Blazers President Larry Miller admitted to team broadcasters Mike Barrett and Mike Rice on Blazers Courtside (preview here) that he found out news of Kevin Pritchard's firing had been made public on draft night during an idle chat with a security guard outside the Blazers Practice Facility.

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"I get to the Practice Facility, I got there at 12:30 or 1 o'clock. [Blazers General Manager] Kevin [Pritchard] pulls me aside and said, 'Hey, [Blazers Owner] Paul [Allen] and I had a conversation and we kind of agreed that we're going to part ways. I want to still do the draft, we're going to get through the draft and then you and I can sit down tomorrow and figure out what the process is.'"

"Later, Paul pulls me aside and kind of says the same thing. Like, 'Hey, I got here. Kevin approached me, things seem to be where they are, things haven't been good, let's talk about how we're going to resolve this.' And I guess they sat down, the two of them had a conversation. Coming out of that conversation was an agreement. It looks like it's time to part ways. But Kevin wanted to continue to do the draft. Paul wanted Kevin to continue to do the draft. So they agreed that they would do the draft and on Friday he and I would sit down and figure out the next steps.

"So that's what I was told. That's what I was thinking. We're still waiting for the draft to start... so I walk outside to get some fresh air. I walk outside and I see one of the security guys out there and we're kind of shooting the breeze, talking about the nice weather, and he says, "I just heard on Courtside that Kevin Pritchard [got fired]..."

"And then I look at my phone and it starts to blow up."
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That is the absolute definition of dysfunction. PR people talk about controlling the story. The technique demonstrated above is what's known as being eaten alive by the story like a pack of rabid sharks.

It's astounding that Miller believes this narrative should be made public.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter