Olshey said he was disappointed in the Trail Blazers' previous relationship with a minor league affiliateNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
Trail Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey said it would be "very hard" to make the business metrics work for a team-owned G League club, but the team is "looking to do something in the environs of Portland." Olshey, appearing on "The Woj Pod" yesterday, said of the league's G League plans, "It’s a small market, the franchises are incredibly expensive right now and we’re trying to basically net out is it really valuable making that kind of a cash outlay as opposed to keeping the commitment and knowing our coaches are working with our guys on a daily basis." He noted the organization previously had a hybrid G League affiliation in Boise, but the team "lost positive control of our players when they went there, even though we had hired the coaches." Olshey added, "We just didn’t have a relationship with them every day."
CAREER GUIDANCE: Olshey said the NBA is better "equipped" to prepare players to be pros than college basketball, and “not just basketball-wise, but socially.” Olshey said teams need to “know these guys are ready to come in and have a career” and are “capable of being pros.” Olshey: “The question is going to be, ‘What is the vehicle where we can best evaluate?’ Because that’s the key. All we want is a fair sample size to make our decision.” Olshey noted if and when high school players are allowed to enter the league, the Blazers “would need a bigger staff.” Meanwhile, Olshey on whether seeding the playoff teams 1-16 would help curb “tanking” by teams, said “if you sat in a GM meeting and anybody brought this up as an initiative, 15 hands would vote from the Western Conference" ("The Woj Pod," 3/7).
