Mark Warkentien
by KevNW on Jun 9, 2010 1:04 AM PDT
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I really dislike the idea of this post, as I find it hard to believe/accept that the team (Allen and the Vulcans) are going to fire Kevin. But at this point it looks to be the case. If so, I'm starting to think the next GM may be Mark Warkentien. It makes some sense to me because I Idon't think the Blazers will be able to land some of the names that are being thrown out there - Jerry West and Sam Presti - can't see Jerry coming out of retirement for this, and Presti has a lot of autonomy and would likely want to see what he can continue to build in Oklahoma City.
Many other potential GM canadates would likely be very hesitant with the way the team is handling the situation with Kevin Pritchard, and may not see themselves with as much autonomy as they would ideally like to have. This brings me to Mark Warkenstien. His contract is up this summer in Denver. He still has a home in the Portland area, word has it that when he was the assistant GM in Portland (believe from '94 - '04) he had a good working relationship with Paul Allen and the Vulcans. and there is some chatter that he may be looking at moving on...wonder if he hasn't signed an extension because knows of the situation in Portland and covets the job (just speculation on my part).
If this is the case, I'm not real excited about it. Mark was here, under Whitsett, during the Jailblazer years and helped construct that team. I'm not excited when looking at the current Denver Nugget team. I would go into this questioning his ability to recognize good team chemistry and the importance of good character in building a team. He gets credit for trading Allen Iverson for Chauncy Billups, but he was also the one that traded for Iverson and thinking he would team up well with Carmelo Anthony (I believe in hearing him interviewed a few months back, he said he was contacted by Detroit, looking to deal Billups, and they inquired about Iverson). When on the Blazers, he was credited for drafting Zach Randolph among others.
This team recently lost a good assistant coach, one with a lot of character (as a Minnesota Viking fan it reminded me when they lost their defensive coordinator, Tony Dungy, when he became the head coach at Tampa). They likely will soon lose a good GM, who brought in players with a lot of character. Will see who they bring in, but at this point I'm loosing some confidence in them going forward.
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Ya the KP issue is.........
i got no word for it. The rumor of Warkentien coming back has been swirling for quite sometime actually. I dont want to see it personally, the nuggets place no priority on character…..J.R. Smith, Birdman, etc……..and we are built on talent and character. Last thing we need is regime change but if it is going to happen then please dont bring a guy like that in.
by blazerbeliever97504 on Jun 9, 2010 1:36 AM PDT reply actions
Anderson sure does act like a doof, but i don’t see how is a bad guy. He battled his drug addiction and made it back to the NBA, I think that shows lots of good character. JR is a tool, and Kenyon Martnin whines but other than that I don’t unerstand why they are so hated. Maybe it’s because they play tough, and have the ability to get to the wcf.
by jordanneale on Jun 9, 2010 2:38 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
The way the Thuggets self-destructed without Karl riding herd on them said it all
The team lacks character. And Portland fans, of all people, should know that it doesn’t matter how much talent you assemble on a basketball team if there’s no character & chemistry. In the end, a team full of jerks will find a way to lose.
Speaking of which, it’s ALWAYS been my belief that even had the Jailblazers not self-destructed in that fatal 4th quarter vs the Lakers, they’d still have blown it. Everyone said the New Jersey Nets couldn’t win in the Finals. But an overconfident Jailblazer team would have been ripe for the upset.
I was born in '52, and I believe in #52. Hang in there, GO.
You too, Przy: everyone knows you're the heart & soul of the Blazers.
Yeah, the Indiana Pacers were beat 4-2 by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.
Man, that Pacers squad had everything from several grizzled veterans to a couple of teenagers straight out of high school. It had Larry Bird at the helm, too, which was the main reason why I rooted for the Pacers to win it all that year, since I was a Sonic fan without a dog in the fight.
Anyway, it’s the Sacramento Kings that’d’ve gone on to the play the New Jersey Nets in the 2002 NBA Finals if it had gotten past the Lakers.
you are correct sir
I was rooting for the pacers too. I liked them but expecting any team that faced them to steamroll/beat them.
I thought the pacers put up a decent fight but were definitely out matched.
