Blazers: "Philosophical Differences" Led to Tom Penn's Firing
by Ben Golliver on Mar 16, 2010 9:00 PM PDT
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Happier Times. Rose Garden. February 2009. Pictured left to right: Blazers President Larry Miller, Owner Paul Allen, General Manager Kevin Pritchard, Vulcan CEO Tod Leiweke, Then Assistant GM Tom Penn. Picture: Ben Golliver | Blazersedge
The Portland Trail Blazers announced tonight that they have relieved Tom Penn, their Vice President of Basketball Operations, of his duties, effective immediately. Continue reading for full coverage, updated throughout the night.
- Jason Quick broke the story.
- Brian T. Smith offered a possible explanation.
Update (9:00PM)
The Portland Trail Blazers have sent out the following text message to media...
Tom Penn relieved of Blazers Vice President of Basketball Operations duties. President Larry Miller cites philosophical differences as the reason for dismissal.
Update (9:11PM):
The Blazers have issued a full Press Release on their website. It reads...
Portland Trail Blazers Team President Larry Miller announced today that Tom Penn has been relieved of his duties as Vice President of Basketball Operations, effective immediately.
Miller cited philosophical differences as the reason for the dismissal of Penn, who joined the Trail Blazers as assistant general manager in 2007.
"We felt it was in the organization's best interest to move in a different direction at this time," Miller said. "This was not an easy decision, as Tom has played an integral role for us the past three seasons. We thank him for his contributions and wish him the best in the future."
Before joining the Trail Blazers, Penn served as assistant general manager/legal counsel of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies.
The Blazers used an insanely large font to announce the firing on their website. (Apparently it's a fixed font size on all stories. Can we do the man a favor and shrink it just this once?)
Earlier, Jason Quick of The Oregonian caught up with Tom Penn....
Penn late Tuesday night said he was "surprised" and "disappointed" when team president Larry Miller called him into his Rose Quarter offices Tuesday afternoon and informed him he was being relieved of his duties.
Penn, however, would not say why he was fired.
"I can't speak to specifics and I prefer not to,'' Penn said. "I don't think it is appropriate.''
Penn apparently rules out the possibility that he was negotiating with another team, which was speculated earlier. Click through above to read the full story.
Update (9:25PM)
Kristen Blake, wife of recently-traded Steve Blake weighs in on twitter...
First steve and trav. Now Tom. Sad. Smh. =(
As does Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, who was apparently scouting the Big East conference tournament in New York City at the same time Penn was.
Crazy to see Tom Penn getting fired. Was just sitting next to him few days ago at the Garden. He turned down Minnesota's GM job this summer.
Update (9:39PM)
Coup from Rip City Project writes...
What's worth considering is whether or not this hurts Pritchard's ability to make moves or not, given Penn's expertise with the NBA Salary Cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement - a CBA that is going to look very different in two years when the current one expires.
Also, if this precedes Penn getting a GM job somewhere else, he probably would have resigned from his position were that his ultimate plan. It's more expensive for an organization to fire someone than to let them go work elsewhere of their own accord.
If you're bored, you can always read my interview with Penn from September 2008, where he touches on a number of topics and lists Jerry West, Hubie Brown and Chuck Daly among his mentors.
Update (9:45PM)
John Canzano weighs in, noting the strange timing and nature of the move, and ...
A Blazers source tells me that Penn absolutely rubbed owner Paul Allen the wrong way in the war room during the draft that netted Portland Greg Oden. "Paul may never have recovered from that," source said. But it raises some questions about why Allen would give Penn a raise and promotion so recently. Something more had to have happened for Allen to move so shrewdly to hand Penn the pink slip on Tuesday.
...
It's possible that the Vulcans viewed the Blazers management team as top heavy and made a move, but more plausible at this juncture that they learned something that set this in motion.
Given Penn's behavior over the past month and the timing of the move, it's very, very unlikely this was about thinning out the upper management team.
Canzano also notes that Penn denies expressing interest in other NBA jobs, "including the Clippers/Grizzlies." The Grizzlies, of course, already have a General Manager and have no reason to make a change as they are currently enjoying their best season in recent memory. So yeah.
