Behind the Scenes with the Blazers
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the draft the last few days (obviously). Aside from more fawning over GM Kevin Pritchard and his seeming ability to dominate the activity on draft day, or geeky predictions about what adding Bayless to the mix could mean for next season, I just haven’t been getting the spark that would lead to a good article here at MVN.
Then, I read this. Its not particularly in-depth, and could have been book-long and I’ve have loved every page, but getting a glimpse into the machinations of the Blazers’ draft from Mike Barrett is recommended reading for any fan of the NBA - whether you’re a Blazer fan, or the fan of a rival team who’s sick of hearing about the exploits of our front office.
Quite possibly my favorite nugget of Barrett’s post is KP’s suggestion that this will be remembered as the “smoke screen draft.” That has got to be the sickest thing I’ve ever heard. Pritchard didn’t just have all of us fans leaning the direction he wanted, he had the whole league convinced that his desires lied elsewhere.
I’m not suggesting that I think other teams changed strategy simply because they thought the Blazers wanted certain players and not others… But, as KP has said many times, the draft is poker. And in this case, not only did he and his staff figure out what cards all the other teams were holding, but he had them all bluffed off his actual hand.
The result? The Blazers end up, starting with the 13th pick, getting the guy they had rated #4 overall on their board, giving up two players whose roles were quickly evaporating from the Blazers future. Then, he did it again, taking the 27th pick he bought from New Orleans for nothing ($3M is peanuts to Paul Allen, and represents no actual team asset and has no salary cap impacts - that pick was essentially free), packaging it with one of his 2nd rounders, and securing the other prospect they’d identified. Its become known that both the Kings at #12 and the Spurs at #26 were going to take the players KP wanted, and he outmaneuvered both of them.
And this is Jedi mind-trick - KP gives value for value. KP may prey on other teams’ faulty player evaluations (Telfair with Boston, Ty Thomas with Chicago, Foye with Minnesota), but he gives them value. Indiana got the player they wanted and would have taken at #11 (Rush), and gave them Jack (they needed guard help) and McRoberts (local legend) for their trouble. Houston’s dealing of Arthur was a little more curious, but at the end of the day KP was giving a top 10/15 talent in Arthur for his guy. I love this draft ethos - once you identify your targets, stop at nothing to get them.
Look again at the move for Aldridge in ‘06. Chicago was likely to take Thomas on their own at #2 anyway. KP knew he wanted Aldridge, and was sitting at #4. Most teams would have crossed their fingers and hoped Charlotte passed on Aldridge. KP wasn’t willing to take that chance, and while the Greg Anthony’s and Stephen A. Smith’s of the world cackled during the draft about these needless moves, KP was ensuring he got his guy at the simple expense of Viktor Khryapa. Sounds pretty worth it, no?
Most of us dream about working for our favorite team, or in some capacity within the industry of our favorite sports. In the case of KP, I cannot imagine working as part of a more dynamic and progressive organization, or for a more thoughtful and proactive leader than Kevin Pritchard. The collaborative effort that goes into these drafts by he and his staff gets a little underrated as fans throw around terms like “Pritch-slap” and so forth, but as KP has said repeatedly - after he and his staff have worked over the data and through the decision making process, its KP as the GM that has to stand up and make a decision. We’re watching a great organizational leader exploit the strengths of his team and out-perform all of the competition.
Prior to last season’s resurgence, Blazer fans hadn’t had a lot to be thankful for in a number of years. Even with Paul Allen writing the checks, somehow this team’s financial model was broken, the product was garbage, and this city’s relationship with the team had been damaged. But, to my fellow Blazer fans I say this - Camelot is back. Portland had one of the leagues model front offices in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. After the scourge of the Whitsitt and Patterson administrations, young Kevin Pritchard has this team on the fast track toward one of the most successful eras we’ve seen yet.
This entry was posted
on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 10:40 pm and is filed under LaMarcus Aldridge, Blazers History, Josh McRoberts, Kevin Pritchard, The Inferno, 2008 NBA Draft, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Roy, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Trade Rumors, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trailblazers, Trail Blazers.
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12 Responses to “Behind the Scenes with the Blazers”
June 29th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Damon Stoudamire was on the Bald Faced Truth with Jon Canzano a week or two ago and had a very, very interesting take on developing a young team.
D.S. said that on a team whose core is completely built around young draft picks, eventually guys are going to start paying more and more attention to who is getting paid and who’s not. It’s tough when the guy sitting next to you drafted a year after you were got his big extension while you’re still slated to become a free agent soon. Or if the guy playing behind you fighting for your spot got a new contract when you didn’t.
I think it’s what did the Bulls in. Remember how we all used to talk about the Bulls as a great young team on the rise who drafted well and built a good core? Well, Hinrich gets a six-year deal while Gordon and Deng got no extensions. Chris Duhon got no contract. We all saw the effects of Gordon and Deng’s frustrations this past season.
