kevin pritchard fired
- Thread starter Big Cuz 15
- Start date
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
phoenix is gonna scoop him up soon.
Sparky6string
Bench
Allen is a joke and Portland fans deserve better.
Portland fans have known about this since March. It's not really "news", except the way it officially went down.
But yea everyone is livid.
But yea everyone is livid.
Arco Arena
Bench
SI reported that the Blazers have already interviewed Spurs GM R.C. Buford and Thunder GM Sam Presti for the Portland job.
Kind of stupid for Allen to fire Pritchard in the first place, but if there were any GMs that I'd want to replace him, those would be the two..
Kind of stupid for Allen to fire Pritchard in the first place, but if there were any GMs that I'd want to replace him, those would be the two..
Dr. Spaceman
Bench
After publicly humiliating their last GM on the day of the draft and telling him to work through the draft anyway, good luck to Allen in convincing any talented, established exec to join his operation. And by good luck, I mean go walk off a cliff. I hope he hires Kahn away. They deserve each other.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
it was a total slap in the face for all he has done for the franchise..
is this move as foolish as the one when maloofs let adelman go? "defense wins champships"
is this move as foolish as the one when maloofs let adelman go? "defense wins champships"
SacKings7
Starter
Yeah I was gonna say, I thought I heard about this long ago.
Still dumb, Pritchard is a great GM
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
just read another report on it..
heres an excerpt
Allen didn't only fire Pritchard -- he did so an hour before the draft and then forced him to finish out the night. Essentially, Pritchard had to attempt his usual wheeling and dealing while knowing that he wouldn't even get to introduce the players to Blazers fans and media. Instead, his draft night was somewhere between a showcase for future employers and an insincere show for his former employers.
that is jacked up!!!! i thought they just let him go a hr before and then they did the wheeling and dealing themselves. if i were a good GM i would NOT wanna go to portland
heres an excerpt
Allen didn't only fire Pritchard -- he did so an hour before the draft and then forced him to finish out the night. Essentially, Pritchard had to attempt his usual wheeling and dealing while knowing that he wouldn't even get to introduce the players to Blazers fans and media. Instead, his draft night was somewhere between a showcase for future employers and an insincere show for his former employers.
that is jacked up!!!! i thought they just let him go a hr before and then they did the wheeling and dealing themselves. if i were a good GM i would NOT wanna go to portland
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
i'm thinking the nets should scoop him up. imagine what he could do w/ that russian billionaire backing him up.
It was the whole Vulcan management group that wanted more power, Paul Allen is the public face but there are other high profile investors.
Pritchard knew he was being fired long ago and asked to stay on through the draft, while the public announcement an hour before was kind of humiliating for those not in the know, he wasn't forced to work the draft, he insisted upon it. They fired his right hand man in March and at that point it was clear who had won the power struggle.
Dr. Spaceman
Bench
It's humiliating regardless if people knew it was coming or not. Like you said, this move's been rumored for months, and Allen let the whispers swirl, all the while juicing one more good draft out of Pritchard.
This move could've been made such a long time ago (even though it should've never happened in the first place), yet Allen let Pritchard and his team prep for the draft for months anyway. To fire the man right before heading into the biggest night of the year for him was nothing short of classless and humiliating on all accounts. Judging by the media reaction (or just the reaction of any sports fan with a soul), who knew this move was coming, the timing was likely intentional and it was absolutely cruel.
Guess you didn't read his post. Pritchard evidently requested to work the draft, even though he knew he was being dismissed way back in March.
Dr. Spaceman
Bench
And that affects the main news bit (he was fired on draft day) how?
Who really deserves that, other than Kahn and his new squad of small forwards? That was my main point. Guess you didn't read my post.
Because he was already told he was being relieved some time ago and it was only made "public" yesterday. Except that everyone paying attention knew anyways.
So the notion that somehow Allen whacked him but only after he demanded Pritchard finish the draft is a bit sensationalistic.
Now sure, maybe he thought he could save his job by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. On the other hand perhaps he knew exactly how this would play out and that he'd come out smelling like roses and have 20 teams knocking on his door in a week.
Dr. Spaceman
Bench
You're missing the point. You keep glossing over the fact that it was "only" made public yesterday. It's a big deal that he was "only" fired on the day of the draft. This decision could've been handed down the week before, the day after, the week after -- any time would've been better than on the damn day of the draft. It's been one of the biggest running storylines in the NBA -- a lot of people were paying attention, which is why it's a big deal in the first place. Once again, that it was made such a public spectacle over a prolonged period of time is classless.
