Reply With Quote
The Blazers were primed to be great over the next few years with a solid foundation of young talent, coupled with loads of cap room...and lo and behold they're pissing it away. Well played, Pritch
NBA free agency’s winners and losers
Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard.
(AP)
As the rejections and criticisms mounted lately, NBA executives and agents described Portland Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard as “agitated” and “panicked” and even “desperate.” He kept returning to teams with the same proposals, only to be dismissed again and again. All his plans had imploded.
Pritchard has long liked to talk about never laying up on the golf course and burning through cell batteries and the way that the Blazers had outworked and outsmarted the NBA. Few have been terribly impressed with how Pritchard handled the highs of the job, and now there are doubts about how he’s handling its lows.
After the first 10 days of free agency, so far Pritchard stands as the summer’s biggest loser.
Hedo Turkoglu(notes) humiliated him with an 11th-hour dash for Toronto. By then, Trevor Ariza(notes) had already taken the Houston Rockets’ money. Pritchard couldn’t pry Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince(notes) nor Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich(notes). The job wasn’t as hard when owner Paul Allen gave him tens of millions to buy up draft picks, but free agency is a far more level playing field. Truth be told, Pritchard has failed.
All this cap space, all these big plans, and Pritchard offered a $34 million offer sheet for Paul Millsap(notes) to play behind LaMarcus Aldridge(notes). They need a small forward, but he refused to make a bid for the most talented one on the market – the Los Angeles Lakers’ Lamar Odom(notes).
Odom could’ve been had for the Blazers, but Pritchard has, for now, committed his money to a backup power forward. He could’ve dented the Lakers and met his most pressing need with Odom’s length, athleticism and versatility.
For every advantage Pritchard had in assembling these Blazers, he’s struggling with the next step: managing it all.
Pritchard’s greatest gift has been his ability to persuade owner Paul Allen to spend money. Now, Pritchard is struggling to convince Allen to give Brandon Roy(notes) a full five-year max extension. The process has increasingly stunned and angered Roy. Whatever anyone thinks, no one has had more to do with the Blazers’ revival than Roy.
Beyond that, Pritchard has a problem with one of the most well-regarded coaches in the NBA: Nate McMillan doesn’t want to sign a contract extension. He’s tried to explain his desire for one-year contracts as some kind of self-motivational tool, but no one buys it. It’s clear that McMillan wants to be a free agent in 2011.
“He knows Portland isn’t the last place he’ll be,” a league source said. “Everyone will want him.”
Multiple league sources believe there’s a wedge between Pritchard and McMillan, but both general manager and coach have long denied it. Even so, it makes league officials wonder how deeply McMillan believes in his boss’ blueprint that he refuses to commit long-term to it.
The rapid rise is over in Portland, and now, Kevin Pritchard has to manage his creation. So far, he’s endured the most rugged summer of his executive career.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns
The Blazers were primed to be great over the next few years with a solid foundation of young talent, coupled with loads of cap room...and lo and behold they're pissing it away. Well played, Pritch
Ouch,that's a pretty harsh article.
I do think Portland is starting to contact Lamar to see his interest in coming over. That's why I think all of a sudden the Lakers are upping their offer to Lamar. Lamar on the already strong Blazers would be disastrous for the Lakers.
tshlong
that is one of the great pictures of all time, it never gets old. especially the one on the far right who is Perfect.
oh, and
"Houston...Welcome to .."......HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
With what capspace?
I totally agree with that article. If Pritchard had gome to Lamar with 30mi/3yrs, 4th year partially guarunteed, Lamar would have jumped at it (he wants 10mil per), he would have filled a need for the Blazers and severely weakened the Lakers all in one shot. Instead, he's ed it all up.
How do these NBA execs so often overlook the obvious course of action????
He can still offer that amount assuming the Jazz match the Millsap offer; would Odom still accept it, or would the Lakers be willing to spend that much (20 million a year for them, given their luxury tax).
Stupid article. We've got all year to use that cap space so there's no rush.
Oh, and LOL Lakers. You suck.
Dude, just a year of experience will make us better than the Lakers.Blazers were already first round fodder, and every team has upgraded, except yours.
What the is a tlongII anyways?
This is a TLongII
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