Update (10:21AM)
Dwight Jaynes weighs in on twitter...
Chances are 80 per cent this is not basketball related. Also-- f unny how many bought the "he was offered the Minnesota job" story.
Jaynes references disputed reports from early last summer when Penn may or may not have been formally offered Minnesota's GM position, which eventually went to David Kahn. Jaynes maintained at the time, despite reports out of Minnesota, that Penn was not formally offered the position before he re-upped with the Blazers for a promotion and salary increase.
Wendell Maxey also notes...
heard back from a person close to the clippers on their gm status - they are happy with neil olshney. not sure where penn goes from here.
Update (10:39PM)
Given Penn's departure, the Blazers' management team now has an obvious hole when it comes to salary cap management and understanding the intricacies of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. A league source has already floated Oklahoma City's Assistant GM Rich Cho as one potential replacement for Penn.
Cho currently handles the same duties Penn did -- managing salary cap and CBA issues and negotiating contracts -- for the Thunder. Cho is said to have a relationship with Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard that dates back to before the above picture was snapped at the 2007 NBA Draft lottery drawing. Pritchard and Cho are pictured showing off the lucky charms that helped them land the #1 and #2 picks respectively.
Cho is considered an elite mind when it comes to cap management and has aided Thunder GM Sam Presti's dramatic turnaround of the franchise.
Here's Cho's official bio on the Thunder's website.
Just as this is an awkward time of the NBA calendar to fire Penn, however, it's also a somewhat awkward time to attempt to hire someone with such a coveted skillset. Perhaps the thinking here was "the sooner, the better" as every day between now and the offseason is critical for planning and roster management.
Update (11:32PM)
Adrian Wojnarowski tweets up a storm...
Two officials who spent time in last 10 days with Port GM Kevin Pritchard and fired No 2 guy, Tom Penn, spoke of "awkwardness" and "tension"
League sources have been describing unrest in front office for months, centered on Pritchard's inability to get new contract after Penn did.
Pritchard helped Penn leverage Portland with Minny job, and sources say GM expected he could get new deal too. Ownership declined, emphatically.
Many believed Penn was destined to run team, but clearly something caused momentum to change lately and Penn lost favor. And his job.
Timeline wise, Sloan was exactly 10 days ago, March 6. The Big East tourney ran from Tuesday, March 9, through Saturday, March 13. Penn was back in Portland on Sunday, March 14.
Update (12:22AM)
Brian T. Smith tweets...
Source said it was known early Tuesday that Blazers had fired Penn. League executives were calling Blazers, wondering about Penn's status.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
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Comments
President Larry Miller cites philosophical differences as the reason for dismissal.
Thanks for clearing that up Lare
"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."
philosophical differences
Miller is a known Aristotalian and Mr Allen prefers a less either/or view of the perceivable universe, I would guess.
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 10:42 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Thus Penn gets the axe hen ge questions the possibility of any epistimalogical stance without pedigogy.
Ain’t creative spelling fun?
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 10:52 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Philosophical differences:
Blackadder: Where’s your crew, Captain?
Captain: A crew, m’lord?
Blackadder: Is it not customary, when sailing the seven seas, to have a crew aboard?
Captain: Opinion is divided on the matter, m’lord. The other captains say ‘tis. I say ’tisn’t.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Mar 16, 2010 9:06 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
we see them as being more...like guidelines
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
The Pirate Code is the law.
I’ll shoot any man who says otherwise.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Mar 16, 2010 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Larry Miller
the biggest figure head in the NBA….guy needs to get a real job.
After his stirring pronouncements that he's "monitoring" the Comcast situation, how can you doubt him :)
SMH at the organization
Free AK1984.
"The two women were of a certain age and were clearly drunk... The only thing that I can get out of this is Why, since all these things happen to me, they couldn’t be two young girls and pretty? :-)" - Rudy Fernandez
by blazeraddict on Mar 16, 2010 10:44 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm surprised that Miller was the one to break the news..
