FanPost

In Defense Of Paul Allen

Reading the obituaries of Kevin Pritchard on Blazersedge has been nauseating.  This is just a game and he is just a man, not a God.  Make no mistake, in my opinion, Kevin Pritchard has not been just a good GM, he has been a great GM.  On his watch, we have stockpiled so much talent that at one point, it was almost ridiculous.  As a fan, you have the right to be enraged but you shouldn't pretend to be completely informed on this issue, because none of us are.

1.  There is revisionist history going on here.  Before the Allen/Pritchard fiasco, many posters thought of Paul Allen as the best owner in sports and respectfully referred to him as "Mr. Allen."  Paul Allen was thought of as benevolent, intelligent, and wise.  I got news for you, he didn't suddenly become a dummy overnight.  

2. The Tom Penn and Kevin Pritchard firings are related and, to my knowledge, the reason for each is still a secret.  If the firings are performance based, then Paul Allen suffers from 21st century unrealistic attention deficit expectations.  HOWEVER, we do not know if something happened behind the scenes that would justify this.  I have a sneaking suspicion that the firings were ethics based, but I could be wrong.  If the firings had something to do with ethics and not performance, maybe Paul Allen retaining Kevin Pritchard until the draft was actually compassionate and respectful.  

3. In this day and age, it is rare for information to be so protected.  This is not always an indication of poor management, sometimes it could be an example of good management.  Maybe Paul Allen is showing loyalty to Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn by not releasing or leaking the true nature of the situation.  

4. We as a society, especially us information age addicts, have a tendency to assume we know all the factors at play and feel compelled to offer an opinion.  In this case, I don't think we know all the factors involved.  It is right to press for more information but it is wrong to act like you have a completely informed opinion.  Don't fall into the media trap of commenting and offering a final verdict until you know all the facts.  

5. Read the following point with the understanding that I believe KP was a great GM.  Please don't misconstrue this.  KP had the obvious fault of loving his players too much (narcissism?) by failing to separate his heart from his mind.  He also built up a reputation around the league by "Pritch slapping" other GM's on a regular basis.  These two factors, in the end, might have made him a lame duck GM long before Paul Allen did.  

 

-Here is the part where I cover my rear:

1. If you have information that Tom Penn and Kevin Pritchard were fired because of poor on-court performance, please let me know, because I haven't heard of it.  

2. Paul Allen does have a history of going through head coaches and GM's like I go through underwear and I think it is right to be critical of that.  

3. You have a right to be upset at the loss of KP, but don't act like you are completely informed in doing so.  That is my point.  

4. If it becomes known that the firing of KP was totally performance based, then I will be the first to say that Paul Allen made a horrible mistake.  Until that comes out, I won't go that far.  

 

Side note: I actually like our draft from last night.  Moving up in the draft would probably cost more than it would benefit.  We likely obtained a solid backup #2, a solid backup #3, and a third string PG.  What more did you want with picks that were not in the top 20?  I have a feeling that Babbitt might surprise some people and develop into starter quality.