You’d like to think that these things wouldn’t happen to the Blazers, but you just don’t know. You can never guess these things. Right now it seems as if Brandon Roy is the next coming of God and Greg Oden is this aw-shucks big fella who couldn’t care less about anything else but winning. But remember that Aldridge and Roy are both due for extensions next summer. What if Roy gets more than Aldridge? Does that have any effect on Aldridge? What if Roy gets a new contract while the Blazers wait a year to give LA his? Or what if they don’t give Martell an extension this summer after re-signing Outlaw for $13 mil last summer?
The sky’s the limit for this team, but you have to stop from jumping ahead of yourself. The Celtics had a nice young core before trading half of it for KG. But they couldn’t make any sort of a leap w/o a veteran to glue those young guys together. I’ve already gone on the record on here by saying that the Blazers have the best front office in basketball, but that’s just my opinion because I wish my team was that aggressive. KP’s legacy will be determined by what he does to get this team to a championship level. Right now, he’s nothing more than a trade-happy attention grabber who lights up draft night.
For the Blazers’ sake, they should try to make a run at Sam Cassell for one year to give this young core an added lift. Don’t know if Cassell would want to come to PDX but I heard rumors that he was interested in going to Denver, who aren’t that much further ahead than Portland (in fact, you can argue that they actually went backwards this offseason after mailing it in during the playoffs).
June 30th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Pritch slap happy
June 30th, 2008 at 10:13 am
That Bulls team was missing something that this Blazers team has in spades - leadership. In the front office, and in the locker room. Kevin Pritchard has shown some serious ability in being able to acquire these guys, and I don’t think there is any way he screws up the ability to keep the guys he wants to keep and he’s got the guts to get rid of the ones he doesn’t.
Brandon Roy is the least paid guy of the “big three.” You think he cares about that? The one thing every Blazer can bank on is this - if you earn your spot on this team, you’ll be taken care of. Period. Paul Allen has never had a hard time paying his players, and now he has a GM that will spend that money wisely. That Bulls team was owned and run by a bunch of cheapskates - Faris, do you seriously see a comparison between this team and how that team was run in the post-Jordan era?
When KP trades a Brand-level talent for the rights to draft a high schooler because he doesn’t want to spend the money to extend the Brand-level talent, I’ll get worried.
Sam Cassell. Now I’ve heard it all. That guy would be as useful around here as a bag of crap. Blake isn’t a veteran? Pryzbilla isn’t a veteran? LaFrentz isn’t a veteran? Does that veteran need to command playing time (at the expense of our youngsters) to provide that “veteran presence and knowledge?” What exactly is your criteria for this veteran?
I just don’t get this argument, in terms of what the Blazers will strive for next year. When the championship window is open, I agree, you look to add veteran role-players to your core talents (see San Antonio, Lakers, Celtics, etc). But until then, I say let these kids play and develop.
You can pose all the questions you want Amar. Webster will never sign the deal that Outlaw did - Travis wanted to stay here. KP is maintaining his flexibility heading into next off-season because he knows that’s it - the last chance at having cap room before Roy, Aldridge, et al starting getting maxed out. This team’s salary levels will go through the roof after next summer, and we’ve got an owner who can back it.
The opinions of Damon Stoudamire, while good for you to flaunt here to try and temper the optimism, aren’t really the opinions I value. Damon was a part of one of the all-time worst locker rooms while in Portland. I have no surprise that in Damon’s experience jealousy was common among those players. Remember, Bob Whitsitt was no Chemistry major. I think KP is building something different, and is getting the players who will buy into it.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Dude, Houston:
I’ve been doing this for years now, and I run a pretty successful blog over at Cavalier Attitude. The first word of advice: Don’t insult your readers, especially so subtly and condescendingly, and especially the ones who take time to post such long, thoughtful, and discussion-provoking comments like I just did. I’m not trying to temper anyone’s optimism. Stop acting like it’s the Blazers’ destiny to win the next 10 championships and that no act of even God can stop it from happening.
95.5’s Gavin Dawson is a far more successful Blazers’ evaluator than you are, and even he took stock in Damon’s evaluation. It’s not like D.S. is a fool who doesn’t know what he’s talking about even at this stage of his life. Obviously the guy has learned some things, and it’s not his fault for trying to share his experiences and what he’s learned from them. Sharing his experiences from, like you said, one of the worst locker rooms in sports. can only help others learn from his and the Jail Blazers’ mistakes.
And I’m not here to contribute to your massive, back-patting, feel-good, online pep rally that you’re trying to initiate. Your team obviously has work to do and issues that need to be addressed. Every single freaking team does. Heck, even the Celtics do, with my boy James Posey opting out. Next time you take my comments out of context and talk down on me like I’m some baseless, lip-flapping fool is the last time I read this blog. Hopefully your goal on here isn’t to LOSE readers. Faris takes care of that already.
June 30th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
And about leadership: Kirk Hinrich isn’t a leader? Didn’t he help lead Kansas to the national title game in ‘03? Ben Wallace isn’t a leader after signing with the Bulls in 2006? Heck, the players there missed him after he got traded. What about Ben Gordon, who helped lead UConn to a national title in ‘04?