Does this mean that him and Pritchard aren’t on good standings or…?
Either way, I presume an announcement like this would come from the top
And Larry Miller is the top in the Blazers org.
wiki is my friend
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
I prefer to think that...
…Andre Miller delivered the news. Nothing could be better than beoing let go by Dre.
"I was surprised, I was listening to the coach on the bench and behind me, she touches me and says, ‘Rudy, I love you. Nice to meet you. Good game.’ - Rudy
by The Mallorcan Rocket on Mar 16, 2010 9:11 PM PDT reply actions
i would imagine it would be a short and efficient firing
no wasted words or movements
the few, the proud, the blazers
by HD on Mar 16, 2010 9:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Followed by Dre yelling
I’m a PROFESSIONAL!!!
"I was surprised, I was listening to the coach on the bench and behind me, she touches me and says, ‘Rudy, I love you. Nice to meet you. Good game.’ - Rudy
by The Mallorcan Rocket on Mar 16, 2010 9:17 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
He would've done it through the media without telling Penn, then yelled it.
CKTK: A music blog. We write about what we want to write about.
"Newspapers are an important part of our lives. Not to read, of course, but, when you’re moving you can’t wrap your dishes in a blog."
-Stephen Colbert
Which, when I think of it, may well have been the source of differences.
Penn was given a title to keep him around, but you wonder if it actually ever entailed any more responsibility…
Blazers
finally just tweeted the news……surprise!!
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
Platonism vs. Epicureanism?
Best Player Available vs. Drafting For Need?
by Norsktroll on Mar 16, 2010 9:15 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
Penn must have seen naked pictures of KD...
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Mar 16, 2010 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I've been drawing them for years
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 11:10 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
Could also be "Re-Signing Oden during the summer, or letting him become a restricted free agent"
Speculation
Penn might take a more cap-oriented stance, while others might see the human side more. Again, just trying to come up with philosophical differences that make some sense.
Yeah, there has to be something.
Something whose difference would not be appreciated, when you would think that they would seek out and be interesting in different viewpoints mostly.
#10 & #52
I am thinking it was Tom Penn that kept drafting up tempo players that don't fit Nate's system
RUDY > MJ
Thank you KP
Interesting theory.
I’ve always assumed it was KP that didn’t fit with Nate.
"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.
it's hard to say
KP came from the Spurs, who are not uptempo
I’ve wondered if it’s the scouts (like Dorn etc) who are pushing for the “twin styles” of slow-down for the starters and a 2nd usit that pushes the ball…seems schizoprehnic to me…not like San Anotnio, anyway
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Born
Buchanon was the other guy I was trying to think of
Dorn is an minor league outfieder who was recently sent down by the Reds…mixing my metaphors
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I was just kidding
Now if KP ends up on the hot seat this might be a reason to watch for…
RUDY > MJ
Thank you KP
Maybe Penn pushed hard to let LA become a restricted free agent
And is now playing the told-you-so card re: what to do with Oden?
As a cap expert, I bet Penn would have argued that we could keep LA this summer and retained some flexibility should he not pan out. If he we hadn’t resigned him, it’s possible that we could have netted Bosh before the trade deadline, for instance.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
I should add...
Allen strikes me as the type who is more loyal to his guys. Treating them as nothing more than assets might rub him the wrong way. Then again, if that’s true, you would think he would have canned Vulcan by now.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
u never question kp on BPE
the few, the proud, the blazers
by HD on Mar 16, 2010 9:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with this
Penn was always going to be second banana to Pritchard in Portland. The new title did nothing to change that fact. I don’t begrudge him for being a “ladder climber”, if that really was in fact the case. It certainly doesn’t merit him being fired in my opinion. I suspect that there are some other forces at work here because I would suspect Portland would want to keep smart and hungry executives around for as long as they possibly can. Firing them for being ambitious seems silly.
No worries, we've all done it.
Welcome to the site.
And I think it’s a safe guess that he wasn’t fired for being ambitious.
no way
he’s already moved on…his words not mine….and surprised? not buying it..
