Kevin Pritchard Speaks On Millsap, Roy + Aldridge Negotiations, Hedo
by Ben Golliver on Jul 9, 2009 1:43 PM PDT
in News
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PrintFor news that broke this morning, please see the twitter page until I get a chance to pull it all together.
Here's a video of Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard's comments this afternoon at the Practice Facility.
KP discusses the team's rumored interest in Paul Millsap, the ongoing "amicable" negotiations with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge and other topics. This post will updated with a transcript and additional comments/thoughts later this afternoon.
On Current Status
We're working hard there's no doubt about it. We're looking at all our options. We're excited about the possibilities. Maybe they happen tomorrow, maybe they happen in 2 months. Maybe they hapepn at the trade deadline. We like the fact that we have a 54 win team, a great young team. We expect the four rookies from last year -- Oden, Rudy, Bayless and Batum -- their growth is important, maybe more important, than anything we do in free agency or by trade. Excited about the season, me personally seeing guys in this gym it makes me sparkle a little bit.
On Paul Millsap
We're looking at all our options. I wouldn't say we are just looking at that. We are talking with him, that I can verify. But he's not the only person we're talking to. We are selective. It's not just a fit here anymore, it's a special fit. We are very selective. I know a lot of free agents have signed with other teams and that's ok with us. We feel like there are certain guys that are right for us and some guys that don't fit.
I'm a big believer in that you get the best player. Nate is an unbelievable coach, he always figures out how to blend the talent together. If you can get the best player available, go get him.
On Brandon/LaMarcus Contract Extension Talks
In any negotiation there are conflicts, right? LaMarcus and Brandon are absolutely critical to what we are doing going forward and they are going to be here a long time. We are having amicable talks with their agents, we've known their agents for a long time, they've done Martell Webster, it's that group, it's not like we are going through this for the first time with those guys. It's amicable. We plan to make it amicable. More importantly, Brandon and LaMarcus will be here for a long time.
On Hedo
I was disappointed. I can't hide my emotions that way. Very disappointed. We went through a process with him. We got to a point where we both felt comfortable. But here's what I do know, if it wasn't right for him it wasn't right for us. We are after players who are about winning, who are about being successful and who are about being unselfish. If it didn't fit, it didn't fit and I'd rather know now than later.
Other statements made after above video...
More on Brandon and LaMarcus Negotiations
We all value Brandon and LaMarcus so much. We know they are a part of this organization for a long time. We are going to do everything we can to come up with a solution. Whether it's this week or next week, we don't know. It's so important to us and to them... they've been a part of this turnaround. I was part of a group that drafted him. I have a special bond with those guys. We are going to negotiate with those guys always in good faith. Always.
I don't want to get into all of that, that would be a Brandon question or his agent question, but there potentially could be yes.
I wouldn't rule either one out.
On Bayless
It's part of his development. I don't want to put pressure on his development. LIke "If he doesn't do great, he's out" -- last year he was the MVP, right? It's a little bit of a change. What we really want from Bayless is to convert to a guy that can come in and make guys better. I know for a fact he can go get 30 points in a summer league. What we want to see is growth as a point guard.
Are you disappointed by Free Agency so far?
Not at all. We have a 54 win team that's young, that's growing, and we hope they all can continue to grow. I don't think anyone on our team CAN'T get better. That's a unique position and we are sitting on some cap space. You don't make a move just to make a move. You make the RIGHT move. Whether it presents itself today, in a week, in a month, you don't know. We're not afraid to pull the trigger and we're going to be active to try to create some of those things.
Free Agents or Trades?
You limit yourself if you're saying you're just going after free agents.... there are so many opportunities... we are one of the few remaining teams that has cap space. You've got to be creative in how you use it.
On Finding The Right Fit
It's hard just adding someone, right? it's hard just adding a player that isn't better or a better fit for us. Nate and I talked about it today... we could do a lot of things, there are a lot of things out there but we love Batum, we love Roy, we love LaMarcus, we love Rudy. We feel like we have these cornerstones and foundation pieces and all these guys that are still growing.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)
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Love the comment about Hedo.
