tlongII
09-27-2009, 11:58 AM
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/09/post_5.html
TUALATIN — Kevin Pritchard strolls through the main entrance of the Trail Blazers’ practice facility out of breath and dripping wet, sporting a sweaty T-shirt and baggy basketball shorts.
“Just got done doin’ a little running,” he says as he moves past the front desk and into his office.
It was Friday afternoon and Pritchard had sat through obligatory meetings, finalized a non-guaranteed contract with free agent forward Ime Udoka and even mixed in a little lunchtime pickup basketball with some of his management team.
When the Blazers open training camp Monday for the 40th time in franchise history, it will signal the unofficial handoff from Pritchard to coach Nate McMillan, and the Blazers’ general manager will pass along the keys of a team with ambitious goals. The offseason will officially end.
And had Pritchard not explained that he just finished playing hoops, one could have been forgiven for assuming he was merely showing the lingering effects of a roller-coaster summer.
Pritchard has overseen some wild offseasons during his brief tenure as the Blazers’ general manager — the seemingly endless draft-day trades, the stunning NBA draft lottery win, the depressing Greg Oden knee injury — but few have tested Pritchard’s resolve and patience like the summer of 2009.
As he sits behind his desk and kicks off his shoes this fall afternoon, Pritchard makes a surprising declaration in between slurps of bottled water.
“Actually, now that it’s all come together, I’m happy,” Pritchard says, as he starts reflecting on a rocky offseason that was mixed with missteps, rejections, criticism and, eventually, progress.
At one point over the summer, one national NBA pundit labeled Pritchard the offseason’s Biggest Loser. Just last week, an NBA writer for TSN, Canada’s ESPN equivalent, said Pritchard “has begun to get himself a reputation as an arrogant malcontent who sees himself as bigger than his club and his club as better than the league.”
Why the angst? A quick refresher:
Pritchard opened the offseason by declaring that the Blazers, armed with millions of dollars in salary cap space, were going to be major players on the free agent market. He initiated a full-court press for Hedo Turkoglu at the infancy of free agency and the Blazers thought they had an agreement with the small forward. But at the 11th hour, Turkoglu blindsided the Blazers and bolted for a deal with the Toronto Raptors. Then, after moving on to Plan B, Utah’s Paul Millsap, the pursuit of the restricted free agent crumbled when the Jazz matched the Blazers’ offer sheet. Strike two.
All the while, no-brainer contract negotiations with All-Star Brandon Roy had stalled.
Ultimately, after intense internal debate, fruitless trade talks and more unsuccessful free agent pursuits, the Blazers avoided a strikeout. They secured a late free agent deal with point guard Andre Miller and inked Roy to a max contract. The only significant task remaining is to extend the contract of power forward LaMarcus Aldridge before an Oct. 31 deadline.
There’s a saying around the Blazers’ offices, created by director of college scouting Chad Buchanan, that guides everything the management team does: Calm Waters. No matter how high the highs or how low the lows, team officials try to act as if they’re riding calm waters.
Of course, this offseason seemed more turbulent than calm. So how did they smooth out the violent ripples created by the Turkoglu defection?
At the apex of disappointment, just after the Turkoglu deal fell through, Pritchard invited his entire management staff — and their families — to his home on Oswego Lake. He barbecued. Folks hopped in Pritchard’s boat and cruised the lake. Kids chased each other and played in the water. Conversations involved everything but their depressing predicament as everyone soaked in a beautifully sunny Northwest summer day.
And the next day?
“We got back in the office the next morning and started battling it out again,” Pritchard said. “The one thing you want to do at that point in time is make sure everyone knows how much they are appreciated and know that tomorrow we’re going to get working again. It was out of our control. Life is going to give you good and give you bad. When times are good, everything’s fine. When things turn tough, that’s when you can really find what you’re made of and what the organization’s made of.”
Pritchard refused to divulge any details about the behind-the-scenes happenings with Turkoglu. But the sentiment around One Center Court is that if Turkoglu truly did not want to play for the Blazers, they’re glad they discovered so before signing him to a lucrative deal.
“If we took criticism, that’s fine,” Pritchard said. “Because the end result, I’m fine with.”
Pritchard insists — despite what pundits say and despite the summer’s “peaks and valleys” — that it was a successful summer. The franchise won 54 games last season, reached the playoffs and seems well stocked for the future. Pritchard added young talent through the draft and a potential difference-maker through free agency.
The franchise, for the first time under Pritchard’s direction, has moved beyond rebuilding and has progressed to the next step that he refers to as “sustained success.” He wants the Blazers to resemble the San Antonio Spurs or Los Angeles Lakers or Utah Jazz — teams that reload and contend every season. The up-and-down nature of the offseason, according to Pritchard, did not derail these ambitions.
