Discussion Questions: Organizational Philosophy, Regional Nicknames & Post-Portland Bouncebacks

Hey guys, Dave is out for a few days and he asked me to pinch-hit with a table-setting discussion question for Friday.

I had a few ideas but I'm going to need a lot of help.

1) You're the next owner of the Portland Trail Blazers. Which organizational philosophy do you pursue: one that works at the highest levels to join basketball and business (like the Larry Miller/Sarah Mensah regime), one that tries to keep the two departments totally separate (a la Neil Olshey and Chris McGowan), or somewhere else in between (please use specifics)? Why?

2) If you could change any NBA team's name to one that is more regionally appropriate (a la the New Orleans Hornets' planned re-brand as the "Pelicans"), which team would you pick and which new nickname would you prefer?

The discussion questions have always been Dave's forte so I'm not totally sure either one of those is all that great. My back-up plan in this situation, which I'm now telling you, is to just pass off on you guys a question I get asked all... the... freaking... time on radio interviews, Twitter, emails, etc. Here's that one...

3) Why do players (usually meant as either Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton or both) play so well after playing poorly in Portland?

I like this question because it can be fully embraced or rejected outright, and it's particularly timeline considering Felton hit six three-pointers to lead a New York Knicks road win over the Miami Heat on Thursday night and Crawford is busy throwing over-the-head alley-oops for the Los Angeles Clippers.

On this one, I ask that you pretend your answer has to be given on-the-record in some form of mass media. In other words, the "no profanity" rule certainly applies, as does the "don't completely throw someone under the bus and if you must then do it politely" rule that I just made up. That way I can steal your answer if you nail it.

------------------------

In lieu of one question, then, you now have three from which to pick. Answer one, answer two, or answer all three. If you don't like any of them, feel free to pose your own in the comments to spark further discussion. Will commenting madness result from unleashing three totally different questions at once? Who knows. But we've got all day Friday to find out.

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