“We are about people who want to win…and are unselfish.” As we all know Hedo doesn’t care about winning and is probably selfish
Red Hot and Rolling
Aw, quote the whole, juicy thing:
“We are after players who are about winning, who are about being successful and who are about being unselfish. If it didn’t fit, it didn’t fit and I’d rather know now than later.” Well said, KP!
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Definitely think you guys should be glad he backed out.
Hedo’s good, but that deal was pretty awful – and while I don’t have a huge issue with him (or his wife) preferring Toronto over Portland, I’m not impressed that he went so far with negotiations only to back out at the last minute when that was something he obviously knew at the outset.
In honor of the dearly departed, I declare July PB&J month - everyone raise a sandwich to the memory of Ben!
Or that he went to a team
that is CLEARLY not going to be on the championship end of things.
I want someone who wants to win, but is also self aware enough to realize that he’s not the cornerstone of a team (meaning he can help a winning team over the top, but he’s not going to bring a crappy team a championship.)
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Anybody irritated
That you too are being bamboozled into listening to Canzano? Especially to hear Pritchard not comment on things? I see no alternative but to be irritated.
Why do any of you listen to Canzano then?
You are putting in 90 minutes of hard labor for a tidbit you could get for free from Ben.
That's why I ain't listenin'!
I know how KP’s voice sounds, and we’ll pore over the details 5 seconds after he says it.
M.
quick work Ben
good job
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
Thank God for this
The whole Roy/LMA contract BS is just that BS, they’ll get it done. Pritchard is not stupid.
Proud member of Duck nation!
wow...
i almost expected him to be unshaven, bags under his eyes and hungover/half-drunk from all his “failures”…
Life is about growth. People are not perfect when they're 21 years old. - Bill Walton
What I don't get
is what is there to negotiate with B.Roy? Shouldn’t the max contract be automatic given his importance to the team?
just details...
front-loaded or back-loaded? player option vs. team options? ability to veto trades. can’t imagine there’s any discussion on the overall dollar amount…
Life is about growth. People are not perfect when they're 21 years old. - Bill Walton
by NEP on Jul 9, 2009 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions
agreed...
sure there are lots of details to work out, this I understand. That said, there is absolutely ZERO reason in my mind that you just simply don’t F around here. you pay the man the max and you get it done NOW to show him the love and respect that deserves and has earned: no discussion, Do Not Pass Go, period, end of story.
To even let it become the hint of a shadow of a possible issue is a flat-out failure of management in my mind. This is your franchise player. This should have been a done deal about 2 hours after the signing period began.
With all due respect
you don’t have any idea what is being said in negotiations.
Perhaps KP walked in and said, “Ok, one thing is perfectly clear, we’re talking max money. The only big question is how long. We’d like to do it for five years. After we get that question decided, it’s just working out the details.”
Everyone knows it’s going to be a max contract.
So where’s the issue? Just in working out the details.
When you are signing a contract for over $50 million, you take the time to get the details right for both parties.
Utah didn’t sign Deron Williams within 2 hours. N.O. took longer than that with Chris Paul. Nobody signs a max contract within 2 hours.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
You simply hand Roy a blank contract,
let him fill it in, all you have to do is make sure it’s his signature on the dotted line. That’s it. We are talking about a guy that is a few years into his career and is already a legitimate choice for the best Blazer EVER. Get it done, move on. Period.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix
by philly420pdxhilo on Jul 9, 2009 2:17 PM PDT up reply actions
amen.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix
by philly420pdxhilo on Jul 9, 2009 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Spoken like someone who has never owned a business
Sorry I owned my own business for 8+ yrs & you don’t EVER just hand an employee a blank check. I am a huge Brandon fan & want him signed as much as anyone but this is still a business. Have some perspective people!
To be fair, it's not exactly a blank check, because there is a maximum salary
But still I agree.
Keep in mind that everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazers Edge.
Actually,
I have run my own business, and I am astute enough to know that if you have an employee with unique talent that sets your business apart from the rest, and that employee has shown loyalty and is commited to making sure that your business succeeds, then you pay him what he asks for. Of course since he/she would be committed to the success of your business, you would understand that they are not going to ask for anything that is going to hamper the success of said business.
