Blazers asking permission on David Morway

That's what I was thinking, too. But I had just made a couple of posts about Bob right before crandc's comment, so I was thinking maybe it was directed at me.

So.... really..... would people be against the return of Trader Bob?

What's he even doing these days?

 

I wouldn't be against it. I loved the teams he built here. Bob was the last GM that Paul actually listened to.

 

Because he built the jail blazers?

 

So..... I asked 2 questions..... And you responded to my questions with a question that is disconnected from the questions I asked.

So.... I'm not sure what you're getting at.

 

misread what you wrote. thought i read why would people be against the return of Bob.

just mentioning he represented a really bad part of the history of the Blazers. so i would figure some people wouldn't be happy if Bob came back.

 

Gotcha - makes more sense.

Yeah, I know some people would be against it. It's not like I'm totally for it - I'm just curious what the people here think (not that it has any chance of happening). The guy did an awesome job assembling a team. People looked beyond the off-the-court issues when the team was winning. I mean, we had a lot of craziness going on when we were winning, and most people weren't complaining. It was when we started becoming mediocre that the fans were fed up.

Now, personally, I for one am getting tired of these soft dudes we keep picking up. We're at the point where we need to be able to take a chance on a questionable character or two, if it's going to make us better and provide the team with some fire and nastiness. Our team has been so soft it's ridiculous.

TB had a knack for crazy maneuvering to assemble some talented, deep rosters. And he did it without missing the playoffs. I'd be curious to see if he could do it again.

 

Trader Bob took a lot of risks and made a lot of moves, and in many ways was similar to Pritchard, except his action was at the deadline rather than on draft day. When the moves paid off (1998's team with Rider and Wallace kind of under control, Brian Grant still on the team, etc.), he was hailed as a genius. But (like KP) a lot of his moves didn't pan out from a basketball perspective (taking a flyer on a bunch of former Sonics like Kemp and Schrempf, and the second coming of Strickland). Detlef kinda worked out, but only a soft-hearted sucker would have taken Kemp in at that point. And while he had a system that seemed to work okay for finding emotionally risky talent (Bonzi, Zach, Jermaine, Rider, Sheed), he actually traded away the least disruptive of them for Dale "Pump Fake Ninja" Davis. That his tinkering and over-zealous nature revealed a burnt cake is not surprising. Just like with KPs system of finding value in physically risky talent ended with chaos.

So no, I don't want Bob back. His system failed. I don't want KP back either; his system also failed.

No more "systems". No more get talented quick schemes. They don't work.

 

Bob was highly successful within the parameters he was given (if any). The reason we didn't get a championship out of it in 2000 was how blatantly crooked the league and its refs were in 2000-2003. I would welcome him back. I don't think he'd have the blank check and I do think he'd have to consider character a little more.

 

The Trader Bob teams were ridiculously good. And he did a helluva job in Seattle. Given what the teams did under his control, I'd say he's in the "good range" of the numerous GM's that have come and gone from this league.

 

We did get two or three great years out of that team, but the aftermath was both handled poorly and maybe impossible to handle gracefully. I didn't like the cost-to-reward ratio on the whole. None of those teams represented the west, even with the league-leading salary. Is that Dunleavy's fault for calling that crazy time-out during a fast break just before the team went ice cold? Who knows. The team was mentally fragile though, as the rest of that fourth quarter and the subsequent two years showed. I'd put Bob as Active but Average, because the highs of his run were met with equal lows.

I feel like GMs like Bob and Pritchard are like alchemists coming to the king with some new technique to turn lead into gold. I hope that King Paul doesn't get bamboozled by a third one.

 

Keep in mind when they were ousted, they were ousted by then the NBA champ in the first round.

 

I think Shawn Kemp and Rod Strickland were Paul Allen moves. Just Paul getting to full of himself

 

95-98 he was in rebuild mode. Don't think that should be counted. I do think you count the years after WCF run versus the lakers.

 

The potential GMs being interviewed have histories far more pedestrian. They never hit the highs he did. Almost every GM has had low years preceding high ones, but few got as high as Bob Whitsitt.

(Ahhh. Yet another unappreciated gem of writing.)

 

Those few were all playing for us at the time...

 

David Morway is the GM of Pacers. Post above incorrect. Also Jeff Bower is considered one of the best talent evaluators;both players AND coaches in league. Both could be hired for much less than was offered Steve Kerr. Loser of this race may end up in Orlando ( or Indy). Why not tie them both up, be creative.
When Bower hired Monty Williams; the first three names on his list were;
1. Tom Thibedeau
2. Monty
3. Ty Corbin
All three are not so bad!

 

Who the hell is Janice?

TT is good

Monty has shown nothing other than rivaling Nate in boring offenses

Ty Corbin sucks

Bower's draft record differs from your "considered one of the best talent evaluators" statement