouting database.

So, yeah, basically there's an old-guard NBA faction that would love to see this guy walk into a five-star restaurant and sit down in a chair sometime that splintered and buckled underneath him.

Portland beat Golden State 113-100 on Saturday. Afterward, Pritchard left the Rose Garden arena with his girlfriend, Marlene, a teacher and former Blazers dancer. And so yeah, basically, when the rest of the league saw an opportunity to squash Pritchard's summer 2009 salary-cap flexibility by signing Darius Miles to a 10-day contract, it was going to get done.

Said one Western Conference GM of Pritchard on Saturday: "(Bleep) that guy, he's walking around rubbing everyone's nose in the deals he's made and even with all those lottery players his team is still not in the playoffs.

"There was a line of guys in the league waiting to sign D. Miles if Memphis didn't."

What we have here, see, isn't so golden.

It's dark. And ugly. And maybe, too, a little bit educational. Because all that jealousy, hostility and contempt is going to manifest itself over the next couple of months, maybe years, and at the very least Pritchard better come to understand this if he's going to navigate the territory successfully.

There is a new way of doing things in the NBA. And an old way. Pritchard, Cleveland's Danny Ferry, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti, Houston's Daryl Morey, Toronto's Bryan Colangelo are among the new-way guys.

The new guys are young, and dress well. They live well. They incorporate computer programs in their scouting process. They're outspoken, they're creative, forward-thinking and progressive. Sometimes that stuff plays obnoxious to outsiders. Sometimes it just is. And when you threaten to win big -- the Blazers are eight games over .500 and are a potential player in trade/free-agency -- well, that pretty much makes you the grand pooh-bah of the new-world guys.

It's not lost here that Pritchard is also a rabid Blazers fan. He reads every word written by local and national media about the team. He comes home from games and pores over the fan message boards, too. And on Saturday he admitted that he even posts on the Internet fan forums under an alias, because he simply can't help himself.

The big surprise this week isn't that Memphis, and others, were ready to take on Miles and make life difficult for Portland. But rather, why anyone paying attention would have been shocked to see someone eager to stand in Pritchard's way.

On Saturday, asked about the target on his chest, Pritchard said, "They probably see that we're winning, and it's the whole organization they see in a position to have success."

Um, no.

Maybe there's a little truth there, but if it were an old-world general manager sitting in the middle of what looks like a bright future at One Center Court, you can bet the resistance wouldn't be as enthusiastic. Outside GMs would be crowing about a well-done job, and years of hard work paying off, and a break that management had coming.

Instead, other league executives are asking stuff like, "Did that (bleep) really coin (the phrase) 'Pritch-slapped' by himself?"

(No. He didn't. The term was born in the mind of a Blazers fan after a series of Pritchard personnel moves. But you get the idea.)

Pritchard hasn't missed with a single player transaction since arriving in Portland. He's made all the right moves. Every one of them. Some with brains. Others with luck. And after the Blazers beat long odds and landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 Draft (Greg Oden), you half expected the Blazers general manager would show up in the center of the city and make the Broadway Bridge levitate.

I guess this is where I'm supposed to say that Pritchard should do a better job of appearing humble and grateful. That he shouldn't stand out front and smile so much when he cuts a big trade. That he should have kissed the ring of the old-guard a little more, and maybe, life feel so hostile.

That he shouldn't do so many national interviews. That he shouldn't brag that 25 percent of his scouting is done by the program written by the MIT genius. Maybe, too, that Pritchard shouldn't rave so loudly that he thinks Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are the best two players from the 2006 Draft.

If he followed that advice, maybe the old-world wouldn't resent him so much. Maybe they wouldn't have been as eager to curb his cap flexibility. Maybe he would have had an easier week.

But as long as he's making the right moves, and following the rules, how can you tell Pritchard to change a thing?

It's his world, you know.

[turiaf for president]

pritch is a douche

[I. Hustle]

TlongII = Pritchard

[timvp]

Damn, he's a bigger douche than I thought.

[tlongII]

He's not a douche at all. Canzano has gone over the top in the article saying the Pritchard brags about something. He never brags about anything. He has admitted that Jeff Ma has written part of a player evaluation program and he has stated that he thinks Roy and Aldridge are the best 2 picks of the 2006 draft. That ain't bragging.

[Duncanoypi]

All i know is Golden Boy was beaten badly by our man "Pacman"

[tlongII]

Bullshit!!! Pritch had you all worked up over nothing this summer, thinking you guys had a title contender. There was more bullshit coming out of that camp than a person could believe, and YOU were the ring leader.
He's getting what he deserved for that stupid email of his, and now he has put a bounty on the head of the Blazers for the remaining of the season.