My point is that without Brandon Roy, we are still talking about fighting to make it out of the lottery. He is asking for nothing more than he deserves. We are talking about a FREAKING YEAR. It boggles my mind that the Blazers would risk alienating their best player on the team, and likely one of the best in FRANCHISE history over a year, especially when EVERYONE wants him to be a Blazer for life. They piss him off, and he simply plays out his contract then walks off w/ both middle fingers saluting management…..
….And the Blazers become the Golden State Warriors.
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Jimi Hendrix
by philly420pdxhilo on Jul 10, 2009 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
But there probably is on years
….and it could be Roy asking for a shorter contract. It could be the Blazers…who knows (not Quick or Canzano). But I absolutely have NO doubt that an agreement on a new contract will be reached.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
You guys have to know you don't have anything to worry about.
But it’s still worth it to get a contract put together that doesn’t screw the team. You never know what will happen – hopefully all goes great and Brandon/LA play out the contracts while performing better than anyone imagined possible. On the other hand, if for whatever reason it would be favorable to the team to trade them, you don’t want a guy on a hideous contract that’s going to make trading more difficult. There’s tons of time to work everything out
In honor of the dearly departed, I declare July PB&J month - everyone raise a sandwich to the memory of Ben!
He had a sparkle in his eye
When he was asked about Millsap. Kind of a devious twinkle.
"I saw him in the face" Sergio's quote on the latest alley-oop to Rudy.
I wonder about KP's plans
He seems to smart for the Hedo deal, so I firmly believe something else is or was up. He did not look like a defeated man as JQ mentioned. I sort of wonder what crawled up quicks pj’s this morning.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
I uusually like Quick
But it seems to me, the angle of “a conquering hero now feeling defeated” was decided upon no matter the circumstance.
M/
"sparkle"??
The quote from the transcript also used this word, saying that seeing the players at practice made KP “sparkle”. Did anyone else immediately think: “KP must be a vampire”?
If you don’t get the Twilight reference, just move along.
by unblindloyalty on Jul 9, 2009 3:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Is it just me, or did he contradict himself?
Don’t get me wrong, I love KP and fully trust in the front office to do what is best for the team.
But he goes from saying that “it’s not just a fit anymore, it’s a special fit” to saying that “i’m a big believer in that you get the best player.” Those things seem sort of contradictory to me.
I think he's talking more character-wise in the first quote, and postion-wise in the second
Apparently he feels that Millsap is a character-guy and a gamer. So therefore KP wants him on the team, and would leave it up to Nate to dole out the minutes.
I kind of agree: Millsap is so good at what he does—and what he does is so lacking on the Blazers—that maybe the thing would work. Especially since Millsap has expressed his willingness to come off the bench for the Blazers.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
by hurryup09 on Jul 9, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
he has?
that’s exciting news.
With a few other roster changes, I’m perfectly okay with Millsap on our team.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Good point
I think the “special fit” is in regard to the player’s intangibles (they aren’t going to pursue a “headcase” like Artest, Odom, etc)
The BPA comment was in response to “how can you bring in Millsap to play PF behind LMA?”
KP said Nate could make the pieces fit. The idea is to acquire talent
Which is basically what Bartelstein said about the Blazers the other day
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Not really
He was talking about free agency and he was talking about players for the team. It’s kind of like drafting the best player available. KP is going after the guy that they can overpay the most but someone else needs more and trying to force a deal or he really wants Millsap.
Until the transcript is up.....
Can anyone give me the main points?
Keep in mind that everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazers Edge.
roy is being trade to the wiz for foye
and lamarcus is headed to memphis for zbo
Oden...Aldridge...Roy.....THE REAL BIG THREE
by CroRupt on Jul 9, 2009 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
In other news, Jerryd has started taking classes for his anger problem, and is reportedly " A real nice guy now."
by dario argento on Jul 9, 2009 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions
And the Blazers just re-signed Channing Frye
to a 7 million/year deal, effectively eliminating any cap space.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
Hopefully
When we face Houston in the postseason, it’ll be an NBA 2K9 matchup between the Buffet and Yao…Blazers in a sweep.
from Ben's twitter
- “Whether it’s this week or next week” KP says agreement will reach, talks continue in good faith"
#
KP: “We could do a lot of things but we love” our guys. Team is looking at Millsap, seen potentially as “best player available”
#
Breaking… KP: “Brandon and LaMarcus will be here a long time.” Negotiations with broy and la are “amicable”. “Disappointed” about Hedo.