"We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
It's the tattoos
Seriously. Half the Nuggets look like they’ve been in prison for a decade. If you don’t want to be thought of as a thug, you shouldn’t do everything possible to look and act like one.
Randolph wasn't a bad draft pick. (19th)
He was just given a bad contract.
by Nick Van Excellent on Jun 9, 2010 1:36 AM PDT reply actions
neither was Jermaine
he just couldn’t get any PT behind Sheed and Rasta
Wark can assemble talent, and he generally prefers big over small. (He said he picked Lawson last year mainly because of Ty’s Tar Heel ties with Karl’s cronies)
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I hope its not Wark
He’ll turn the franchise right back into the old Jailblazer days. See the Thuggets as a prime example.
Prince: This bores me. Is anyone up for a game of basketball?
Who exactly on the "Thuggets" is the bad guy actually?
J.R. Smith? A loony, but he does a lot in the community and Warkentien has put heavy incentives in his contract to keep him in line and him and coach Karl on the same page.
Melo? One of the biggest donors to Syracuse University and the cities of Denver and Baltimore you can find. In one year he was on a level with people like Oprah and other way more positively viewed show biz people in total $ spent for charities. I would love to have him on the Blazers.
Birdman? A former drug addict who seems to have turned his life around after jettisoning much of his former posse
Martin? Aside from his weird idea to tattoo the lips of his wife on his neck he seems to be a caring guy who came back from a number of serious injuries. If he was a lazy bum, I suppose he would be out of the league right now.
Billups? A pros’ pro
Karl? A coaches’ coach
I’m not a fan of that team, but I don’t think they are anything like the Jail Blazers, much less a worse group of people.
Okay on a level with Oprah was an exaggeration, ha ha, but Melo was in very good company:
http://www.givingback.org/Programs_Services/GivingBack30.html
http://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/anthony_syracuse_donation_110706.html
JR Smith
On December 16, 2006, Smith was involved in the Knicks–Nuggets brawl. He was suspended for 10 games
JR was the driver when his SUV ran a stop sign – killing his friend Andre Bell.
And on October 13, 2007 Mr. Smith was charged with assault, destruction of property, and disturbing the peace at a nightclub where he allegedly poured cheap champagne on a woman at DC10, then spit on her, shoved her and ripped her dress.
This was few things that grabbed quickly off the interwebs
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 9, 2010 7:01 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
A couple more notes on Smith's character
On February 2, 2007, Smith and teammate Carmelo Anthony were involved in a car accident. Neither player was injured in the collision. The only detail released by the team was that the car J. R. was driving belonged to Anthony.11
On August 5, 2009 Smith closed his twitter account (jr_smith1) because he was accused of writing in a way that reflected the Bloods gang, specifically replacing his c’s with k’s
Since the accident, he has received two more speeding tickets and three license suspensions in New Jersey.19
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
Wow Speeding tickets?!?!...
C’mon now. Traffic violations and his twitter account got canceled? I dont like Jr Smith, but that is just unfair…
"im ready for a fight..." -Joel Przybilla
by KillaPrzydollaBILLA on Jun 10, 2010 12:17 AM PDT up reply actions
Someone died
I suspect that is a big deal
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 10, 2010 6:25 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I said he was a loony. He's not the one on the Nuggets I would want on the Blazers.
But I don’t think he’s as bad as some people make him out to be. He’s certainly not happy that his friend got killed with him driving the car, and according to people around him he has matured a lot since then. Heck, he would have still been a senior in college in 2007/08 and maybe came to the NBA too early (he came straight out of high school, passing up a scholarship at NC).
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ian_thomsen/07/10/weekly.countdown/1.html
Still searching for a great article where a sick kid talks about her relationship with Smith
Here is some more
Kmart from Wiki
Martin and teammate Alonzo Mourning almost fought when Martin mocked Mourning’s life-threatening kidney disease.
…during that playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Martin was suspended from the Denver Nuggets indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team. During halftime of game two of the first round series, Martin got into an argument with head coach George Karl over his playing time, and proceeded ironically to refuse to play for the second half of the game.
