David Aldridge article on Millsap situation

That's a great point. There are far more people in the world that either love or hate the Cowboys or Raiders than theur are people in the world the love or hate the Titans or Vikings

 

That's pretty much the truth, though, isn't it? Portland is sitting on a lot of young, talented players who aren't getting paid much. Pritchard has got a roster that nearly any GM would love to play with. And it just won 54 games. On top of that, he's got an owner with deep pockets, and currently one of the most supportive fanbases in the NBA.

Most teams (including us not so long ago) have some serious warts, and so they make deals out of necessity. We really don't have any major warts. There isn't much necessity. Is it really such a bad thing that he doesn't want to make a deal unless it's a huge win for Portland?

I can see how Pritchard's personal style might be grating. But it's a business. I find it hard to believe it's really doing much to hurt us. I work with people all the time I don't really like, but it doesn't affect my job.

Keep being a prick, Pritchard. Don't make a deal unless it's a talent upgrade for us. Even if we have a hole at starting PG and could use a vet at SF, I'd rather us do nothing than do a swap that drops us in overall talent. We've got the youth, the cheap contracts and the cap space. We're probably going to win at least 54 games again if we don't do anything. If another team wants access to our assets, they better pay for it by giving up players who have more realized talent.

 

Deleted.

 

Yes, the TPE would have to be renounced in order for the Blazers to make a signing using cap space.

As far as teams not liking the Blazers very much...I'm sure that there's some truth to that. The memo sent to league executives about signing Miles had to rub a lot of GMs the wrong way. The fact that the Blazers have an owner who isn't pinching pennies right now and are looking to capitalize on it by prying players away from less affluent owners can't endear them to other GMs. The glowing remarks that KP got for rebuilding the Blazers, along with the "Pritchslap" nonsense, undoubtedly didn't make him any friends. I think KP maybe is learning that there's a price to be paid in the NBA good ol' boy network for those kinds of issues.

But all of that aside, the Blazers remain only one of two teams with cap space. In a down economy, that's a good position to be in. Whether a deal is found this summer or has to wait until sometime before the deadline, there will be a deal to be had that will benefit the Blazers. I know that you don't agree with this, MM, but I'm certain of it.

 

I don't see the point in pointing out that he's got a billionaire owner behind him when we're under the luxury tax.

 

Maybe you should direct this to the GM who keeps whining and moaning about KP and our team.

 

Do you have his facebook url?

I've got a few things to get off my chest.

 

Well it's starting to be posted by more and more sports writers. Either Ainge and Wallace are working over time or there is something else going on. Jealousy or a bit O'truth lord knows I don't know which it is.

 

first of all thats a first rate run-on sentence. Second what sort of bizaro world is this? Year after year most of the rumors involving Portland have them getting fleeced. Now Aldridge is trying to convince me that they were not only getting the better of those deals but were leaking the rumors out to make themselves seem smart???

STOMP

 

Yes, but we're still buying draft picks and storing guys overseas (Claver, Freeland, Kopponen, etc.). Other teams not willing to spend don't have that luxury. And while we still possess their rights, they don't affect our cap once the season is underway.

 

It only takes a few GM's to talk to blow anything out of proportion. Over and over its generally the exact same type of quote. Paul Allen has money!!!!!!! It could easily be the same dick head over and over.

Am I supposed to get all wound up and bash KP because he's trying to only make trades where Portland comes out on top?

He's in a power position today, He might not be in 4 years. I say turn the screws now, because we've had them turned on us in the past and we will again in the future.

 

Luck of the draw.

LA and NYC have an unfair advantage being big cities where everyone wants to live.

Is that fair?

Is it fair that Toronto has more Turkish restaurants than Portland?



Other GM's complaining about what we have makes them look the fool. It gets them nowhere.

 

Absolutely correct. I tried to rep you, but I have to spread some around.

 

Agree with the other guy.

Great post.

 

As an aside, I had a "brush with greatness" (to use the Letterman term loosely) with DA. It was a Christmas party in 1990 at a friend of mine's house on E. Capitol St. At the time Aldridge was a beat writer for the Washington Post. A very nice guy, but we started talking hoops and he started talking about how good the Spurs were. Of course I come back at him with the Blazers. He responds by calling them a "dumb" team whose run was over.

So we bet dinner and drinks at the Old Ebbitt that the Blazers would come out of the playoffs above SA. The time between bet and collection was going to be six months, so I never thought I'd collect on it or have to pay. However, the day after the Blazers beat the Supes to advance to the semi-finals (the Spurs had lost in the first round), he called to remind me he owed on his bet. He's a good guy.

 

I think it is awesome that everyone hates KP!! hahah sissy ass GMs

 

Or sportswriters are repeating each other. It's what they do. Once a good narrative is out there, especially a moral one...so-and-so good, so-and-so evil...lots of sportswriters pick it up and run with it. It's the lifeblood of sportswriters: sports as morality plays. Winners are clutch, losers have no heart, some winners are classy but boring, other winners are arrogant and we should hate them, etc.

Even if it's true that there's some resentment, it's nowhere near as important to other GMs and owners as it is to sportswriters. How can the writers write their narrative if there's no come-uppance for the "bad guy?" For them, it's important to the plot. For other front offices, they have a job to do and they're not going to cut off their noses to spite their faces by avoiding doing business with a certain GM, even if it helps their team, because of a petty grudge.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how Paul Allen's deep pockets are a huge advantage for the Blazers. I watched a couple of different teams buy picks this year, and Portland wasn't one of them. Did they get a Rudy or Batum out of it like Pritchard and his staff did? I think that in the past, when the Blazers were way over the cap, that might have been a fair criticism, but how is it one now? KP basically gave Zach Randolph away...how did that trade reflect this idea that he only trades if it is completely in his favor? I seem to remember Knicks fans thinking what idiots we were for making that trade.

THe other thing I don't get is that earlier this week, we heard how 'desperate' KP was and how he was bringing up the same trades over and over in a pathetic, snivelly way. How can also be arrogant and laughing at other GM's at the same time? It seems to me, if you are going to make stuff up about a successful GM, you should stick to one narrative if you want to be believed.

At any rate, since the beginning of free agency, I have been of the opinion that the Blazers should wait this out if they can't get a decent deal and just see what falls to them. I certainly don't blame our guys if they want to get the better of a trade...that's more or less the whole point in my mind. Maybe Kevin McHale is considered a really nice guy for making a gift of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics, but I wouldn't like him much if I were a Timberwolves fan.

 

Great story. I always liked DA. He does seem like a good guy. He is still a chump for hatin' on the Blazers - then and now.