Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said he heard from "three or four" people yesterday about the team's GM vacancy, despite both Rich Cho and Kevin Pritchard being fired from the post within the past year, according to Joe Freeman of the Portland OREGONIAN. NBA sources said that the Blazers' GM job "remains desirable despite its volatile history and potential pitfalls." Former Blazers GM Bob Whitsitt, who spent nine years in the role, said, "It's a coveted job and it should be a coveted job. In my mind, it's one of the best jobs you can get right now." The Blazers parted ways with Cho Monday after only 10 months, and his predecessor, Pritchard, "was fired an hour before" last June's NBA Draft. Freeman notes it would "seem only natural that general manager candidates would think twice about joining an organization so combustible and taking on a job that seems so volatile." TNT NBA analyst Steve Kerr, who served as Suns President of Basketball Operations for three seasons, said, "There's legitimate cause for concern. But to say that job isn't coveted is the convenient thing to say right now. If someone was interested in a GM job, Portland still stands out. It's still desirable" (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/25).
MICROSOFT OUTLOOK: In Portland, Mike Tokito wrote after the Blazers fired Cho, team Owner Paul Allen "left a big, gaping hole of a question -- why did he do that?" That is "one of the questions he, as the place the buck stops, needs to answer." Allen apparently "did not feel obliged to show up or, at the very least, hook up by satellite to answer questions on why he fired Cho." Without the owner "there to say so, we are left to infer that Allen fired Cho because he considers himself to be the actual general manager of the Blazers." Tokito: "Allen clearly likes being in the mix and maybe even wants to be more involved than ever. Fine. That's within his rights. But he can't have it both ways. If he's going to play the role of puppet master, he needs to answer the questions and not leave that to Miller and others" (OREGONLIVE.com, 5/24).
