I like Paul Allen's style. No one gets it right every time. Info is the key to making the best decisions. That said. If I owned a team, and enjoyed being a part of the drafting process the way PA does. I would want the largest & best scouting staff in the league. There is no limit on how much PA can spend on scouting. Yet I believe the Blazers only have three scouts. And two of them are international scouts. (not 100% sure only 3 scouts is correct)
This got me to thinking. If I was an owner, I would be very involved. Yeah, use the advice of those in the know, but I would want to have a finger in the pie. Hell, that would be half of the fun.
In Paul's case I think it's more decision by committee and Olshey and Stotts and probably Dame are all in the loop....the Knicks are a franchise that needs to separate the owner from the GM....that's been a mess for a long time...I think the Blazers have great stability in the front office..Olshey has mentioned that they draft up multiple scenarios and vet them through Paul ..Stotts seems to stay on the outside lookin' in
I’m not arguing that basketball people are perfect. But I’ll leave basketball decisions to basketball pros. If they make too many I’d find new ones. But I don’t want business men and bankers and computer guys deciding on who to take with a draft pick.
I feel confident that Paul Allen doesn't micro-manage the Blazers. I'm equally confident that Allen listens to his expert advisors, and that he has the final say in important decisions like short and long-term strategies, when and how far to go over the tax, player contracts and signings, and other major financial decisions. As he should. There is no way any of us in his position would sit in the stands like a fan and not make final decisions on important matters relating to our 1.5 billion dollar company.
If I owned the team I wouldn't be the one evaluating players. But I would give approval, or not, based on the opinions and advice of my employees, and in the case of the Blazers, I'd want more than one voice in the room. I do that now. But at the end of the day, the buck stops with me, so I like to know what I'm approving, and why, and I don't approve it unless someone convinces me it's a good decision.
Because he's the (unnamed) source of the "Allen interferes" charge, which 2 previous posts (including yours) had discussed without citing the source. As the board's go-to scholastic, I keep all of you in line.
Hindsight is 20/20. Most of the public and NBA world understood and have noted that in our position they most likely would have done the same things. To use that as an example as to why owners should get involved is ludicrous. i'm willing to bet, with some research someone could find examples where the owner DID meddle and it turned out just as bad because of it. Not due to injuries, but players taken after the ones they took having NBA careers while the owners picks fall off the face of the earth. I'm willing to bet, without research, that the percentage of bad moves where owners are involved is quote the percentage...
