Transcript: Blazers President Larry Miller Speaks With "Wheels At Work"

by Ben Golliver on Jul 14, 2010 6:33 PM PDT in News

This afternoon, 95.5FM's Brian Wheeler and Kenny Vance interviewed Portland Trail Blazers President Larry Miller here in Las Vegas on Wheels At Work. Here's a link to the show's page where you can listen to the audio and download the podcast.

The big headline was Miller confirming that he has interviewed Oklahoma City Thunder assistant GM Rich Cho for Portland's open general manager position. Aside from that, Miller: agreed that Utah's trade for Al Jefferson makes it more likely that Wesley Matthews will be a Blazer, said that the team is ready to be active on the trade market, that he still wasn't ready to name any other candidates or set a timeline for his general manager search and that Nate McMillan will hire his head coaches independent of the team's general manager search.

Click through for a full transcript of the interview.

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

Questions have been paraphrased. Larry Miller's answers are word for word.

With Utah trading for Al Jefferson do you think it's more likely they will not match the Wesley Matthews offer?

On paper it would make it seem that way. We still haven't heard anything back. We put together what we thought was an offer that would be challenging for them and again we'll wait and see what happens.

Where is the GM process at right now?

As far as the process is concerned, I've definitely talked to some additional people. I think we're getting to a point where we're starting to settle in on a couple of people who are our target focus. We're going to continue to process, kinda narrow it down a little bit and hopefully we can get something done soon. We never set a direct deadline in terms of when we wanted to get it done. We just wanted to take our time and get it done and also do it with a sense of urgency and I know that sounds like a contradiction in terms but that's the way we're approaching it.

Did you interview Rich Cho and how did it go?

Yeah I did talk to Rich Cho and it did go good. For a guy that has not been a general manager, he's been a number two guy for quite awhile. what I got from Rich was that he's done a phenomenal job and has a lot of the qualifications that we're looking for.

I hear that he is a very detailed, versatile executive.

That's what I got from him and other people that've I talked to about him. Very detailed, on top of everything, very focused, has been involved in just about every aspect of a basketball team, both on the business side as well as basketball. He actually runs their d-league team, a lot of positive qualities about him.

Are you getting ready to have Owner Paul Allen interview a finalist?

It could be more than one person. The final step will be getting one or two people in front of Paul to have him make the final "OK, yeah, let's pull the trigger here." Again, that's the way the process works, it should work. We go through the preliminary and kind of get to a point where we think we've got people or a person that will work for the role and then get that person in front of Paul.

What's the status with Danny Ferry?

Danny is still somebody that is part of what we're doing. He's still in the process. I know it's gotten out that Danny has talked to other teams and that's absolutely fine because as we're talking to other people it would make sense for him, if there were other opportunities to look at those as well. He is still very interested in this opportunity and he's part of our process.

Is Rick Pfund still a candidate?

Yes.

Is it down to those final three names?

There could be others.

Has a sense of order been restored after some time has passed since Kevin Pritchard was let go?

There was this kind of uncertainty hanging out there around Kevin for the last couple of months. It affected everybody. It affected the organization, it affected the fans, it affected everybody. There was this uncertainty about what's going to happen. There was all this speculation that was out there. We're at a position where we're saying "ok, it is what it is. Let's move forward and let's keep things going." If you look at where we are this summer compared to where we were this time last summer, even without a GM and an assistant GM in place, we're still about where we were. We made the run at Tukoglu last year and that didn't happen. We made the offer sheet to Millsap, Utah matched. And we ended up with Andre Miller. We didn't go after one of the big free agent guys because that wasn't in the cards this year. You've got to have cap space, which we didn't. To go out and sign one of those big 3, 4, 5 or 6 guys that was out there, it just wasn't in the cards for us with the teams we have. We looked at the free agent parket and said, 'Hey, here's a guy that brings some things to the table that we need, in Wes Matthews. Let's go hard at him. And that's what we decided to do."

Will you wait to hire assistant coaches until you have a new GM in place?

Those are kind of Nate's calls and I know there's [talk that] the "Vulcans" have forced him -- that's totally not the case. Nate and I talked about this and basically what Nate said is that when he first got here the team was at a certain point and he needed a coaching staff that fit where he felt the team was at that point. The team is at a totally different point today and he felt like once the decision was made that Monty was leaving I think Nate looked at his staff, "You know what, we're at a different point now than when I initially built this staff, let me make sure I've got the right staff in place for where this team is and where it's trying to go. He made the decision to make some changes but that was Nate's call.