I cant wait to see how this is going to turn out.

We're going to KILL the Lakers when you visit the Rose Garden. You'll be singing a different tune then.

[m33p0]

All i know is Golden Boy was beaten badly by our man "Pacman"
He was more like black-and-blue than golden afterward. :toast

[turiaf for president]

We're going to KILL the Lakers when you visit the Rose Garden. You'll be singing a different tune then.

i guess if u continually say the blazers are gonna beat the lakers, your going to get it right one time. hell, the clippers, can say that too......

and anyone who says they will sue someone for doing nothing wrong (in otherwords try to be a bully and threaten people for now justifiable reason) he is a douche

[dirk4mvp]

lol, darius miles

[balli]

I guess this is where I'm supposed to say that Pritchard should do a better job of appearing humble and grateful. That he shouldn't stand out front and smile so much when he cuts a big trade. That he should have kissed the ring of the old-guard a little more, and maybe, life feel so hostile.

That he shouldn't do so many national interviews. That he shouldn't brag that 25 percent of his scouting is done by the program written by the MIT genius. Maybe, too, that Pritchard shouldn't rave so loudly that he thinks Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are the best two players from the 2006 Draft.

If he followed that advice, maybe the old-world wouldn't resent him so much. Maybe they wouldn't have been as eager to curb his cap flexibility. Maybe he would have had an easier week.

But as long as he's making the right moves, and following the rules, how can you tell Pritchard to change a thing?

It's his world, you know.

He shouldn't do any of those things. He should, however, stop being a fucking cock-sucking little bitch. This isn't about his personal style, it's about threatening legal action, in an attempt to cover up his own fuck up, in an extremely hostile and disrespectful manner. This article and Pritchard himself, are fucking jokes.

[JamStone]

This son of a pritch makes Mark Cuban appear shy and modest.

[tlongII]

i guess if u continually say the blazers are gonna beat the lakers, your going to get it right one time. hell, the clippers, can say that too......

and anyone who says they will sue someone for doing nothing wrong (in otherwords try to be a bully and threaten people for now justifiable reason) he is a douche

Larry Miller sent the email you're referring to, not Pritchard.

[balli]

Larry Miller sent the email you're referring to, not Pritchard.

I'm aware. But I... and I'm sure plenty of GM's, took it as an organizational move, perpetrated by the Blazers entire front office.

[tlongII]

I'm aware. But I... and I'm sure plenty of GM's, took it as an organizational move, perpetrated by the Blazers entire front office.

Well hell yeah, it probably was. BFD. If we can intimidate other teams with a memo I say Go for it!

[jack sommerset]

One fact stuck out the most in the article. That guy has not won shit. If you don't think he has a huge EGO explain why he would threaten the rest of the league if they signed Miles. Dumb.

[turiaf for president]

Well hell yeah, it probably was. BFD. If we can intimidate other teams with a memo I say Go for it!

thats not intimidating. thats threatening.........

whatever. its all a mute point because the grizzlies are going to play miles and portland will be screwed. i hope they dont play him til the last 2 games of the season to build the suspense.

im sure most of you guys here know the situation but lets recap. is portland really being screwed here? they filed mile's contract to the insurance company because it was believed to be a career ending injury. the league took his salary off of the teams cap because again, it was thought to be a career ending injury.

Now Miles, whether its because of his relentless rehab or misdiagnosis of the portland training staff/doctors, is fully capable of playing basketball again. he may not live up to that 9 mil/yr contract, but thats no reason the blazers should be off the hook for that ridiculous contract, which is way too common in the nba (kwame, brian grant, raef lafrentz, wally z, etc.

[JamStone]

"moot"

not "mute"

Sorry, but one of those grammar pet peeves I have. I know I'm being anal, but it does irk me.

[tlongII]

thats not intimidating. thats threatening.........

whatever. its all a mute point because the grizzlies are going to play miles and portland will be screwed. i hope they dont play him til the last 2 games of the season to build the suspense.

im sure most of you guys here know the situation but lets recap. is portland really being screwed here? they filed mile's contract to the insurance company because it was believed to be a career ending injury. the league took his salary off of the teams cap because again, it was thought to be a career ending injury.

Now Miles, whether its because of his relentless rehab or misdiagnosis of the portland training staff/doctors, is fully capable of playing basketball again. he may not live up to that 9 mil/yr contract, but thats no reason the blazers should be off the hook for that ridiculous contract, which is way too common in the nba (kwame, brian grant, raef lafrentz, wally z, etc.