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
Maybe it's
The team could be working on it’s budget for next yr and how they view the roster and what needs they might have.
If in the prelinminary stages Penn was very dismissive of the Vulcan side and was saying in effect you guys are idiots who don’t know s*** about the NBA,it’s easy to see them getting po’d and starting a campaign against him(re the several weeks comment).
If he then said something similar in a meeting PA attended,that could be the trigger.
Or it could be as simple Penn wanting Miller’s job and Miller having “philosophical differences” w/that.
Re: Vulcan
I really hope this isn’t about Penn butting heads with the folks at Vulcan. I hoped we were past all of that garbage. I respect Mr. Allen a great deal but sometimes I wish that his Vulcan henchmen were a little more hands off.
by StephenRDG on Mar 16, 2010 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Paul's Sister
isn’t she the head Vulcan?
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
And apparently she's not exactly easy to deal with
Free AK1984.
"The two women were of a certain age and were clearly drunk... The only thing that I can get out of this is Why, since all these things happen to me, they couldn’t be two young girls and pretty? :-)" - Rudy Fernandez
by blazeraddict on Mar 16, 2010 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions
... and I thought it would be a slow week around these parts.
"You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless! You gotta hope even more, and cover your ears and go 'bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla!'"
We have 2 more 3-day breaks this season
One next week and one in April. What will happen then?
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
At this point, I can't imagine being surprised by the Blazers anymore.
This season is just way too crazy.
"You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless! You gotta hope even more, and cover your ears and go 'bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla!'"
best we let it unfold
During 2009-2010 the Blazer’s organization has had more plot twists than a season of 24
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Sign Terry Porter as a free agent backup PG?
You know, for the veteran experience.
My theory, Penn put together Turkoglu's offer
and when Allen saw, up close and personal what he almost paid 55 million bucks for, well, sayonara…
by raoulduke on Mar 16, 2010 9:32 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
good theory
luckily im a bronco and a blazer fan......#52 is family
Seriously though, you'd think that anyone in the org who was all behind the Turk signing
should be checking their hole card. It can’t look good.
Hey! Stop updating the main page!
I posted this in the last thread but everyone had already moved over here. But you can’t stop the truth from being told! The public must know the Truth:
This is actually a collaboration between the famously evil ownership of the Clippers and the infamously evil ownership of the Grizzlies. Thanks to Tom Penn, The PTB got a black eye from the whole Darius Miles fiasco without any kind of cap relief whatsoever. Thanks to Tom, the Grizzlies now have the all-star version of Zach Randolph willing to share the ball and play D. Thanks to Tom, the Clippers got Blake and Outlaw and will get Camby back during the summer. Thanks to Tom, we decided on Oden over Durant.
Wait you ask, where does Oden come into this? By secretly sabotaging Oden all through his rookie deal, he hopes that we will let Oden go when his time is up, allowing Greg to rejoin his old friend Mike Conley Jr in Memphis. At that point, Oden will finally show his true potential, giving Memphis the strongest frontcourt in the league with Z-bo, Gasol, and Oden, who, along with their other assets, will become the dynasty we hoped we’d become.
Now you may be asking at this point, what do the Clippers get out of this besides Blake and Outlaw? Well think about it… who really liked having Blake as his mate in the backcourt? Whose best friend is Travis Outlaw? Had Tom stayed with the organization, there’s no doubt that Phase III would be in full effect, where Tom gradually poisons the front office relationship with Brandon Roy. Demoralized, lonely, and seeing the team’s lack of potential without a quality Center, Brandon demands to be traded. The Clippers, not having had enough ammo to fight other below-cap teams in free-agent-palooza, kept their powder dry for just this moment. Rather than pay tons of luxury tax for an imploded team, we do a "lopsided trade" with the Clippers. They get Roy, we get Blake Griffin’s sole remaining kneecap.
The dismantling of the Portland Trail Blazers is finally complete. The Grizzlies/Clippers ownership cackles maniacally like twin Emperor Palpatines while Penn stands there silently in full Darth Vader mode.