Are you guys ready to be a big player in the trade market?

I think we're always in that position, looking for that opportunity to find that one guy or two guys that gets us to the point where we think we are to truly ready to challenge. We're not waiting, we're continuing to look at that. If something like that materializes we will absolutely go after it and present it to Paul and see if it's something that he's willing to do.

How did the NBA Board of Governors meeting go?

To keep from getting fined I'm going to watch what I say here. I think ownership is committed to looking at how we're going to move forward as far as the collective bargaining agreement is concerned. I don't think anything that's happened up to this point has changed that at all. There is a commitment to look at what is in place right now as far as the agreement with the players and make some changes to that. And again that commitment hasn't wavered at all based on whatever's happened in the course of free agency. It was a very interesting meeting. For me, being able to represent Paul in those meetings is interesting to me. I do think there continues to be that commitment in terms of ownership saying something has to change here.

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

Tweet Comment 31 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Sound use of the MLE.

Hey, here’s a guy that brings some things to the table that we need, in Wes Matthews. Let’s go hard at him. And that’s what we decided to do.

Identify a need, and a player that can fill that need, and go get him with the resources available.

"[S]ince men enjoyed very great leisure, they used it to pursue many kinds of commodities unknown to their fathers, and that was that first yoke they placed upon themselves without thinking about it, and the first source of evils the prepared for their descendants. For, besides continuing thus to soften body and mind, as these commodities had lost almost all their pleasantness through habit, and as they had at the same time degenerated into true needs, being deprived of them became much more cruel than possessing them was sweet; and people were unhappy to lose them without being happy to have them." -Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?

by T Darkstar on Jul 14, 2010 6:44 PM PDT reply actions

Problem for me is the salary precedent it sets

Batum is basically a more talented, more efficient, taller player with a higher ceiling so if your’e giving Matthews 7 million a year what do you have to give Batum? Certainly more, maybe 9 or 10? Personally I was hoping we could get Batum for a more reasonable price, probably around what we gave to Wes.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this news

by MadBlaze on Jul 14, 2010 7:09 PM PDT up reply actions

and I hope Nic becomes a 9-10 mil/year player over the next couple of years

as should every Blazer fan

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 14, 2010 7:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Why are you talking about a couple of years

He’s up for an extension next off-season and he is very likely to get one. Having to overpay you own guys reduces flexibility in the future even if you have someone like Paul Allen as an owner. LA at 10-11 would have been great, at 13 not so much. Nic at 6-7 would be fantastic, at 9-10 he will be overpaid unless he absolutely breaks out this year. As for Wes, I loved him at the initially reported 4-5 million but not at 7 – although I’m guessing 4 or even 5 million would have been matched.

I just don’t like the way we’re headed salary wise especially when balanced with public statements that the Blazers need to break even in the near future. Good luck with that.

by MadBlaze on Jul 14, 2010 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions

I think it only matters if we want to be under the salary cap.

And with Roy and Aldridge, we weren’t going to be for 5 years anyways. We get an MLE every year, so might as well use it.

Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?

by T Darkstar on Jul 14, 2010 8:08 PM PDT up reply actions

for the record

LMA is at 10.7 this year and 11.8 next. he doesn’t make 13 until 2012-13

"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare

by douglast on Jul 14, 2010 8:54 PM PDT up reply actions

the Blazers have a team option for Batum in 2011-2012 = 2.1 mil

and that season will be shortened by the lockout

after the new CBA, who knows what the salary restrictions will be? I think it’s silly to worry about how much the team will need to pay Nic in 2012 at this point. I just want to see him play well and get as big of a contract as the market will allow when the time comes—from the Blazers

FWIW, LMA may not play out his contract in a Blazer uniform, at the rate he’s plateauing

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 15, 2010 12:08 AM PDT up reply actions

The issue is Wes Matthews lacks the handles and iso ability to play the 2 on offense in the high-low ...

zone — for he’s a 3 in it like Martell Webster — although I truly believe that Nate McMillan is so dense that he doesn’t comprehend the limitations some players will have in his very own system. That, folks, is why I consider McMillan to be a simple, basic person intellectually.