“We’ve gone through a lot of challenging times,” Pritchard said. “If (this offseason is) as tough as it gets, I’m OK. Because here’s the thing; we’re set for the season. Nate’s a great coach. We like our team. We know we’ve got a lot of work to do and I think that’s the key; we’re not going to rest on our laurels. We’re not going to be complacent.”
It’s easy to forget that Pritchard is a relatively inexperienced NBA general manager entering just his third season as the top guy. And while he has achieved a considerable amount in overseeing the top-to-bottom transformation of this franchise, he acknowledges that he has lots to learn. If anything, the past few months have taught him that he could stand to gain better patience.
Arrogant malcontent? Bigger than his team and better than the league? Pritchard insists he couldn’t care less what the pundits think. His focus is on the people inside the organization and the fans that likely will sell out every game at the Rose Garden this season.
“We talk about being humble and hungry all the time and if I didn’t set that tone around here, then I’d be upset,” he said. “I love my job and I feel lucky to be one of 30 people who gets to run an NBA team. I don’t take that lightly. I owe it to a lot of people. And from where I’ve come, from the minor leagues, to get to where I am. I was a marginal NBA player, at best. And to build up an organization I’m proud of means a lot. But I know there’s a lot of work to do.”
And that work continues. The unofficial handoff from Pritchard to McMillan takes place Monday, but the next task of the front office starts Sunday, when Pritchard and his staff huddle in their Tualatin offices to start planning for next year’s draft.
Ultimately, Pritchard says, he will be judged by how the team he’s assembled plays on the court, not by the challenges of the summer. And to that end, he stands by his moves.
“We have a team that is growing and getting better and can achieve a lot of things,” Pritchard said. “And that’s what I focus on. I really do. If I got stuck in all the negatives …”
He paused and pondered before continuing.
“That’s just not me. I really try to live in the positive. Anytime somebody says there are problems, I always tell them to input the word opportunity. A few years ago everybody said, ‘Look at all these problems.’ Well, I said, ‘Look at all this opportunity.’ Maybe I just see the world in a glass-half-full way. But there’s no doubt that you can ride that roller coaster of emotions of this business and there are times when it gets challenging. But I wouldn’t miss it because I love being in the trenches with the right people. It may sound like baloney, read-it-in-a-book stuff, but it’s true.”
TUALATIN — Kevin Pritchard strolls through the main entrance of the Trail Blazers’ practice facility out of breath and dripping wet, sporting a sweaty T-shirt and baggy basketball shorts.
“Just got done doin’ a little running,” he says as he moves past the front desk and into his office.
It was Friday afternoon and Pritchard had sat through obligatory meetings, finalized a non-guaranteed contract with free agent forward Ime Udoka and even mixed in a little lunchtime pickup basketball with some of his management team.
When the Blazers open training camp Monday for the 40th time in franchise history, it will signal the unofficial handoff from Pritchard to coach Nate McMillan, and the Blazers’ general manager will pass along the keys of a team with ambitious goals. The offseason will officially end.
And had Pritchard not explained that he just finished playing hoops, one could have been forgiven for assuming he was merely showing the lingering effects of a roller-coaster summer.
Pritchard has overseen some wild offseasons during his brief tenure as the Blazers’ general manager — the seemingly endless draft-day trades, the stunning NBA draft lottery win, the depressing Greg Oden knee injury — but few have tested Pritchard’s resolve and patience like the summer of 2009.
As he sits behind his desk and kicks off his shoes this fall afternoon, Pritchard makes a surprising declaration in between slurps of bottled water.
“Actually, now that it’s all come together, I’m happy,” Pritchard says, as he starts reflecting on a rocky offseason that was mixed with missteps, rejections, criticism and, eventually, progress.
At one point over the summer, one national NBA pundit labeled Pritchard the offseason’s Biggest Loser. Just last week, an NBA writer for TSN, Canada’s ESPN equivalent, said Pritchard “has begun to get himself a reputation as an arrogant malcontent who sees himself as bigger than his club and his club as better than the league.”
Why the angst? A quick refresher:
Pritchard opened the offseason by declaring that the Blazers, armed with millions of dollars in salary cap space, were going to be major players on the free agent market. He initiated a full-court press for Hedo Turkoglu at the infancy of free agency and the Blazers thought they had an agreement with the small forward. But at the 11th hour, Turkoglu blindsided the Blazers and bolted for a deal with the Toronto Raptors. Then, after moving on to Plan B, Utah’s Paul Millsap, the pursuit of the restricted free agent crumbled when the Jazz matched the Blazers’ offer sheet. Strike two.