Martin is said to have stood up, pointed at the heckler, and then motioned to one of his ‘bodyguards’ to go confront the heckling fan, ordering “shut him up”. His friend then stood up and yelled at the heckler, “Shut your mouth before we take you outside and beat your ass!.” He also apparently screamed at a Nuggets fan named Don Miller—who, along with his teenage son, happened to be sitting next to the heckler—calling him a “fat [zaching] white boy.” Martin was subsequently fined $15,000 and cautioned to no longer bring his entourage to games
On February 11, 2006, after a Denver win over the Dallas Mavericks, a volatile Martin was involved in a heated and profanity-laced locker room exchange with a local sports radio personality.
We all know about Iverson…..but here is a link to his behavior just before Wark (AKA Killer Clown) traded for hiim
I wasn’t intending to pile on you Norsk…..but I do believe that the Thuggets nickname is/was justified….and Warkentien was responsible for much of the roster that earned that nickname….I do not want him back in Portland trying to re-create the magic that was the JailBlazers
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 9, 2010 7:56 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Melo is a malcontent and a punk!
He is also silky smooth and I’d take him on the Blazer in a second. Same for JR and Birdman except I’d have to watch the games in B&W if we got him. The tats hurt my eyes.
by 52therim on Jun 9, 2010 10:19 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Look all y'all that keep telling Norsk about the Nuggs I gots one thing to say
shut your moufs
SNITCHES GET STITCHES
dinasour type of guys choir boys
On a side note, Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony were brought in during the Kiki Vandeweghe ...
administration. Vandeweghe, however, will forever be known in Denver due to the utter idiocy of drafting Nikoloz Tskitishvili with the 5th pick in the 2002 NBA Draft.
Well...
If the guy does come in, I would reserve judgement. Portland allready has a solid core of people so I don’t really understand why people seem to think it would become the “jailblazers” again. Unless he trades Roy aldridge and batum I dont think it would be disastress, but I don’t see that happening. But, I also think if the “jailblazers” won 60 games a season and went deep into the playoffs the rose garden would still sell out.
by jordanneale on Jun 9, 2010 2:30 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
He seems like one of the likely targets due to his experience and connection to the Blazers
Does his track record justify the hire? He made a few bad picks. So has anybody who has done that job for any length of time. What were his good moves?
by 52therim on Jun 9, 2010 9:41 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
that's also a possiblity that Vance and Wheels discussed yesterday
long-time Blazer fans will remember that when Paul first purchased the team, he used to have Clyde and Kiki visit his casa up on Mercer Island and shoot hoops. (Of course, these player-owner exchanges were what eventually caused Mike Schuler to lose his job…which was our first clue re: “what kind of owner” Allen would be…) So, if the relationship between Kiki and Paul is still warm and fuzzy, then I’m sure Vandeweghe is on the radar, along with Wark
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
As evidenced by some really bad GM decisions in Denver and NJ
However, it just so happens that he has PDX and PA connections, and is also looking for work at the same time that PA is looking for a GM, and the best GMs might be wary of the ownership/management situation.
I think jlarose was pointing out that Kiki’s a likely PA target, not someone that would be good fit necessarily.
I wouldn't mind if they went after Paxon, Presti or Sund though...
or take a long shot and just promote Dennis Lindsey from San Antonio
Draft Cole Aldrich
Jim Paxson is busy working as a consultant/scout for his brother in Chicago, Rick Sund ...
has got a long history of mediocrity, and Sam Presti won’t leave an OKC gig wherein he’s got autonomy over the basketball operations department. Yet, I’d like to see how Dennis Lindsey — who’s reportedly done good work in both Houston and San Antonio — would do with a GM gig; however, my bet is that Paul Allen, Bert Kolde, Tod Lewieke, and company will ultimately go with the much-ballyhooed Mark Warkentien.
There's a few really good assistants out there
I would like to see us pick someone like that, someone trying to make a name for themselves who worked for a good GM like Buford or Morey, rather than a more established GM.
Kiki Vandeweghe also shares the same agent as Kevin Pritchard, Warren LeGarie, which may ...
very well be a deal breaker with the folks up at Vulcan, Inc.
Sometimes
I feel like Vecsey simply hates LeGarie and every one of his clients.
He might be justified, but I don’t know.