Remember, folks, McMillan is a guy who claims that he wants his players to push the ball, even though he clearly coaches at a slow pace due to his disdain for turnovers. To me, that shows a dismaying lack of self-awareness. Yet, whenever you hear someone such as JVG talk about his gameplan, it’s obvious that he’s got a clear idea regarding the specfics of his scheme and can communicate that directly to others.

http://www.championshipproductions.com/cgi-bin/champ/BD-02692.html

Basically, JVG’s straightforward manner of communication shows intelligence; conversely, McMillan’s dull, clichéd manner of communication shows a type of intellectual impotence. That conclusion, however, is just one person’s opinion: Mine. Y’all’ve got every right to disagree with me, y’know.

by AK1984 on Jul 15, 2010 3:25 AM PDT up reply actions

I don't know how the message is getting confused

so you may be right. But I think all Blazers fans should see that what Nate is saying, and what the team is doing are two different things. From pick and roll defense, to pushing the ball on offense, Nate tells the media he wants to fight through screens, and push the ball, yet the team constantly switchs centers onto point guards, and walks the ball up court. Is this a coaching issue?

Well to me it is, and I hope Nate can change, although I doubt it, because Kenny Vance asked him a few days ago about the offense, and Nate was down right rude to him, (I’m sure it was because of Kenny’s out spoken opinion that the offense needs to change to win) saying that the teams offense has been very effecient the last few years. I think Nate is out of his league still while trying to coach a championship contending team, so I hope he learns and grows fast. I can’t remember the last team that was the most overall efficient offense that won a title.

Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?

by usmcr3049 on Jul 15, 2010 8:08 AM PDT up reply actions

You are right, it is absolutely a coaching issue.

If Nate keeps saying he wants to do something, but it doesn’t happen, then it must mean that:

1. He isn’t explaining himself well.
2. The players aren’t understanding him (therefore, see number 1)
3. The players can’t do what he wants them to do. If this is the case, he needs to teach them better, or change what he wants them to do.
4. The players aren’t listening anymore. Then you MUST change the messenger.
5. He isn’t asking the players to do what he says he is asking them to do, that those comments are just to get the media and fans off his back, and he is throwing his players under the bus to accomplish that. If this is the case, and I have no reason to believe it is, then he must be fired immediately. You can’t have someone that disloyal in your organization.

I just think that Nate’s disdain for turnovers forces his offense into a slow, methodical approach that is heavy in isolation plays. When you have Brandon Roy and Andre Miller, it works pretty well in the regular season. In the playoffs, when you play the same quality opponent several times, defenses can adjust to that.

But then Nate could just continue to say we need to play scrappy.

by hercher on Jul 15, 2010 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions

another one

6) he says he wants them to do “x” (like run), but then spends little to know time drilling and practicing the mechanics. We don’t know of course, since we aren’t at practice, but it’s plausible.

"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare

by douglast on Jul 15, 2010 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions

which also would be a coaching issue.

Bottom line, to me, is that I think Nate could be a very good assistant coach. I think he can be a good coach for a young, undisciplined team that is in a rebuilding mode. The Blazers are no longer that: they are a team that is, or should be, ready to take the next step to contending for the conference championship.

by hercher on Jul 15, 2010 11:35 AM PDT up reply actions

my biggest worry about Nate as a coach

is that he doesn’t see a problem with the Blazers current offensive scheme. I would welcome a coaching change at this point, just to change the offense.

Ben II Blazersedge.com || New to Blazers' Edge?

by usmcr3049 on Jul 15, 2010 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions

I agree

but I also agree that it is hard to justify getting rid of Nate right now. His record is too good. I was also encouraged by Larry Miller’s remarks that decisions regarding the assistant coaches were a function of where Nate thought the team was, that he had certain guys in place because of where we were at 3-4 years ago. Well, the team is certainly different now, and the objectives are certainly different, so he is looking for different guys.

Given that he isn’t going anywhere, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for this season. But come Christmas, I don’t want to keep hearing buzz words like scrappy, and I don’t want to hear him continue to throw his players under the bus.

by hercher on Jul 15, 2010 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions

the old assistant coach from Milwaukee who's name starts with a C

is supposed to be one of the best PnR schemers and teachers in the NBA

If so, I’m hopeful that positive change is on the way. Nate had gone as far as he could with Dean Demo and the Temple University zone defense

If everyone is tired of McMillian and wants him to be replaced, then root root root for the Blazers to lose in the first round again. That result oughta force a head coaching change, next summer

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 15, 2010 5:01 PM PDT up reply actions

McMillan is a guy who claims that he wants his players to push the ball, even though he clearly coaches at a slow pace due to his disdain for turnovers.