All the while, no-brainer contract negotiations with All-Star Brandon Roy had stalled.
Ultimately, after intense internal debate, fruitless trade talks and more unsuccessful free agent pursuits, the Blazers avoided a strikeout. They secured a late free agent deal with point guard Andre Miller and inked Roy to a max contract. The only significant task remaining is to extend the contract of power forward LaMarcus Aldridge before an Oct. 31 deadline.
There’s a saying around the Blazers’ offices, created by director of college scouting Chad Buchanan, that guides everything the management team does: Calm Waters. No matter how high the highs or how low the lows, team officials try to act as if they’re riding calm waters.
Of course, this offseason seemed more turbulent than calm. So how did they smooth out the violent ripples created by the Turkoglu defection?
At the apex of disappointment, just after the Turkoglu deal fell through, Pritchard invited his entire management staff — and their families — to his home on Oswego Lake. He barbecued. Folks hopped in Pritchard’s boat and cruised the lake. Kids chased each other and played in the water. Conversations involved everything but their depressing predicament as everyone soaked in a beautifully sunny Northwest summer day.
And the next day?
“We got back in the office the next morning and started battling it out again,” Pritchard said. “The one thing you want to do at that point in time is make sure everyone knows how much they are appreciated and know that tomorrow we’re going to get working again. It was out of our control. Life is going to give you good and give you bad. When times are good, everything’s fine. When things turn tough, that’s when you can really find what you’re made of and what the organization’s made of.”
Pritchard refused to divulge any details about the behind-the-scenes happenings with Turkoglu. But the sentiment around One Center Court is that if Turkoglu truly did not want to play for the Blazers, they’re glad they discovered so before signing him to a lucrative deal.
“If we took criticism, that’s fine,” Pritchard said. “Because the end result, I’m fine with.”
Pritchard insists — despite what pundits say and despite the summer’s “peaks and valleys” — that it was a successful summer. The franchise won 54 games last season, reached the playoffs and seems well stocked for the future. Pritchard added young talent through the draft and a potential difference-maker through free agency.
The franchise, for the first time under Pritchard’s direction, has moved beyond rebuilding and has progressed to the next step that he refers to as “sustained success.” He wants the Blazers to resemble the San Antonio Spurs or Los Angeles Lakers or Utah Jazz — teams that reload and contend every season. The up-and-down nature of the offseason, according to Pritchard, did not derail these ambitions.
“We’ve gone through a lot of challenging times,” Pritchard said. “If (this offseason is) as tough as it gets, I’m OK. Because here’s the thing; we’re set for the season. Nate’s a great coach. We like our team. We know we’ve got a lot of work to do and I think that’s the key; we’re not going to rest on our laurels. We’re not going to be complacent.”
It’s easy to forget that Pritchard is a relatively inexperienced NBA general manager entering just his third season as the top guy. And while he has achieved a considerable amount in overseeing the top-to-bottom transformation of this franchise, he acknowledges that he has lots to learn. If anything, the past few months have taught him that he could stand to gain better patience.
Arrogant malcontent? Bigger than his team and better than the league? Pritchard insists he couldn’t care less what the pundits think. His focus is on the people inside the organization and the fans that likely will sell out every game at the Rose Garden this season.
“We talk about being humble and hungry all the time and if I didn’t set that tone around here, then I’d be upset,” he said. “I love my job and I feel lucky to be one of 30 people who gets to run an NBA team. I don’t take that lightly. I owe it to a lot of people. And from where I’ve come, from the minor leagues, to get to where I am. I was a marginal NBA player, at best. And to build up an organization I’m proud of means a lot. But I know there’s a lot of work to do.”
And that work continues. The unofficial handoff from Pritchard to McMillan takes place Monday, but the next task of the front office starts Sunday, when Pritchard and his staff huddle in their Tualatin offices to start planning for next year’s draft.
Ultimately, Pritchard says, he will be judged by how the team he’s assembled plays on the court, not by the challenges of the summer. And to that end, he stands by his moves.
“We have a team that is growing and getting better and can achieve a lot of things,” Pritchard said. “And that’s what I focus on. I really do. If I got stuck in all the negatives …”
He paused and pondered before continuing.
“That’s just not me. I really try to live in the positive. Anytime somebody says there are problems, I always tell them to input the word opportunity. A few years ago everybody said, ‘Look at all these problems.’ Well, I said, ‘Look at all this opportunity.’ Maybe I just see the world in a glass-half-full way. But there’s no doubt that you can ride that roller coaster of emotions of this business and there are times when it gets challenging. But I wouldn’t miss it because I love being in the trenches with the right people. It may sound like baloney, read-it-in-a-book stuff, but it’s true.”