Kudos to PA for finally unraveling the schemes against us and firing Penn before we lost Brandon. Hopefully Camby was just a pawn in this deal and not a willing participant. We might be able to keep him.
What? This is not the new thread?
Is this like an episode of The Prisoner?
by conspirator5 on Mar 16, 2010 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Sorry, I am messing with you.
I think. There might be another new thread. I haven’t updated it in two minutes.
#10 & #52
You SAY you're messing with me.
But maybe you’re actually secretly trying to help me by helping me pay attention to the main page while only pretending to mess with me so that you’re not seen as a collaborator.
by conspirator5 on Mar 16, 2010 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions
They call it a "pinwheel" but it's actually an EYE.
by conspirator5 on Mar 16, 2010 9:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Tom Penn uncovered the secret and tried to warn everybody
but you see what happened to him…resitance to the EYE is futile…you WILL renew your season tickets and bow/scrape to Comcassst!
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Do not condescend to my
LMA bobblehead. TALKING bobblehead mind you!
by TheThinWhiteDuke on Mar 16, 2010 10:43 PM PDT up reply actions
it works better if you don't tell 'em there's a new thread
Is there anybody in here? HELLO?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
The way you make them suffer...
(your exquisite wife and mother)
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Mar 17, 2010 10:25 PM PDT up reply actions
wait,
does that make Batum Luke Skywalker? And Juwan Howard is Yoda?
"B-Roy is the best shooting guard I have played against"
-Ron Artest
by premthegrem on Mar 16, 2010 10:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Travis Diener gets to play Luke
it’s in his contract
Who’d run, jawa? is an anagram for Juwan Howard…coincidence?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Theory
Maybe Penn was offered the Clips job. He then told somebody that he wanted Miller’s job or he was taking the job. They just promoted him less than a year ago.
Ladder climber. Get him out before the hot and heavy draft talk.
I have no idea. Crazy night.
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
man, all i got to say on this situation is "spring fever!" is right!
"I told somebody to stop crying," Pendergraph said after the game. "Actually, I told them all to stop crying."
i wish. i mean, no
i am too sexy to be a chick.
this was haarlow’s tweet. i thought it was funny how ben pointed that out, and found it fitting to the unusual situation of penn’s dismissal.
"I told somebody to stop crying," Pendergraph said after the game. "Actually, I told them all to stop crying."
Worst...journalist...ever...
Free AK1984.
"The two women were of a certain age and were clearly drunk... The only thing that I can get out of this is Why, since all these things happen to me, they couldn’t be two young girls and pretty? :-)" - Rudy Fernandez
by blazeraddict on Mar 16, 2010 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions
The biggest philosophical difference continually confused is that between the role of a journalist and that of a talking head. f
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 10:56 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Anyone paid by the Blazers to report on the Blazers will rarely be more than a spokesperson, or spokes entity, if you will.
The same is true in any such dicotomy. God I can’t spell.
By the way, that errant “f” above should be disregarded.
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 10:58 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
She's a sideline reporter (journalist imo), she runs a journalism school - that's enough to scare me
Free AK1984.
"The two women were of a certain age and were clearly drunk... The only thing that I can get out of this is Why, since all these things happen to me, they couldn’t be two young girls and pretty? :-)" - Rudy Fernandez
by blazeraddict on Mar 16, 2010 11:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Stretching the journalist definition, especially considering who signs her checks.
I’ll avoid the topic of the journalism school…
Maybe it has something to do with Penn being a d-bag
and KP constantly preaching about culture. The “Philosophical Differences” might have just been that the guy was a jerk and exactly what they don’t want this organization to be about.
He didn’t take the TWolves job because he got a raise, who’s to say he didn’t have an offer from the Clips and bring it to PA to see if he could get more? He may have just been a money hungry ladder climber as was brought out. I’d have no problem firing someone for that, especially after just having given them a raise.
missed that
how so?
"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.
This was supposedly Allen's call
Which is supported by the fact that Miller notified Penn, not KP.
Is that what you’re getting at Norsktroll?
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
If Penn was fired for that
Then Andre Miller would have been traded at the trade deadline.
