Personally, I will be seriously peeved if Presti is available, and the Blazers don't land him. OTOH, some Blazer fans seem to really hate the guy for some unknown reason, so maybe it is just as well.
What a crazy summer if Presti isn't resigned by OKC. 5 out 16 of the playoff GMs would be basically let go by their owners, and two of them (Pritchard and Presti) with teams that they basically built. Kerr (Nash/Stoudemire), Wark (Anthony), and Ferry (James) all inherited their franchise players, so I guess I understand those departures more than I would Presti or Pritchard. Also, Pritchard is from Oklahoma. Does Bennett want him? Was LaGarie working those back channels during the season, and it got back to Paul Allen? Doubtful, but worth considering at least a little bit. Regardless, it almost seems to be safer as the GM of a shitty team this summer.
He was a McDonald's All-American from Tulsa's Edison High. He was born in Indiana. Not sure when he moved to Okie, but early enough to go to high school there from 82-86..
It makes you wonder if some of the rumors out of OKC are true - eg that some of the partners are struggling financially, and are unhappy with the way Clay Bennett has been running the show.
If the Blazers got Presti, I'd feel a lot better. I'm not sure which I'd prefer of Pritchard or Presti, but I think both are intelligent GMs. I wonder what the chances are that Presti would switch teams.
They don't have a very large margin of error financially in OKC. I can see them as the NBA equivalent of the Minnesota Twins prior to the Twins new stadium if the Thunder have a great GM. Competitive with young players, but when the rookie deals are up, those players leave outside of one very good player, and the next batch of youngsters keep the team competitive. With the wrong GM, it's Pittsburgh Pirates or Montreal Expos, where it's basically a farm team for other NBA teams. I just don't see how that area will be able to support an NBA team over the long term. They had Kevin Durant this season, their first competitive team in that city, and they still couldn't sell out every game.
My question is how badly does PA want a big name GM? If he gives Presti $5MM a year and gives Cho $2MM annually to be the Asst GM, then we can probably get them. I think he's probably looking around the $2MM a year mark.
He just got rid of an $800k GM who had the audacity to expect more money. Why does anybody think Pritchard wanted to stay in Portland? Plus, $5 million for a GM? That's just not going to happen here.
Presti has not done shit so far that any of you couldn't have done. (Studied a few mock drafts) Here is where it gets tough and when GM's earn their money. Lets see what he does with all his cap space.
Less good. I consider Ferry a downgrade. But at least I wouldn't feel like we were getting another John Nash. Ferry was far from inspired in Cleveland, but he was decent.
My point isn't that Presti in not acceptable, but that he is the flavor of the week. If anyone is GM long enough they will make mistakes. Presti has not been around long enough. He seems like a good GM, but I am also sure there are guys you have never heard of that could be just as good. To bash on Ferry and worship Presti is ridiculous IMO. Presti hasn't even negotiated a contract yet or signed a free agent. (At least a major one) The bottom line is none of these guys are doing it all on their own. Don't start worshipping yet another young GM. They are like coaches they get too much blame and too much credit.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that every experienced GM has a long list of misteps on their record. It comes with the territory. For the record, I don't consider Ferry incompetent - but I do think he isn't as good at talent evaluation as the San Antonio mafia (KP, Presti, Buford). Just my opinion.
