Embarrassing (363 days....)

my grandma and my dog old blue
the pope has got it, and so do you
come on people we got quilting to do

 

Agreed.

 

Still singing that damn song.

Need to listen to Team America's parody quickly . . .

 

So was DennyCrane

 

Bleeding edge...

I'm gonna steal that.

 

I don't want to defend the Blazers here, but I think what seemed to be a near certain lockout does play a role in this. It doesn't excuse the length, but I can see how the Blazers were thinking that there would be no season so there was no point in having a GM on the payroll, then when the lockout ended last minute, they were unprepared (this is the real embarrassing part).

 

This to me underscores the difference between hoping for the best and planning for the worst ... The Blazers have seemingly made a bad habit of making a lot of long range strategic plans hinging on the former and not so much the latter ... that's a problem.

 

If anything, the lockout should have provided the perfect time to perform due diligence and find the best GM candidate. What it said to anyone not blinded by the PR machine is that Paul Allen was being a cheap bastard and thought the season would be cancelled. No excuses. It is a total embarrassment and I am shocked and saddened that people want to try and give them a mulligan on this

 

This is what I was going to say. Well, not exactly. I was going to say it a little nicer. The lockout was not going to last forever. Were I the owner, I would have put all my resources into filling the GM position during the lockout, and once filled put all the team's resources into preparing to hit the ground in a full sprint when the lockout ended -- whether this year or next. Worked on contingencies to take advantage of other teams' financial hardships. Fired McMulligan. It's called planning. Instead, the Blazers Brass went on vacation with their fingers stuck up their noses while their heads were stuck up each other's asses. See...nicer.

 

You must have become a fan after the mid-80s, since until then, each team's GM and minority owner were one and the same. I think the reason Allen delayed was that he was and is tired of putting up with the GM ego. He wanted a rest from having some new blowhard bothering him, and he hoped the existing bureaucrats could do the job, pre-1985 style, in what was expected to be a year of no trades or signings.

 

I'm not saying that the Blazers made the right choice in not hiring a GM last summer, just that the lockout plus the fact that Buchanan was perceived as a reasonable holding action were certainly factors in the decision to wait. The decision bit the team in the ass, but, given that all of that is water under the bridge, the point that I'm making most importantly is that there is no reason to rush right now. Other good candidates are coming into play as their teams exit the playoffs and it would be stupid not to interview them before making a decision. The Blazers need to get this done right more than they need to get it done immediately.

 

Seriously, you're totally embarrassed by the fact that the Blazers have taken a year to hire a GM? I'd be more embarrassed if they had hired some dufus last summer and had to fire him because he wasn't the right guy. Again. Get it done before the draft and get it done right. That's all I'm looking for at this point. But if it makes you feel all glowy to rail against Paul Allen and his cronies, by all means, rail away.

 

To blame the teams woes on a lack of a GM is just trying to find a scapegoat, IMO.

This team sucks because they lost their best player. Didn't get to trade an aging star, or didn't get to wait until he comes back from injury . . . instead just lost their #1 player. (we see what happened to Chcago when they lose their #1 player).

This team was being built to make a run with Roy, Oden and LA. Oden they should have figured out a couple years ago, Roy goes from being a hero in a playoff game to suddenly retiring, had to catch the Blazers off guard. We also learned this year that LA isn't really a leader and someone who will take the team on it's back night in and night out. So the core is now just a small piece of what was suppose to be. That is why this team sucks.

The GM, Chad, made many "GM" moves during this so called black hole of a non-GM year. I contend that some of his moves could be classified as good GM moves (wallace trade, getting Joel for the year, aquiring Kurt Thomas, getting rid of Camby, firing Nate) and others bad GM moves (Felton trade, the Crawford signing, Smith draft pick). But this organization has had a GM for the last year and the team has been very active.

 

If you don't think it is an embarrassment to go a full year without a GM after firing both previous one's on or before the draft then good for you. To think it takes a full year to find "the right guy" is stupid, and if it does take that long then "the right guy" doesn't exist.

 

And you don't think there's a better than even chance that "the right guy" is one of the guys who is currently under contract and working for a team that made the playoffs instead of one of the unemployed cast-offs that was available this past winter?

 

Hey MM, you want embarrasing. How about being a first year permanent GM and leading a team to the worst winning percentage in the history of the NBA. I mean Blazers bad season stings but will be forgotten by next year. Cho made NBA history by putting together the worst team ever. To me, that is embarrassing.

 

Not having a GM is not the reason we stunk, but not having a GM might be a reason we stink longer. There is no way in holy hell Chad was the one who decided it was time for Nate to go. Larry Miller was the one who called Nate to fire him, Larry Miller was the guy leading the presser regarding his firing.

I liked the trades at the deadline, and hated the draft....again, I think Smith was Nate's pick, but who really knows? As for his Felton and Crawford moves...well we all know how those turned out.

Charlotte is a great example to bring up about a permanent GM being bad for an organization. I will counter with RC Buford, or many, many others

 

Absolutely agree with you. But what made that particular GM unavailable last year during the lock out? The answer is nothing, the Blazers fucked up and waited too long