What qualifies Brandon Roy as being more of a “leader” compared to these guys - at least at this point in his career - is beyond me. Sure, he’s super-talented, and unlike guys like Hinrich and Gordon, he’s an All-Star. But who had he “led” as far as being a “leader?” Even Dwyane Wade was under Shaq’s wing for a few years and learned how to become a leader. Kobe also learned the reigns from Shaq (although he won’t admit it). You look at a team like the Hornets, who were in a similar position compared to the Blazers at this point last year, and they infused some veterans who have “been there” to fuse with their own young talent. It helped to get Peja back, but they also brought on veterans who had years of experience as being “glue guys” aboard. Guys like Morris Peterson, Jannero Pargo, and Rasual Butler got good minutes coming off the bench and were able to use their experience to help take some of the pressure off the younger guys like CP3, West, and Chandler.
They actually talked about it this morning on “The Morning Sports Page” on 95.5. If the Blazers lose a guy like James Jones, it might hurt the team chemistry and lose the impact of some kind of a veteran player who knows and understands his role perfectly. Tell me the last team to just throw a bunch of young talent together without the help of a few significant veterans along the way and win a championship. You won’t find one.
Which is why it’s imperative to stop looking at this team on paper and actually start looking at them as one whole unit that has some missing parts here and there.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Easy there tiger - you comment often on this page so I didn’t think I needed to use the kid gloves on you. I’ll remember to soft-step with you next time so your feelings don’t get hurt.
I’m not saying this team is going to win a title next year, or as currently construcuted. The core of this team, however, I feel is on the right track.
You put a ton of stock in what people say, so if you pay attention to what people say about Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, you’ll understand why I don’t consider those two to have the leadership abilities of your average NBA sophomore. And I don’t think NCAA championships automatically make you a leader, so I don’t buy that Hinrich and Gordon are natural NBA captains.
And I stand by my comment on Cassell - he’s used up.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:01 am
Amar, this is why it’s called a BLOG. If you run one then you know the rules. If we don’t like the overall tone of the blog then we’ll go elsewhere. Simple. Personally I didn’t pick up on anyone being condescending but you.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:05 am
And Gavin Dawson IS one of the better informed and articulate host’s around, but he’s also very rude and EXTREMELY condescending!!!!!!!
Take it from me I’ve been called rude things and hung up on TWICE by Gavin Dawson for no apparent reason other than he didn’t like my take.
July 1st, 2008 at 6:20 am
I called in to Sports Saturday last year when they were talking about the Cavs and LeBron and even though Gavin called me “Omar” he said that “I agree with everything that Omar in Beaverton just said, very good phone call there.” My only beef was that they kept me on hold for like 10 minutes but it’s cool because it was a Saturday and I had minutes to spare.
July 1st, 2008 at 8:42 am
I have not been able to wrap my mind around the sports talk in this town. Its tough to fill radio time when you don’t have that many teams to talk about. I’ve been trying 95.5 since it launched on occasion, but I find Canzano and Dawson pretty grating. Portland (and Oregonians in general) want to feel good about the things we have - its hard to listen (whether its Blazers, Ducks, Beavers, whatever) when the formula is *negative*, *negative*, people think I hate *team*, and yeah there are *positive*, but I tell it like it is, so *negative*.
I try to keep it in perspective around here, and while I’ve been positive lately, even my prediction that the Blazers are on the way to one of the best eras in franchise history is pretty tame - we have one surprise title in ‘77, a three year run from ‘90-’92 with two championship round losses, and another run of relevance in the late 90s/early 2000s that transitioned directly to the worst point in franchise history. This has been a strong franchise for along time, but the bar is pretty damn low.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Yeah…that’s the main difference between coming from a city (Cleveland) that has three teams to talk about on sports radio to Portland that has just one. I think Canzano and the guys at 1080 The Fan can be extremely negative at times, and they’re always looking for a story to make themselves look good instead of focusing on things that can help take this team forward. That being said, I think Dawson and the folks at The Morning Sports Page on 95.5 are pretty upbeat and realistic.
BTW…what’s your take on bringing back James Jones? He said that he has a deal for five years and $25 mil elsewhere (I thought it was some dumb team like the Knicks, but Isiah’s not there anymore). There’s no way you match that if you’re the Blazers based on the length of the deal, but I think he brings a critical aspect to this team that goes beyond providing a jump shot. Portland was pretty formidable with him in the lineup last season, and not so much when he was out. I don’t have the numbers with me, but they were pretty big differences. It definitely presents an interesting situation for Pritchard, although at this point it would be hard to argue with much of anything that he does.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
You don’t sign Jones to that money. Not now. Guys like Jones are finishing moves for when you’re closer to championship contention. I’m fine living with Webster and Outlaw at the three this year (and there will be plenty of three-guard lineup as well) and as much as I loved what Jones did here, I’m fine with him going to get rich somewhere else.
Really similar to the Udoka situation last year. I just hope his agent isn’t lying like Udoka’s was.
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