The GM and coach do have something to do with winning games. But I agree with Chris on the way the 24 hour news cycle and Internet have made everyone and "expert". Some blogger posts something based solely on his/her speculation and everything goes mad. Furious arguments over what is nothing more than nothing. A bad columnist says some man in a hat is really running things because Paul Allen likes him, hell, Paul Allen may like his girlfriend's dog but the dog is not running the team. And then after saying this mysterious man is in charge the columnist says well, don't go thinking he's really in charge and everyone argues for 2 weeks. I guess I don't mind excitement over something to get excited about - remember how the boards buzzed when the Blazers got the #1 pick? - but this constant melodrama over nothing does get irritating. I mean, we are STILL fighting over Rasheed Wallace (oops, now I've started something...)
I look at it this way: If you don't care anything about winning - then its ironic that you'd be part of a message board community and not a fan of the Yankees, Celtics, Lakers, Cowboys, etc. Just shut off all exposure to the team - EXCEPT the scoreboard and standings. I'm a fan of the Trail Blazers and I care about all of it - including winning. But to ignore the lessons of the Jail Blazers is foolish. Character matters to me in who I root for.
That's what I was going to say as well. We all feel this way sometimes. But at the end of the day it's like falling in love with a woman who drives you crazy. The highs are high, and when it's bad it's really bad. But it's hard to walk away. There's a reason we're all on sportstwo.com, and why we read through all this stuff - we're addicted to being "in the know" (or at least thinking we are). It's too late to turn around and say "All I care about is winning" because all of this peripheral "Drama" has a direct cause/effect on the end product we see on the court. My guess is that you couldn't walk away if you tried.
I would have to say more or less, what I am sick of is the Blazers doing anything in their power to kick themselves in the teeth when they have something good going.
I think that is what disturbs me about all the KP stuff. Overall he has been aggressive without getting carried away (ala Whitsitt- or however it's spelled), yet he has gotten some solid players with excellent character. I think he's a very good GM and we'd be fools to let him go. But, Vulcan...
Fatigue from the melodrama = fatigue of the local nitpicking media. I've had that fatigue years. The Pritchard drama will be over soon, and then we can start to build a real roster. That will cause the McMillan drama to begin.
