Blazers: "discombobulated" & Larry Miller: MIA

I know it may be hard to contemplate, but maybe, just maybe, Larry Miller and company were able to take vacations this weekend because their candidates were also, gasp, on vacation with their own families and not available for interviews.

I hear it is a pretty big weekend here in the United States.

 

The message I think is that we're staying out of the free agent frenzy and we're going to let the stupid money overpay for guys. We'll focus on trades and later in the offseason when there are fewer dollars chasing players, we'll make a ho-hum acquisition (like Mason or Matthews or Farmar).

As for Larry Miller taking a break, I'm a little disappointed that this GM search isn't further along than it is, because they knew they were going to fire Pritchard. They could have had Stuart Spencer doing the pre-interviews and vetting candidates already. But if all we're focusing on is trades right now, I don't really see how it makes a difference.

 

I would add a couple of things to that. I'm not sure how many good candidates would have interviewed with a GM already in place. Most of these guys have some sort of code of conduct with each other. The other thing I might add is that while most everyone in the free world believes PA was going to fire KP all along, maybe that's not the case?

 

Please. You expect Larry Miller to spend 24/7 on his job? Have you ever done that? I have no problem with him visiting his family. I'm sure he has meetings scheduled and is not the only person in the Blazers organization working on this.

 

I spent as close to 24/7 on my job for more than a decade as is possible. It sucks, but 'dems the breaks. Whether he likes it or not, Larry's the head of this organization; he sets the tone.

 

OK, let me expand my comment.

We know TBob was without conscience when it came to spending PA's money. We know that Patterson made deep cuts in the front office, but was unable/unwilling to restrain Nash from some foolish spending on players. Post Nash, the team went through a period of being more cost conscious on the court as well. At the time, this was a reasonable move.

There are also some things we don't "know", but can reasonably believe. KP was among the lowest paid GMs, and didn't like it. Penn used another team to leverage the Blazers into giving him a raise. The team wasn't happy with the Roy negotiations, so they must have been livid with the LMA deal.

Of all the theories floating around, the only one that doesn't make *somebody* look like a complete villian, is the idea of a power/philosophical struggle between Miller and KP. My suspicion, and that's all it is, is that there was such a struggle, and that spending was at the heart of it. KP wanted more freedom to run the team without interference from the business side.

Can I prove it? No....but it is the only explanation that doesn't assume that somebody was evil, an idiot, or both.

 

No sleep? No eating? No visiting a parent or a friend? No spending time with your child if you had one? Sorry. I don't believe it. And as one said, the candidates are probably spending time with their families.

 

If something earth shattering happens I am sure he will be available. Todays technology is pretty impressive. Web cams/conference calls are easy to set-up and with PA's money I am sure they have unlimited minutes and unlimited texts.

 

You live in New York. Talk to an investment banker (not a trader) and see how many hours they work a week. 12-16 hours a day M-F, 10-12 on Saturday and at least 8 on Sunday. You catch a few hours of sleep at home, eat at your desk, chat with your parents or friends on the phone at work and time with your child waits. Seriously, it's like selling your life, and that's in an average week. If you have a deal to close, then all bets are off.

 

Ed, has anyone ever told you this avitar makes you look like Mike Meyers?

 

BTW, I'm not advocating that Miller live at the office. I'm just saying that showing up at lunch time on draft day or taking the weekend off to visit out of town family (presumably in the Philly area) doesn't send the best message.

 

Hell, maybe he's meeting Randy Pfund half way or is taking a little unannounced side trip to chat with him in South Beach? I tend to agree that I'd like to see a little more urgency from Miller in terms of what he's telling the world, but I have a feeling that just because we aren't being told everything it doesn't mean he's completely off the clock.

Granted I may be giving the front office too much credit for competence.

 

Alternately, he could have made a trip to OKC or SA for a couple of other clandestine meetings. :fingerscrossed:

That's a good thought Nik. The smokescreen didn't occur to me.

 

You are right, there is no way to reach him, we are doomed. I can hear the story already, the NO GM says he tried to give us Paul for Rudy and JP but could not get ahold of anybody with the Blazers.

 

If Larry Miller thinks Roger Mason, Wesley Matthews and Jordan Farmar have any worth at all to the Blazers, he needs to disappear in a permanent way.

 

Don't laugh.

I have been saying that I believe that the team's best chance of improvement this summer, is to wait for the feeding frenzy to die down, and then target someone who falls through the cracks.

I'm sure B&B have the skills to find that kind of hidden gem - but do they have the authority to act on it? I have visions of them spending 3 days playing telephone tag with Miller and the Vulcans, while the guy they wants signs somewhere else.

 

You don't cite a source of the quote, unless I'm missing something. Is it someone reliable, or some blog, or Stephen A Smith? I mean, how accurate is this?

 

???

Are you referring to the OP? If so then the source for the quote you're looking for is Jason Quick in a story at oregonlive.com ... as to who his source is, I'd hazard a guess that it's Warren Lagarrie