Wark would not be hired for his ability to put a team on the floor we can be proud of
It is because they know he would be a Patsy for the Vulcans
by LicketyBrindleDowntheMiddle on Jun 9, 2010 9:17 AM PDT reply actions
wonder if he hasn’t signed an extension because knows of the situation in Portland and covets the job (just speculation on my part).
The WaW crew was talking about Wark yesterday, I recommend that everyone download the podcast (June 8, first hour, segment starts 47 minutes in) They said that Denver’s owner has a lot on his plate, so Mark and (his internal rival, Rex Chapman) probably won’t learn their fate until August. That leaves a pretty big window of uncertainty for Wark to accept the Blazer’s job, if it’s offered
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
(I believe in hearing him interviewed a few months back, he said he was contacted by Detroit, looking to deal Billups, and they inquired about Iverson).
Mark said there was a rumor that previous summer that Denver was interested in moving Melo. The Anthony rumor wasn’t true, but it got the conversation started with Dumars/Detroit that led to the Billup’s deal, at the beginning of the next season
It’s ironic that Bob Whisitt won the exec of the year for Seattle the year before he was hired by Paul, and now Wark is a year removed from winning the same award for Denver. Could lightning strike twice?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Let's hire Jerry West,
so he can give away one of our best players to the fakers for nothing…
NOT!
Not a fan of Wark’s Thuggets… Kiki has no BBIQ… West is retired… Don’t see any better available GM than KP, but that ship looks to have sailed, unfortunately….
If Wark comes and blows this team up, he can have my 1/8 of a season ticket… I’ll be done…
Reportedly, that's just a rumor.
"I don’t know if I got the most value," Heisley confessed. "Maybe our people should’ve shopped (Gasol) more and maybe we would’ve gotten more, done a better deal. Maybe Chris did call every team in the league. I don’t think he did, but maybe he should’ve…"
[…]
Several sources close to the process insist West played no part, and Heisley swears, "Jerry didn’t know about the trade until after it was done."
Yeah Yeah Yeah
I don’t believe a word they are saying. Lot’s of coincedences. “Nobody interested in getting Pau for free and so we decided to make one of our two teams to the most successful year by year team in the league. No we wouldn’t want a scrub team to pass us up, lets give him to the wealthy, for nothing!”
Oh BTW, the Ariza for Artest flip flop, but not traded does not smell of anything rediculous either.
How often are teams involved in weird ones like this? Must be all of em! Nothing to see here guys, they assure you!
Blazer Pride.
by loyal_blazer on Jun 9, 2010 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Isn't this KP stuff partially Wark's fault?
Isn’t Wark the one who keeps badmouthing KP through the press? At the very least, doesn’t that potentially undermine KP’s ability to do his job. Why would we hire a backstabbing POS like that?
We? Well we wouldn't
We also wouldn’t fire KP…….the Vulcans however, well its looking like they would, and probly will.
by blazerbeliever97504 on Jun 10, 2010 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions
we want a GM who got out of the 1st round this year.
and a GM who trades away camby for nothing, not a GM who trades for camby for nothing.
dinasour type of guys choir boys
by mittsabishy on Jun 10, 2010 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
we want a GM who got out of the 1st round this year.
Never mind that Nuggets made it to the WCF the year before, and their head coach was undergoing cancer treatment, this spring
Do you think Wark wanted to trade Camby for nothing? There are talent-for-talent trades (AI for Billups?) and there are money deals the owner orders the GM to do. The Camby dump was behind door #2
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
me describing it "camby for nothing"
means i already understood that.
they were desperate to shed salary so they ditched him, and then still went out and picked up danthay jones and renaldo balkman. and also re-upped jr smith.
those are all dumb decisions.
dinasour type of guys choir boys
if you can divide what were Wark's decisions versus which were Rex Chapman calls, during the last few years
then you’ve got some killer insider info re: the Denver front office. It’s similar to wondering how much of the decision to acquire Hedo #1 was KP versus PA?
I’m not saying Mark was the exec of the year in 2009, that was the NBA.
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
i don't know either.
but rex probably loves jr smith since he’s the nba player most currently like him.
dinasour type of guys choir boys
Isn’t Wark the one who keeps badmouthing KP through the press?
No, it’s an urban legend that makes some Blazer fans feel better to keep regurgitating.