If Matthews creates a turnover and sprints to the other end of the floor to score a breakaway basket (as he did repeatedly for the Jazz, last year) do you think Nate is going to stick out his foot and trip Wesley on the way by to prevent him from scoring early in the shot clock, just to preserve the team’s slow pace stats?

Perimeter defense is the main reason why WM was acquired, you’re fixated on the wrong end of the floor

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 15, 2010 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Randy

Is Rick Pfund still a candidate?

Were you thinking of Rick Sund?

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 14, 2010 7:12 PM PDT reply actions

Randy Pfund in the Rick Sund?

Fun in the sun indeed.

by MadBlaze on Jul 14, 2010 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Pfun in the Sun and Sand

by HailOden! on Jul 14, 2010 9:02 PM PDT up reply actions

If something like that materializes we will absolutely go after it and present it to Chris Paul and see if it’s something that he’s willing to do.

Fixed for Mr. Miller.

"You know, when you are in the game, you hear 20,000 people behind you, you don't feel anything."
- Nicolas Batum on playing through his shoulder injury during the 2010 playoffs.

by halo_on on Jul 14, 2010 8:05 PM PDT reply actions

How come everyone in the organization calls PA "Mr. Allen" but Larry Miller calls him "Paul?"

Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.

by pualo on Jul 14, 2010 8:17 PM PDT reply actions

business side vs basketball side

also from what I’ve heard, Miller is the basketball side’s conduit to PA, so clearly he’s somewhat closer to him.

Good catch though. It makes sense, but it’s also indicative.

You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.

by austinpwnz on Jul 14, 2010 9:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Hey the elephant is still in the room here.

Those are kind of Nate’s calls and I know there’s [talk that] the “Vulcans” have forced him — that’s totally not the case.

Nate’s never said he was forced. He’s been “tight lipped” about it. Of course there have been many insinuations to that end, that he keeps his mouth shut to protect his job. Clearly that’s not the only explanation. Like, for example, having respect for the guys he let go.

Like the Whos down in Whoville they did it without boxes or ribbons or bows, they did without centers or posting down low. They won without All-Stars and Spaniards and Frenchmen. They won with old geezers and sub-par defense-men. They won playing rookies from deep off the benches. They won with their grit and their guts in the trenches. And some who observed them have been known to say that their hearts grew three sizes (at least!) on the way. One hopes with their poise and their passion now proven that once they are healthy their game will be groovin'. -- Dave

by conspirator5 on Jul 14, 2010 8:50 PM PDT reply actions

but Nate did need new assistants

and I’m hopeful the old guys will nudge him in the right direction re: pace and PnR strategy

let’s just say, they couldn’t do much worse. Monty was great with the players, but Dean and Joe aren’t so special that they can’t be replaced

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Jul 15, 2010 12:11 AM PDT up reply actions

Ben

I think it’s time to move on… from that hideous, post-KP photo of Miller that you love to toss up there.

"Parting ways is not the end of the world. Ultimately, it may not be a bad thing at all, but right now I know the emotions are pretty raw. But it doesn't serve anyone to bash the Trail Blazers or Paul. It is after all a business of tough decisions. So, for the sake of the players, coaches and everyone who believes in Trail Blazers basketball, let's turn the page, move on and keep our eye on the prize." -KP

by The Cactus Leaguer on Jul 14, 2010 10:35 PM PDT reply actions

gosh darn it ben BURN THAT PICTURE!!

The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!

by faith on Jul 15, 2010 6:56 AM PDT reply actions

Question / Freudian Slip?

Ben Quotes Miller as saying “We looked at the free agent parket and said, ‘Hey, here’s a guy that brings some things to the table that we need, in Wes Matthews. Let’s go hard at him. And that’s what we decided to do.”

Did Ben accidentally transcribe “parket” instead of “market?” If not, and Miller accidentally said “parket,” it seems like Miller may have accidentally given a little tell that our next move after Matthews is to go after Tony Parker as a free agent.

Or maybe I’m reading too much into that…

by baskickball on Jul 15, 2010 7:05 AM PDT reply actions