What the hell is up with Quick?
Last year he poisened the Oden well, this morning he goes after Pritch. Has he completelly gone to the “sky is falling” tactic?
WWOPD? What would Optimus Prime do?
KP calls Hedo SELFISH
You all heard that straight from the horses mouth, (how did that saying ever come about anyway?). At least that is what I heard…
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
Everybody is selfish in some way, shape, or form.
Kevin Pritchard should adhere to the adage of “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
First and foremost, the NBA is a business—and that’s that.
The bad kind of selfishness is gluttonous
There’s no such thing as too much. That kind of selfishness is toxic and we would do well to stay away from it. The other kind of selfishness is self-preservation, but what makes it healthier is that it leaves room for others to benefit from your influence.
If you’re constantly making sure you are getting more from a deal, you’re the bad kind of selfish. That doesn’t spell doom for a team, but it hurts and must be overcome. Why subject ourselves to that taint?
Quick
I have no idea Blazer Ninja, but I agree. Anyone reporting on the Blazers with any authority whatsoever needs to stop using the term “source” unless it’s credible. Especially if you write for the Oregonian! I mean come on. It’s not like we’re the Clippers with bad management.
I guess you can't believe everything you hear on the radio.
Just one of many times that false information generates major discussion on here.
Keep in mind that everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazers Edge.
Bayno the assistant coach is the one who said it though!
I hope I can get a bunch of championships, like 15. " - Greg Oden
You need to readjust that camera
KP’s aura used to mess with tint. Now you should just shoot him like you’d shoot anybody else.
Perhaps people are too quick to judge the whole Hedo situation...
…Perhaps it was PDX making an offer they knew would be out bidded by Toronto to take Toronto out of the running for other players…
Salary Cap
If the projected salary cap drops by $10M next year couldn’t the players and owners amend the amount that defines the luxury tax threshold? Then there wouldn’t be a panic to slash salary. To me that means the time to make a big trade or FA signing is between now and next February’s trade deadline, right?
by Original Blazer Fan on Jul 9, 2009 2:20 PM PDT reply actions
"We went through a process with him" sounds like a statement that could have come from the slow Bulls front office
If you want to trade our spare parts for Devin Harris, I have three quarters I would like to trade for your dollar
"Process" is their favorite word - I cringe just hearing it.
Closely followed by “versatile” now.
In honor of the dearly departed, I declare July PB&J month - everyone raise a sandwich to the memory of Ben!
Eh, we've all got our own favorite words and phrases.
A couple of mine would be “fiscal prudence” and “balanced roster construction,” for example.
It, however, is true that Kevin Pritchard’s rhetoric about “culture” is more style than substance.
Really?
How so (your last statement about more style than substance)?
I would say he’s done a great job of putting culture first. The cultural change of the team from 4 years ago to now is astounding. As much as he talks about it, I think he’s acted consistently to make a culoture change.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
here's a new one
“amicable”
I think it was on his desk calendar this AM
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
from Benjamin Golliver <benjamin.golliver@gmail.com>
to Kevin Pritchard
date Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 10:29 PM
subject quick comment please
mailed-by gmail.com
hide details 10:29 PM (17 hours ago)
Mr. Pritchard,
We are receiving overwhelming amount of negative feedback regarding today’s oregonlive piece about Brandon Roy’s contract negotations.
Can you please answer these 4 yes/no questions?
1. are you fully committed to brandon roy as a blazer?
2. is there a financial benefit for brandon roy taking a 4 year deal instead of a five year deal in your eyes?
3. is there any doubt in your mind you will eventually extend brandon?
4. are negotations currently amicable?
I will be at the Practice Facility tomorrow morning. I’m not sure if you will have availability.
Thanks in advance.
Best,
Ben
Blazersedge
You should have put in "denuded" somewhere. Then you could have been sure.
If you want to trade our spare parts for Devin Harris, I have three quarters I would like to trade for your dollar
by Norsktroll on Jul 9, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Every time Ben sends KP a memo
KP mutters “son of a…Golliver!” and reaches for his pocket dictionary
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Have a bad feeling about this...