It's not like he was actually fired during all those months of speculation. Rumor reports were all we were going by. Even Pritchard said publicly that he would fight for his job. That doesn't sound like a fired employee to me. Anything you say about "maybe he knew he'd come out smelling like roses" is nothing but an assumption. It's a little confusing why you shrug off a very public case of a business owner demeaning his employees.
I'm not shrugging it off, I think the Blazers are fools. But if you had asked me on Monday who the Blazers GM would be today I could have told you who it wouldn't have been. It was widely reported around town that he would be relieved of his duties immediately following the draft weeks ago. I overheard people on my bus talking about it all month. The fact that it was made official to the public an hour before the draft started was weak but because this was so long coming I just don't see the need to sensationalize it.
The other point would be, usually when your boss tells you in March that you are going to get fired in June that is your clue to "resign gracefully". See Obama and General What's his Face for a recent example. Pritchard instead defiantly said, no, I'm going to run the draft. So he did, and he was then let go.
The other point would be, usually when your boss tells you in March that you are going to get fired in June that is your clue to "resign gracefully". See Obama and General What's his Face for a recent example. Pritchard instead defiantly said, no, I'm going to run the draft. So he did, and he was then let go.
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Dr. Spaceman
Bench
Everyone in the NBA knew it was coming. It wasn't just reported in your town. It's not some small town story. You keep acting like it is though.
If it's not a big deal to you, then why are you here? Why waste your time trying to tell people not to talk about it? We'll continue to talk about it and you can go back to chatting with folks on the bus in Portland.
Stories like these end up meaning more than just sports for people when a person's job is involved. All I can say now is what I said before: regardless of the fact that we all saw it coming, any sports fan with a soul would be able to grasp the gravity of the situation.
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If you acknowledge this then why are you pretending that it was some kind of bombshell? It wasn't, and that was my entire point.
Dr. Spaceman
Bench
I answered that question several times in my previous posts, including the one you just quoted (*psst* it's at the bottom). But it's obvious that you're still not going to be able to grasp it, so I think I'm done with this conversation.
And yet its obvious that you are going to gloss over my point - which wasn't that I have no interest in the story, or that I felt it wasn't worth discussing, but I wanted to correct some misinformation and make sure it was known that Kevin Pritchard isn't some poor innocent victim blindsided by the cruelty of Paul Allen here. He was notified that he would be out after the draft and instead of bowing out gracefully he defiantly forced the Blazers hands. Do I think they made a bad decision, hell yes I do. Do I think that bad decision is going to benefit KP many times over now that he will certainly be able to pick his next job? I do. And I don't think he is going to be waiting in breadlines until the next GM job opens up so pardon me for not pitying him. The only losers here are the fans of the Blazers, and I do in fact feel sorry for them because they are good people, very much like Kings fans.
Deserves what? He could have just walked away back in March if he wanted. Even *if* he was fired just yesterday and Allen demanded that he work the draft, he could have refused to work the draft on the grounds of "**** you", and had a job the next day, considering the fact that he's widely considered one of the two best GMs of the last five years.
It appears that Pritchard wanted to work the draft. I don't know why; he could have had the Phoenix job and worked their draft with the outbound Kerr if he wanted, but I don't think anyone knew that Kerr was leaving in March. He could have had any GM job he wanted, realistically, assuming it was available, and some that weren't, because he's that good. Maybe he thought he could save his bacon with an outstanding draft day. Maybe he just thought it was the right thing to do. Either way, it was HIS DECISION TO WORK THE DRAFT. He wasn't required/demanded to do so.
Furthermore, he wasn't fired on draft day. All indications are that he was fired in March, or at least was told he would be fired. Either way, it's not about what he deserves. If he deserves anything, it's his job. The real injustice is that one of the best GMs in the NBA was fired due to an internal power struggle.
Showtime
Starter
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
how is that a mistake? how can you forcast his injuries? the kid still has a ton of talent, just whether he can stay healthy
If not for his injuries, Oden could have been a really good player. Might still be, because some are saying that the injuries are minor and he might still be able to come back and play at a high level. Pritchard couldn't do anything about the injuries. Also affects perception that Durant has turned into a superduperstar, but I don't think Pritchard is the only GM that would have taken Oden over Durant.
Showtime
Starter
lmao it had nothing to do with "forecasting". He was an injury prone project big man when he was picked. He's the kind of guy who just finds ways to get hurt, and people were saying that prior to the draft. It was a very, very risky pick that didn't work out.