Andre Miller is an Anachronism
by tominhawaii on Mar 16, 2010 11:40 PM PDT up reply actions
maybe...
but Andre’s situation was different. He was only being a jerk because he was told one thing to get him here, then it was totally different when he got here. I’m not sure how anybody can blame him for being upset. He was brought in here to be our starting pg, then he was forced to be our backup? Thats like hiring KP as GM and telling him he has no say in trades.
Its sounds like Penn may have been more of a malicious jerk; Andre is just a knee-jerk
by In Walks Rudy on Mar 17, 2010 7:57 AM PDT up reply actions
but Miller didn't get into a "verbal altercation" with the owner
just the head coach
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Penn absolutely rubbed owner Paul Allen the wrong way in the war room during the draft that netted Portland Greg Oden. “Paul may never have recovered from that,” source said.
I’m guessing Tom was reading entries from www.draftkevindurant.com loudly while others in the Blazer’s brain trust were trying to concentrate
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Maybe Paul didn't like Penn's vanity plate
TOLDUSO
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
by EngineerScotty on Mar 16, 2010 10:52 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Anyone know what he supposedly did?
If the rumor from Kenny Vance (that KP is in hot water for not drafting KD) is correct—and I think that’s questionable—then maybe Penn pushed hard for Oden?
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
In response to Brother Wendell
not sure where penn goes from here.
League office? Someone needs to dot the i’s and cross the t’s in the next CBA
(not to mention keep a close eye on the Blazer organization…)
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Get Cho. Don't even wait till the body's cold.
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 11:04 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
What did this mean?
“Given Penn’s behavior over the past month and the timing of the move, it’s very, very unlikely this was about thinning out the upper management team.”
What was unusual about his behavior over the past month?
He must have been raising money for those damn kids again!
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
Wonder if the Blazers org..Vulcan was just waiting till the season ticket renewal deadline was up
to announce the news..it was today…
What am I supposed to do with my Penn jersey? I’ll just hang next to my Q. Woods jersey.
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 11:13 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Oh...
I had it next to the Whittsitt jersey.
Ughg... I had almost forgotten about that pile of Zach.
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 16, 2010 11:22 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
great, now what will we do
with this warehouse full of Tom Penn bobblehead dolls?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I’m not exactly sure how it’s connected, but the fact that he was fired on the last day season ticket holders could renew for next year makes me wonder if this was actually decided on earlier but put on hold for a while in order to avoid bad publicity and scaring of those late renewing folks who were sitting on the fence… Too coincidental for me.
Brandon Roy, 'nuff said.
"Philosophical Differences" --he must have been a Mac person...
Was probably always running around on his iPhone, listening to his iPod, talking all about his new iScout app, and just ordered an iPad. When he decided his new nickname should be iPenn, Paul had finally had enough.
My theories:
A) He pissed someone off one too many times internally, or more than he had done previously;
B) He did something scandalous or illegal enough that the organization couldn’t risk exposure by association (think recent scouting road trip).
C) He told PA he looked better when he had hair.
put a body on 'em
D) He was the one who changed everyone's mind
and convinced the Blazers to draft Oden instead of Durant.
" It was as if the Suns hatched a fiendish plot to ruin John Wayne's movie career by casting him as a cowboy." - Dave 2/10/2010
Kristen Blake, wife of recently-traded Steve Blake weighs in on twitter…
First steve and trav. Now Tom. Sad. Smh. =(
TheSmoothCriminal, a well-known internet personality weighs in on twitter….
First sergio. Then steve and trav. Now Tom. Sad. Smh. =(
Lauren Conrad, rumored former girlfriend of Josh McRoberts weighs in on twitter….
First jarrett and josh. Then sergio. Then steve and trav. Now Tom. Sad. Smh. =(
ObnoxiousZ, Hoop Family spokesperson weighs in on twitter….
First dan, fred, and zach. Then jarrett and josh. Then sergio. Then steve and trav. Now Tom. Sad. Smh. =(
[To Be Continued]
#52
by CatMan2 on Mar 16, 2010 11:32 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Poor Kristen Blake
How does she go on living with such injustice surrounding her!