Look, I LOVE Paul Millsap. I’m a Blazer fan and Millsap might just be my favorite player in the NBA. The thought of Millsap in a Blazer uniform makes me all tingly.
But…
I don’t think Millsap is the right acquisition right now. He’s THIS close to being a starter in Utah. He has the skill and experience to be a starter. He deserves it.
Sure, right now he says he’s ok with the idea of coming off the bench behind LA, but what happens in a year or two? When he’s still not getting the respect he deserves around the league and he’s still coming off the bench? I just see bad things happening with the chemistry.
Then throw in the fact that he’ll probably get about $10M per, that Roy and LA are needing extensions, and that the salary cap over the next couple years is predicted to be a bit low. All of that, to me, adds up to Bass being the better fit right now.
Maybe but $ is not an object for our owner
He’ll go WAY into luxury tax territory if he has to in order to win.
Proud member of Duck nation!
Why are you assuming he'd play behind LA
Both Millsap and LMA have enough speed and range to play the three spot. We’d play them both and be HUGE!
Man standing on toilet is high on pot.
It'd look like this:
Roy – Point
Millsap – Sm Fwrd
LMA – Dominator
Priz – Tower One
Oden – Tower Two
Man standing on toilet is high on pot.
LMA has the speed and range to play the 3
Millsap is a 4, maybe a 5 (against another PF masquerading as a center)
You wouldn’t start them together, but you could sub in Millsap for the SF (Batum) in the first quarter and then play LMA at SF for about 6 minutes, then bring Batum (etc) back in (then, repeat this 3-4 “rotation” in the 2nd half)
I agree the “big” lineup would create matchup headaches (for the other coach) and strengthen the SF position, overall
36 mpg for LMA
26 mpg for Millsap (maybe more, if Joel+Greg < 48 mpg due to foul trouble or when facing small lineups)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Milsap has no range. LMA can't shoot a 3.
Milsap and LMA will both struggle covering quick 3s over the course of a game (without allowing them so much room that they can get an easy shot off).
We might be able to play them at the same time, but they are both front court players and wouldn’t ever offer the range or quickness to be able to be called SF’s.
LMA has been working on his range.
Don’t be surprised if he becomes a decent 3 ball shooter, as long as he doesn’t fall in love with it like Sheed did!
Well, he may hope to be better, but he's currently a horrible 3pt shooter
I’d expect Bayless to turn into Devin Harris before I’d expect LMA to turn into Sheed/Nowitzki (and even those guys don’t try to play the 3).
Ring by spring or your money back
I think this is a matter of Millsap wanting to be part of a championship team. What championship teams out there are aching to put him in their starting PF role? Is he capable of taking that role? I believe so, but not for a contender. Not yet.
OTOH
KP saying things like “Roy and Aldridge are going to be here for a long time” are probably not encouraging to hear if you’re a SG or PF and want to have the opportunity to start at some point in your career.
If Millsap signs he’ll be in the same “category” as Rudy
short timer.
(Both will be still very valuable, but still short timers…unless something unspeakable happens to Brandon or LMA)
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Did KP
just call Hedo Turkuglu a selfish loser? Cuz that’s kinda what I heard him say.
"It all depends on where his growth will come and we think his growth will come within us" -- Kevin Pritchard on Jerryd Bayless
by Jumbo on Jul 9, 2009 2:45 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
if someone doesn't want to be here, then we don't want him, either
and don’t let the door hit you on the backside on yer way out
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Its been a few minutes since I watched the video but I distinctly remember him saying
“Hedo Turkeyglue is a selfish jerk. Good luck in the lottery bucko!” – Kevin Pritchard
that team isn’t destined for the lottery… it’s going for that horrible gray area between lottery and being good. HAHAHA suck forever Raptors.
draft the stache
purgatory
stuck there forever with horrible contracts.
Hope he loves that city! Because winning a ring isn’t going to be in his future and neither are deep playoff runs.
I suspect he wanted to be able to fly back to turkey and enjoy the early summer. Play-offs are hard work! We complain about watching the prolonged dance, just imagine people who are playing it!
