he Trail Blazers were practicing, and so all eyes in the building were on the new coach. But, the big unanswered question was hanging around the gym, too. In fact, at one point, the subject of that unanswered question took a seat in a folding chair at the end of the court and was watching practice and punching numbers into his cellular phone. Is general manager John Nash next on the chopping block? On Wednesday, if you were listening carefully, the Blazers said one of the reasons they chose to fire Maurice Cheeks now is that they didn't want a lame duck hanging around. So, is Nash a lame duck? Because his contract, like that of Cheeks, runs out in July. And as it was with Cheeks, the Blazers have the option to either extend that contract or let Nash walk away. Also, right now, it feels as though there's some heavy front-office lifting that needs to be done in the early offseason. Included is Nick Van Exel's non-guaranteed contract, which could wisely end up being traded for a shooting guard. Also included is Derek Anderson's contract, which would ideally end up becoming a throw-in on that same trade. And there also is free agent Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is a candidate to be signed, signed and traded, or allowed to walk away a free, happy man. As I said, heavy lifting. So, I cornered Nash. We sat alone. The tape recorder was running. And he talked. Has President Steve Patterson given Nash an extension? "No." Has he talked about one? "He touched a little bit on it in our talk on Wednesday. I'm not uncomfortable in any way, shape or form with that. We'll talk after the season." What kind of year has it been for Nash? "Difficult and disappointing. I'm disappointed that we didn't get to execute the trades we proposed." Was trying to get Vince Carter one of those trades? "You can draw your own conclusions." So, before we get too far along, let's keep score here. Nash didn't get a deal done. But he signed free agent Joel Przybilla. And he convinced owner Paul Allen that Sebastian Telfair was the right choice in the draft. In the same draft, Nash acquired Viktor Khryapa and drafted Sergei Monia. Then, he took Ha Seung Jin in the second round. "Ha could end up being our best pick in that draft," Nash said. Still keeping score, remember Nash gave Zach Randolph a six-year, $84 million extension. He also extended injury-prone Theo Ratliff and was the acting GM when the team gave that puzzling six-year, $48 million contract to Darius Miles. Those three extensions painted the franchise into a corner. And I would understand if you wished Nash gone today based solely on those second two extensions. They were poor form for a franchise that had so much flexibility and leverage on its side. But the whisper on the street is that each of those contract extension decisions was made by committee, with the blessing of Allen, which makes them bulletproof. W hat's the score on Nash? You decide. Because Patterson, reached on Thursday, said Nash's future will be decided at the end of the season. But that's how the Blazers seem to always get themselves in sticky situations, scrambling for a solution. What is the plan? It's a question that needs to be answered by the franchise today. And it centers on the retention of the man charged with making the personnel decisions. If the team already is committed to retaining Nash, it should happen publicly and it should happen today. If not, in the spirit of this lame duck business, Nash should be set free himself. I mean, fair is fair, right? http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian...41153323820.xml
John Nash is a f****** retard,one minute he wants to rebuild, but he does'nt understand the concept of a rebuilding season so he shanked the blazers over the salary cap from now until forever for average players and this season is the most wasted season ever! -3 big contracts running out and no trade! -a chance to Bring A.Jamison last year blown out -The Mavs sent signals they want NVE bad and they were willing to give one of their young players and an expiring contract for him (marquis Daniels?,Josh howard?) - Nash blew that off too -Giving B.Wells for free! - Ratliff for 5 seasons 50 million$? %#$%WTF?!?!?! Chris Mullin watch out,here comes Nash - he can be even worse then you