RUDY > MJ
Thank you KP
Poor Kristen
now having to live in Santa Monica with an ocean view….and gosh…the poor girl hates to fly commericial….yeah…poor Steve and Kristin….lifes a b
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
wife
you can actually follow her on twitter…
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
I was thinking of the chick on 95.5
That’s his sister, right? What’s her name again?
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
that is
Steve’s sister…her name is Debbie
Portland Trail Blazers - where injuries and people come together"
The timing is suspicious
Right in the middle of a VERY long idle stretch for the team. Sounds like they were just waiting for the right time, and maybe they decided summer was too far away. The A Woj comment suggests it may have already been in the works.
put a body on 'em
Mike Rice must be behind this!
I have a love/hate relationship with the Cardinals' middle relief corps. | Cards on Cards
AWOJ just tweeted...
“League Sources” have been describing unrest in the front office for months, centered on Pritchard’s inability to get a new contract after Penn did."
and even more bizarrely
“Pritchard helped Penn leverage Port with Minny job, and sources say GM expected he could get new deal too. Ownership declined, emphatically.”
(insert inspirational quote here)
Of course he turns this into a slam on Pritch, with his “anonymous sources”
(insert inspirational quote here)
I think KP must have stolen Woj's girlfriend at some point - he's turning into Captain Ahab
Free AK1984.
"The two women were of a certain age and were clearly drunk... The only thing that I can get out of this is Why, since all these things happen to me, they couldn’t be two young girls and pretty? :-)" - Rudy Fernandez
by blazeraddict on Mar 16, 2010 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions
What did KP do to AWoj
Seriously. Did KP sleep with his wife or something? Kick his puppy? Kidnap his children? It is ridiculous at this point…
RUDY > MJ
Thank you KP
lol
kick his puppy.
that made me laugh, thank you very much.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
And even well, well after the fact, when all of this is irrelevant, we’ll still never know Woj’s “sources”.
I find his pompous bloviating backed by “sources close to the situation” to be absolutely insufferable. Seems like the guy pretty much gets a free pass on his BS a lot of the time too
"I’m tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok." ~Shaq
by Max_in_Missouri on Mar 17, 2010 12:23 AM PDT up reply actions
Why would ownership "emphatically" decline
KP’s contract extension after he pulled this team out of the muck? Doesn’t seem right.
" It was as if the Suns hatched a fiendish plot to ruin John Wayne's movie career by casting him as a cowboy." - Dave 2/10/2010
I can imagine Paul Allen right now:
PA: Kevin, we simply cant offer you an extension. Brandon Roy? Lamarcus Aldridge? Nic Batum? Rudy Fernandez? Andre Miller? Jerryd Bayless? Dante Cunningham? BLASPHEMY! And don’t even get me started on that whole trading two redundant players for a legitimate center when we had a perfectly fine one in Juwan Howard. Contract extension denied! Emphatically denied!!!
RUDY > MJ
Thank you KP
Yeah
It kinda sorta maybe doesn’t hold up to scrutiny but DAMMIT it makes a good tweet, Awoj.
What an idiot. If anyone in the front office has job security, it’s Mr. KP.
Mortimer
#52
You'd hope so, right?
The Vulcans can’t be that stupid, can they?
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
Look how long they let Whitsit, Nash, and Patterson stick around...
KP should be fine.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
“Pritchard helped Penn leverage Port with Minny job, and sources say [the] GM expected he could get new deal too. Ownership declined, emphatically."
If this is true, it’s not good news. Could be a signal that Allen is losing his “golden gut” trust in KP. Possibly due to the Hedo fallout?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
That hedo thing can't look good for anyone who had anything to do with advocating for it.
It was gratifying, for once, to see the fans be so right and the braintrust be so wrong.
Except Collangelo, widely considered one of the best GMs in the league
also thought Hedo was the solution. KP’s in good company.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
and yet, Orlando's GM
had Hedo on his final’s roster and chose not to overpay to retain him
so I’m not sure that Colangelo and KP were on the right side of the fence re: Turk
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I don't care about any of this
All I want are some sick dunks!!! Whoo Hoo basketball…
Non-issue
Some juicy behind-the-scenes drama to chew over but I doubt it will be of any consequence.