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
reminds me of offensive linemen
The big uglies will get more and more tired as a long offensive drive continues, to the point that they’re almost relieved when it’s finally 4th down so they can head to the bench
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Rather than insinuate that Hedo Turkoglu is selfish, Kevin Pritchard should show some humility and ...
be glad that the Turk agreed to sign with Toronto in lieu of Portland; otherwise, the inexplicably deified GM would’ve been made to look a fool some few years down the line.
The fact that Pritchard — as well as Nate McMillan — still don’t seem to realize that intergrating Turkoglu alongside Brandon Roy at the wings on offense would’ve been like fitting a square peg into a round hole worries me. It also concerns me that Pritchard took neither Turkoglu’s age nor his precipitous decline in performance from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009 into serious consideration.
I get where you're going...
but I don’t think the fact that he signed with Toronto actually proves KP wrong for pursuing him. Why should he admit he was wrong when its not clear that he was wrong? Not that I’m suggesting you’re wrong, but suggesting that two of the team’s head guys are incompetent based on a difference of opinion seems a little presumptuous.
Make that
WAAAAAAY presumptuous.
To declare that the GM (with a rather enviable record regarding player acquisition) and the coach (one of three coaches Kobe says he would ever consider playing for….and a coach who picked up universal acclaim for his job with the US Olympic team) were both wrong….when there are absolutely no facts to back it up (lots of opinions by all of us on this issue)….is pretty much the definition of presumptuous.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
AK does presumptuous well
That’s why we like him.
Just smile, shake your head, and say, “There goes AK again.”
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
like that will ever happen
publicly, anyway
(kind of like Fonzie having to admit to Richie that he was “wrrrng”)
“You mean you were wrong KP?”
“Yeah yeah”
Or Bones telling J.T.Kirk that he couldn’t let his crew ever see him in an indecisive moment. We like our leaders to “be certain”
Or at least act like they are
Devil’s dictionary def: positive = “mistaken at the top of one’s voice”
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
KP says the team loves the following players:
Oden
Rudy
Bayless
Batum
LaMarcus
Roy
Can we assume that this is KP’s six-player “core” of the team from here out? If so, there are going to be some interesting decisions made about Travis, Martell, Blake and Pryz, perhaps as early as this offseason…
Pubert Jones > Hedo
It's in the transcript under "on current status"
We expect the four rookies from last year — Oden, Rudy, Bayless and Batum — their growth is important, maybe more important, than anything we do in free agency or by trade.
Pubert Jones > Hedo
by rockingharder on Jul 9, 2009 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions
I think KP needs to keep all their names on a file card
So he makes sure he mentions all of them at least once during every interview
(A local sportscaster “caught” the Red’s GM on such an “omission” during a radio interview earlier this spring, and it laucned several days of “player X is not in the Cincy’s long term plans”)
reminds me of courtiers and palace politics…puleeze!
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
wait... wasn't that mentioned here
if it was… i’m going to bust a gut at the poor journalism/drive to sensationalism.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
It was mentioned a lot of places starting last week
A Utah sportsradio station covered it this morning.
I think storyteller has more pull than we thought
He proposes a 3-way trade on BE and it winds up on ESPN a few days later?
who’s pushing who here, the cart or the horse?
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Storyteller is probably Tom Penn
He denies it, but since he’s a storyteller, you can’t believe him.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
being contradicted by Woj
http://twitter.com/YahooSportsNBA
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
left field solution: hire McHale , Stockton, or Pippen for the bench or as consultants!
If they are seeking experience, playoff savvy, and sticking it to a division rival, bring in McHale to coach the big men and/or Scottie for Batum/Fermandez and/or Stockton for Bayless.
McHale’s unstoppable offensive moves have never been duplicated in today’s big men and Scottie could show Nic and Rudy a thing or two about the open floor.
It doesn’t even cost you cap space!
Our coaching staff is great, but bring one of those dudes in for some extra punch if your whole strategy is on last year’s four rookie’s development.
"You know when to say 'Yes', you know when to say 'No', everyone goes home in a limousine." - 'Fast' Eddie Felson
Not bad idea. Load up on assistants and specalists to mentor them.
B.S. Liberal Studies OSU '06
Trade for Gerald Wallace!!
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