You see this is where I completely disagree with you. The dude can't play any more. The only thing that's going to happen is that Memphis will play him a couple of games and release him. He'll never play another game in his life. Why? Because he can't help anybody with his game in its current condition. If that's not career ending I don't know what is!

[1Parker1]

He drives an Acura MDX....couldn't afford anything better? ;)

[JamStone]

There's a difference between not being able to play at an NBA caliber level and being "medically unable" to play anymore. There are plenty of NBA players that get NBA contracts that end up sucking at some point before their contracts expire. Michael Olowokandi comes to mind. Miles isn't "medically unable" to play. It's not going to be a health risk for him to play. He just isn't nearly as good or as athletic as he once was.

The Blazers were trying to pull a fast one themselves.

[DaDakota]

This thread is useless without pics of his girlfriend.

DD

[sook]

This thread is useless without pics of his girlfriend.

DD

stop commenting here until you tell clutch to unban me

[DPG21920]

You see this is where I completely disagree with you. The dude can't play any more. The only thing that's going to happen is that Memphis will play him a couple of games and release him. He'll never play another game in his life. Why? Because he can't help anybody with his game in its current condition. If that's not career ending I don't know what is!

So does Scalabrine help the Celtics?

[tlongII]

There's a difference between not being able to play at an NBA caliber level and being "medically unable" to play anymore. There are plenty of NBA players that get NBA contracts that end up sucking at some point before their contracts expire. Michael Olowokandi comes to mind. Miles isn't "medically unable" to play. It's not going to be a health risk for him to play. He just isn't nearly as good or as athletic as he once was.

The Blazers were trying to pull a fast one themselves.

Not true. Independent doctors have advised him that he will likely need knee replacement surgery sooner if he continues to play.

[turiaf for president]

You see this is where I completely disagree with you. The dude can't play any more. The only thing that's going to happen is that Memphis will play him a couple of games and release him. He'll never play another game in his life. Why? Because he can't help anybody with his game in its current condition. If that's not career ending I don't know what is!

doctors cleared him to play, he says he feels 100%, that means hes not MEDICALLY INCAPABLE of playing basketball.

[turiaf for president]

his last game was on the 6th of this month and he had 2 boards and 2 blocks in 7 minutes. 1 block, you may be able to get as a fluke but 2 blocks in 7 minutes = good enough knees to play. hell, contracts aside, i'd trade luke walton for miles right now.

[tlongII]

So does Scalabrine help the Celtics?

The Celtics have signed Scalabrine for the entire season. No team would do that with Miles.

[tlongII]

his last game was on the 6th of this month and he had 2 boards and 2 blocks in 7 minutes. 1 block, you may be able to get as a fluke but 2 blocks in 7 minutes = good enough knees to play. hell, contracts aside, i'd trade luke walton for miles right now.

He's 6-9. He merely needs to raise his arms to get a block in scrub time.

[JamStone]

Not true. Independent doctors have advised him that he will likely need knee replacement surgery sooner if he continues to play.

He was cleared to play.

[turiaf for president]

funny thing is, if the tables were turned and if the lakers were then ones who "intimidated" everyone in this situation, tlong would be the 1st one to cry foul

[tlongII]

funny thing is, if the tables were turned and if the lakers were then ones who "intimidated" everyone in this situation, tlong would be the 1st one to cry foul

Duh

[turiaf for president]

lol at least u admit it. but in this case, sorry but you're wrong. if miles is cleared to play, his injury wasnt career ending

[tlongII]

lol at least u admit it. but in this case, sorry but you're wrong. if miles is cleared to play, his injury wasnt career ending

I still disagree. If he only plays in 10 games that sounds career ending to me.

[NBA Dynasty]

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf?/base/sports/123172170980290.xml&coll=7

The NBA's golden boy arrived at the Rose Garden on Saturday in a silver Acura MDX. He wore a gray pinstriped suit, had a fresh haircut, and a light purple dress shirt to go with a dark purple tie.

It's not lost on anyone that Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard has a blank check for an owner. And that the three drafts Pritchard handled for Portland he was given the resources to land five lottery picks. And also, the GM has Jeff Ma, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology card-counting genius responsible for "Bringing Down the House," writing computer-algorithms for his scouting database.

So, yeah, basically there's an old-guard NBA faction that would love to see this guy walk into a five-star restaurant and sit down in a chair sometime that splintered and buckled underneath him.

