Shameful treatment of KP by Blazer management

No, not true at all.

SOME agents operate that way. They sure do stick out like a sore, festering, puss-filled thumb don't they?

 

QFT

 

He did lie during that interview. When asked how he knew Blazers were looking for another GM, he said from the media. No way, he must have heard from a reliable source inside the organization about this . . . it would be stupid to rely on media articles when making comments about his future.

 

Well, he also "knew" because the media has reported it. I'm sure everybody in the league knows the Blazers are conducting a search for Pritchard's replacement. Not really a lie, at least not on the level of heaping praise on the shitheads about to fire him. Calling the man a liar for that answer seems like you have some sort of axe to grind with Pritchard.

 

What do you mean he also knew because the media reported it? When asked how he knew, he said because the media reported it and couldn't even keep a straight face with that answer. He didn't want to reveal his source so he lied.
Not really a lie? What?

Have an axe to grind? I've been sitting here praising KP, should I have said he kind of lied???? I know you are emotional about the topic, but your perspective of the situation is way off.

 

It actually wouldn't surprise me at all if the first KP had heard of the search firm was from Vance's report. It appears the Vulcan group has completely walled off everyone and from the sounds of it have almost no communication with Pritchard at all.

 

IF KP is making all these statements just based on what he reads in the media . . . then maybe he does desrve to be fired. Point being KP is way too smart to repond to media reports like this . . . I'm sure he heard from a reliable source that Blazers are looking at other GMs.

I dont disagree that he might have first read about through media . . . but he must have confirmed it through someone he trust who would know for a fact that the Blazers are looking at other GMs.

I'm not faulting KP for not revealig his source, in fact it was smart. But to answer that he ¨knows¨ the Blazers are looking at other GMs because that is what the media said was not true . .. no link, just my analysis.

 

Exactly. Pritchard will be exposed as a fraud GM if he tries to operate without an overpaying owner like Allen.

"Shameful treatment" would be to can him and not pay him, daring him to sue, while telling the media what they hate about him.

You critics want it both ways. You don't like the team keeping things confidential, saying that they are mismanaging his firing. Then you call it "shameful treatment" that they are protecting his dignity. You criticize them for not making war on him, then you say it's shameful that they are making war on him.

 

But who hasn't been caught in the RG after hours at center court fucking a sheep while holding a rubber chicken in one hand and a poster of Chris Dudley in the other?

 

You too??? They told me I was the only one!!!

 

Usually, when a company decides to let someone go while protecting the employee's dignity, they inform him they have decided to let him go and either give him the opportunity to "step down" or give the public a generic reason without going into their specific issues. In this case, the Blazers fire KP's right hand man, banish KP from his normal seat during the season, they haven't given him an indication of what his future holds, they remain in a weird limbo state when asked about him in the media, yet they have hired a search firm to find his replacement, and all the while are trotting him out there as a lame duck GM. Sorry if that was a run-on sentence - but this is a run-on situation.

Being that I'm not privy to all the insider info, I can only speculate. But all the signs are pointing towards the Blazers seriously mismanaging this firing.

 

Maybe you've never seen this situation, but this is the way it always is in my world. I have answered help wanteds while the employee doesn't know his job is being advertised, I have been hired to replace such people and they are fired right before my first day, I have helped to place such ads, and yes, my job has been advertised without my being told. This is par for the course in the tough business world.

You must be an overpaid government employee.

I don't think so. If you were, you'd be familiar with people being in a "limbo" for months while they don't know whether their jobs will be eliminated. So I don't know where you've gotten your impressions of the work world. But Pritchard has not been mistreated. This is normal.

 

Then how come there are so many interim coaches and interim GMs in the NBA?

And, assuming you're not an NBA GM, I think I will value the opinion of the "rival GM" Chad Ford talked to over yours: “They’re going all out right now, which is pretty much par for the course,” a rival GM told ESPN.com. “But it’s interesting to see this sort of effort given everything else that’s going on. He’s had as good of a track record as any executive in the league and management is humiliating him. Lots of guys would’ve just quit. I’d admire that he’s going out swinging.”

 

If you encounter these situations that frequently then your work environment is absolutely horrible. I've worked in some insanely competitive environments, but if an employee knew that he/she was going to be fired, HR actually communicated with the employee in order find a way to avoid the risk of some form of incident. Being risk averse (in whatever form the risk comes in) is essential to any successful business. The Blazers already have an incident and this wall of silence is already making it worse.

Also everything you described does not take place in full view of the public. An employee that for all intents and purposes has done a pretty good job is going to lose his job for reason that no one seems to know other than Paul Allen got his panty's in a bunch. I have seen a similar situation happen first hand and other quality employees jumped ship at the first opportunity because they feel at best that a high performance will go unrewarded and at worse suffer a similar fate. Now the employer is struggling because the talent drain went on for too long.

 

So, for those of you who think the Blazers are handling this the right way, I have a simple question. If you were KP, which would you prefer?

Option A. The team comes out and admits that you are being replaced for the same reason most GMs lose their jobs - the owner isn't satisfied with the roster you put together.

Option B. The team "protects" you by encouraging gossip and speculation that the firing is about something other than job performance. "We can neither confirm nor deny that KP's firing has anything to do with any dead hookers that they might be pulling out of the Columbia in the coming weeks. In fact, forget I even mentioned DEAD HOOKERS!"

I don't know about the rest of you, but I would prefer option A.

 

Can you give any examples of option B actually happening? By that I mean a link, quote, some actual evidence? Why don't you assume that KP has not been told specifically why he is perhaps being replaced? I find it pretty interesting that his agent has been silent for quite some time, why do you think that is? Is it possible that PA, the owner, might not be happy with KP's performance?

I think we would all prefer A, but option B does not seem plausible in the real world. Do you honestly believe that KP has no information as to why his career in Portland might be ending?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I would prefer option A.

 

So ... Pritchard is a liar then. I disagree.

 

I don't see how you applying for Help Wanted ads for "Wal-Mart Greeter" is at all relevant to being an NBA GM, let alone replacing one. Besides, you're just a layman!

 

There are 30 GM positions in the NBA. Presumably, teams should strive to get the 30 best people in the world for these positions. The Blazers have a GM who has taken a team that won 21 games prior to his taking over the reigns to just completing consecutive 50-win seasons in addition to one of the longest consecutive sell-out streaks in the NBA. I'd say this puts the Blazer GM in the top half of the top 30 of this very elite club. So, what does this organization do to him? Leaves him twisting in the wind, leaks negative "facts" to national writers, and starts conducting a search for his replacement when they had to know he would find out about it. The professional thing to do would be calling Prtchard into a meeting, airing out any problems with him, and if nothing can be resolved, fire him if he refuses your generous severance package to resign. Then, have the scouts run the draft until a better GM can be found Instead, we get Paul Allen and his bunch of lackeys acting like high school girls who are mad at their popular boyfriend.