We’ll find some other cap expert.
by neutroticblazerfan on Mar 17, 2010 12:32 AM PDT reply actions
How do I apply for the job?
Seeking whimsy
by Y5k on Mar 17, 2010 1:51 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
I think it is safe to say that by firing Penn, that the Blazers do not support Hoops For St. Jude
Andre Miller is an Anachronism
zzzzzzzzz
Tiger Woods drama > this
by Theghostofsomeonefamous on Mar 17, 2010 6:56 AM PDT reply actions
AWoj has a vendetta
against Pritchard, it’s like listening to fox news report on the democrats, no credibility.
hm
“The Blazers used an insanely large font to announce the firing on their website. (Apparently it’s a fixed font size on all stories. Can we do the man a favor and shrink it just this once?)”
Wow, that’s sophisticated. Did Billy Mays write their web software?
lol
The patron saint of carnival barkers.
Andre Miller is an Anachronism
by tominhawaii on Mar 17, 2010 10:15 AM PDT up reply actions
PR staff must be clawing their hair out.
Are you really going to announce this during a slow game week where people can shred it apart?
Awoj’s “KP helped Penn get a raise then KP didn’t get a raise so now Penn is fired”…. how does that even make sense?
This feels sudden, but maybe it’s not. Maybe it was a bad move due to Paul’s ego, and maybe it wasn’t.
I read about Penn being rough around the edges and aggressive. A ladder climber may be thinking about themselves first and organization second. Bad apples effect others and it’s best to chuck them now. Of course, it could be something else.
Blazer organization doesn’t want to tell us. Penn won’t tell us. I’m disappointed, but without more information I think I’ll just ignore this. All the sources out there are very likely speculating too because it’s most likely that PA, KP, TP, and LM are the only ones that really know. If there are others I’m sure the number of extras would be limited to one hand.
"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 told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
If I were a betting man, I'd think that
1. The timing cannot be accidental. Smart business types don’t fire anybody randomly. Since, as you say, this doesn’t appear to be an optimal time to do it from the standpoint of public relations, they must have needed to have TP2 gone pronto. Most probably, (a) he did something unethical or illegal that couldn’t be ignored, and/or (b) decisions were due to be made to which he could not be privy because he was going to get the axe at some point and they didn’t want him to know certain things.
2. The method of termination — firing — cannot have been a casual decision. Again, the smart PR move for both TP2 and the organization would’ve been to ask for and receive a resignation. I can’t think of any likely circumstances under which TP2 would’ve preferred to be fired instead of resigning, so the Blazers must have wanted him publicly tarnished. This lends support to theory 1(a).
#52
by CatMan2 on Mar 17, 2010 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Your onto something
but I think we have to see that this came from Miller, not KP. Miller is also the guy who sent out that terrible Miles letter to the league, so he doesn’ t have a history of making good PR moves, (and if it was PA who made him do both the same thing applies).
I can’t think that KP is happy about having his right hand man fired by someone other than him, maybe the “promotion” 10 months ago wasn’t such a good thing, as it moved TP out from under KP’s umbrella as the asst GM, and under Millers as the VP.
Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?
is that like
the Love scanal?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Agreed.
The fact that he was fired is telling. But it could be as simple as the ladder climbing story—maybe he went out soliciting a job from other organizations without talking to the Blazers first. After his recent promotion, that might have rubbed some folks the wrong way.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
Everybody keeps talking about the Clips job
and for good reason, considering he had quite a bit of contact with them recently.
But what about the NYK? It’s rumored that Walsh is out. Maybe Penn was secretly interviewing with the Knicks while he was scouting the tourney at MSG?
Or it was the secks, as TIH explains.
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
As usual, it was probably a combination of things...
But I think the most obvious may be:
Because the Blazers will be over the cap for the next few years, at least, perhaps his cap-manuevering expertise wasn’t as needed as it has been?
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