Yeah, because his race is soooo relevant to the discussion. Better a young guy who might be good, than a retread we know will be medicore at best!
And I didn't want him fired. But clearly that isn't going to be undone. I know. I was simply responding to EL PRESIDENTE's suggestion that playing/coaching experience is vital and nerds need not apply. Especially not Asian ones!
Kevin McHale is available too. So is Kiki Vandeweghe, Danny Ferry and Elgin Baylor. The better the player, the better the GM is what the argument seems to be.
Or, somebody realized that the people who "met the criteria" were retreads who had already failed with other teams.
So it plays 0% consideration? Maybe if he was something other than a number-crunching lawyer who apparently is good at filling out paperwork, I'd give more credence to him. Rich Cho just screams "green" to me. And teams that want to win NBA championships don't hire green GMs with unknown records. Only teams looking to rebuild do that.
Correct. I don't care if the guy is purple with a 3rd testicle growing out of his forehead. If the team retains a good support staff (like B&B), he should be fine. What the team wants, and maybe what they need right now, is a low-profile "number-cruncher." Somebody who will bring stability, continue to build on the positives of KP's reign, and avoid the jealousy/paranoia of Miller and the Vulcans. We may not be rebuilding, but the Blazers aren't winning the '11 title, and the next season will be trashed by the lock-out. After that, the new GM will no longer be "green", and having a detail guy to deal with the new CBA makes sense.
What if it was a woman. You don't think that would sway your opinion at all? Exactly what makes you support Cho's hiring as our General Manager? That he worked for Sam Presti? I don't see any arguments other than he is good at math and is a lawyer. You said he should retain a good support staff...do you know why you want that? Because he isn't experienced enough to be the GM!
Actually, teams looking to win NBA championships generally need to be fortunate enough to draft future all-time greats (Magic, Bird, Isaiah, Jordan, Olajuwon, Duncan, Kobe), and then build around them. In the past 30 years, I would say that only the '83 Sixers, '04 Pistons, '06 Heat, and '08 Celtics were "constructed" by a competent GM rather than built around a transcendant talent. If you buy in to the conventional wisdom that only with a healthy Oden will we be able to win a title, then I would argue that having a graybeard or a former player as a GM is not necessary. For example, Jerry Krause was 46 when he became GM of the Bulls; RC Buford had no front office experience when he joined the Spurs. However, if you think we need to go the "construction" route, then I could see how Dumars and Ainge would make you think we need a former player.
Some people are hard to please. If the Blazers had hired someone like Danny Ferry, we'd be hearing he's a retread. If they hire an assistant GM and give him a shot, he has no experience (and besides might look at you "all slanty-eyed").
Most of the recent NBA champions have been the result of a lopsided trade or signing (Gasol to the L*kers, Garnett to the Celtics, Shaq to the L*kers, Spurs having D-rob gone for a year and lucking out with Duncan) rather than building slowly or tweaking pieces. The problem with cho is that he might come up with some stupid formula to calculate something and trade Oden away.
I've seen nothing out of Cho that would suggest that he would run this organization well. I can only assume they are looking for someone the Vulcanites can push over and be nothing more than a puppet figure.
I think Larry Miller is trying to find the best person for the job. As the interview process goes along, your focus can change. Besides, do you really think Ferry and Pfund were really the first two interviewed?
And until they get a chance to prove their skill, we get to hear you bitch and cry. Great for us. Hell, you're bitching about rumors at this point.