Portland beat Golden State 113-100 on Saturday. Afterward, Pritchard left the Rose Garden arena with his girlfriend, Marlene, a teacher and former Blazers dancer. And so yeah, basically, when the rest of the league saw an opportunity to squash Pritchard's summer 2009 salary-cap flexibility by signing Darius Miles to a 10-day contract, it was going to get done.

Said one Western Conference GM of Pritchard on Saturday: "(Bleep) that guy, he's walking around rubbing everyone's nose in the deals he's made and even with all those lottery players his team is still not in the playoffs.

"There was a line of guys in the league waiting to sign D. Miles if Memphis didn't."

What we have here, see, isn't so golden.

It's dark. And ugly. And maybe, too, a little bit educational. Because all that jealousy, hostility and contempt is going to manifest itself over the next couple of months, maybe years, and at the very least Pritchard better come to understand this if he's going to navigate the territory successfully.

There is a new way of doing things in the NBA. And an old way. Pritchard, Cleveland's Danny Ferry, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti, Houston's Daryl Morey, Toronto's Bryan Colangelo are among the new-way guys.

The new guys are young, and dress well. They live well. They incorporate computer programs in their scouting process. They're outspoken, they're creative, forward-thinking and progressive. Sometimes that stuff plays obnoxious to outsiders. Sometimes it just is. And when you threaten to win big -- the Blazers are eight games over .500 and are a potential player in trade/free-agency -- well, that pretty much makes you the grand pooh-bah of the new-world guys.

It's not lost here that Pritchard is also a rabid Blazers fan. He reads every word written by local and national media about the team. He comes home from games and pores over the fan message boards, too. And on Saturday he admitted that he even posts on the Internet fan forums under an alias, because he simply can't help himself.

The big surprise this week isn't that Memphis, and others, were ready to take on Miles and make life difficult for Portland. But rather, why anyone paying attention would have been shocked to see someone eager to stand in Pritchard's way.

On Saturday, asked about the target on his chest, Pritchard said, "They probably see that we're winning, and it's the whole organization they see in a position to have success."

Um, no.

Maybe there's a little truth there, but if it were an old-world general manager sitting in the middle of what looks like a bright future at One Center Court, you can bet the resistance wouldn't be as enthusiastic. Outside GMs would be crowing about a well-done job, and years of hard work paying off, and a break that management had coming.

Instead, other league executives are asking stuff like, "Did that (bleep) really coin (the phrase) 'Pritch-slapped' by himself?"

(No. He didn't. The term was born in the mind of a Blazers fan after a series of Pritchard personnel moves. But you get the idea.)

Pritchard hasn't missed with a single player transaction since arriving in Portland. He's made all the right moves. Every one of them. Some with brains. Others with luck. And after the Blazers beat long odds and landed the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 Draft (Greg Oden), you half expected the Blazers general manager would show up in the center of the city and make the Broadway Bridge levitate.

I guess this is where I'm supposed to say that Pritchard should do a better job of appearing humble and grateful. That he shouldn't stand out front and smile so much when he cuts a big trade. That he should have kissed the ring of the old-guard a little more, and maybe, life feel so hostile.

That he shouldn't do so many national interviews. That he shouldn't brag that 25 percent of his scouting is done by the program written by the MIT genius. Maybe, too, that Pritchard shouldn't rave so loudly that he thinks Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge are the best two players from the 2006 Draft.

If he followed that advice, maybe the old-world wouldn't resent him so much. Maybe they wouldn't have been as eager to curb his cap flexibility. Maybe he would have had an easier week.

But as long as he's making the right moves, and following the rules, how can you tell Pritchard to change a thing?

It's his world, you know.

What the fuck man. Hop Off. What is with your obsession.

[AnotherArgie]

He's 6-9. He merely needs to raise his arms to get a block in scrub time.

Block of the Night, start of the second quarter:

TOkcfSxng50

Yes, he just raised his arms in scrub time... :rolleyes

[Armando]

For a team with all that talent that has yet to make the playoffs Pritchard is sure acting like a 1st class douchebag. And trying to prevent Miles from working is illegal.

[urunobili]

Block of the Night, start of the second quarter:

TOkcfSxng50

Yes, he just raised his arms in scrub time... :rolleyes

our long missed long 3? :wow

[urunobili]

Damn, he's a bigger douche than I thought.


This son of a pritch makes Mark Cuban appear shy and modest.

[turiaf for president]

Block of the Night, start of the second quarter:

TOkcfSxng50

Yes, he just raised his arms in scrub time... :rolleyes

lol OWWWNED again