There’s no animosity between Wark and KP. They may have gotten together for dinner this past week in NY.
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Wasn't it Dave or Ben who started this opinion?
Why did they start it?
In Bayless I trust.
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Dave had it from a trusted source as I recall
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 11, 2010 7:20 AM PDT up reply actions
I did a quick search
Dave wrote this
….. let me share this absolutely legit, yet anonymous, piece of information with you. I have it from two independent sources among the national media corps that much of the news and criticism attributed to the Blazers this year via “unnamed sources” has actually stemmed from Denver Nuggets GM Mark Warkentien. Naturally neither of these sources is willing to go on the record but they are in a position to know, every bit as much as every “unnamed GM” is in a position to know about the inner workings of the NBA.
Now, maybe Mr. Warkentien is a genius and has everything pegged as it is. Maybe Mr. Warkentien has lingering memories (of whatever kind) from his decade coming up the ranks in the Blazers’ front office. Maybe Mr. Warkentien is looking at a division rival with whom he is competing directly and that colors his vision. We don’t know…and that’s the point. If more of us were aware of this kind of ill-kept secret it would put the information we’re receiving in perspective as something to chew on, but not to swallow whole.
I trust Dave …..much more than A-Woj
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 11, 2010 8:08 AM PDT up reply actions
and I trust Vance's 25+ years of sources, more than Dave and Ben's 3-4 years
Unless Wark is the iceman and he’s got everybody (including KP) fooled, there is no bad blood between Mark and Kevin
Does that mean that Wark wouldn’t want to be the GM for the Blazers if the job was offered to him? No, but if he’s the “deep throat” feeding A-Woj with garbage for him to write about Pritchard, then he’s got a few player agents in his “network” of informants
“Lone gunman theories” always sound plausible, but they rarely pass the smell test, for long
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
In my opinon...Vance is pretty much a tool...regardless of how much experience he has
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 11, 2010 11:08 AM PDT up reply actions
I take input from all, and connect the dots
Kenny knows Wark from his days covering the team, Dave and Ben do not
When Vance is discussing Mark’s friendship with KP, Wheels and Jay Allen do not argue with Kenny and make claims that Wark is A-Woj’s lone source re: all things nasty about KP
Warkentein may or may not be hired by the Blazers, it doesn’t matter to me. When I read Blazer fans say they’ll stop watching or rooting for the team if Wark is the GM then I think that “whoever” is perpetuating the idea that Mark was “the bogeyman” who undermined KP had better make sure they have their story straight, because if it’s heresay they’re doing the same character assassination to Wark that A-Woj has been accused of re: Pritchard.
The truth is in the middle, it’s our job to root it out. (Unless we’d rather avoid hearing both sides of a story and join the mob who accept internet propaganda at face value)
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
So Dave is an internet propagandist?
Phil Mickelson: "A Great shot is when you pull it off.....a smart shot is when you don't have the guts to try it"’
by 92wastheyear on Jun 11, 2010 6:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Every blog is, to one degree or another
Especially if you never take the time to check what they write out against other media outlets. Every writer has a bias of one kind or another, I shouldn’t have to explain this
I’m not saying that Dave and Ben are wrong about Wark, either. They’ve got their unnamed “media sources” and Vance has his own intimate knowledge of the situation. My point is let’s not buy just one side of the story hook, line and sinker. It’s a function of mob mentality to set up villains like Paul Allen the Vulcans or A-Woj and then stand back and take potshots at them. We get enough of that in partisan politics, if you care to indulge in it.
Someday, Ben or Dave may need to sit down across the table from Mark Warkentien, or Larry Miller, and he could come away with a different perspective of what these execs are like personally, and what really motivates them. Vance and Jaynes have had quite a bit more experience in this area, and I’ve learned a lot more about their personalities from listening to them on the air then I ever did from reading their material. If Kenny and Dwight wanted to pile on the “Warkentien is Mr. Evil” bandwagon, they’ve had their opportunity. But they haven’t, and their silence (or outright support) tells me much more than a couple of dozen responses from Bedgers about what kind of assistant GM Mark was for the Blazers back in the 90s, and what kind of GM he’s been while in Denver.
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
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