Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports told John Canzano on 750 AM The Game in a Monday afternoon interview that the Portland Trail Blazers are dealing with "rejection" in their ongoing search for a new general manager. Here's a link to the audio. Here's a partial transcript of the interview.
Blazers GM search
"There's a lot of guys capable of doing the job and doing it well. There's more than one out there. They just need to pick one. They just need to hire one. This has gone on for a long time. They've had a lot rejection, quietly, a lot of rejection.
"They checked in with a few standing GMs in the league. I think the feeling among GMs everywhere - on the surface, it's an attractive job. Resources, unbelievable fanbase, history, an owner who is willing to spend historically. All of those things. The ownership situation - people aren't sure about it. Is [Paul Allen] going to keep the team? Is he going to sell it? And then obviously, the layers of bureaucracy in being the GM there. Whether it's dealing with the people in Seattle, whether it's the role [president] Larry Miller is going to have. Paul Allen obviously.
"It just seems like anybody who is in a pretty good situation right now, who feels like they're going to be in the job they're in for a while, just isn't interested in it."
So they settle for a No. 2 guy?
"Yeah, that's who I think it will end up being. An assistant GM, a number two guy somewhere.
"It was reported out there about David Morway from Indiana. He's very good. I think Indiana - that's a good model for a lot of teams. The way they built that Pacers team, through the draft, some smart trades. That Pacers group, when you look where those guys were picked - I can't give Indiana enough credit. When you're picking in that 10-11 to 17-18 range, you don't get many impact players, and they have. They've put together a good group, a playoff team, drafting not in great spots. From Roy Hibbert to Danny Granger to Tyler Hansbrough, the George Hill trade was tremendous. I think David Morway would be a good GM for Portland. For me, it's how much more rejection are they willing to take publicly?
"There is some uncertainty in Indiana. Larry Bird is probably going to leave at the end of this season. There's a very good chance Donnie Walsh returns to Indiana. Reggie Miller is a possibility in Indiana to run it. The owner in Indiana [Herb Simon], I don't think it's any fault of David Morway, he's always liked the big names. I do think it makes it possible for Morway, who is a number two there, Portland would be attractive to him because it would be security."
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter