[Adrian Wojnarowski] Pritchard “agitated”, “panicked” and even “desperate"

I believe that Presti has only been with the Zombie Sonics for two years, and that the hiring of P.J. Carlesimo was done for 3 factors:

1. So the team could tank.
2. As a favor to San Antonio
3. He was dirt cheap ($1.5M per year reportedly)

There is no other logical reason why you play Kevin Durant at 2 guard other than you want to lose games (and stick it to Seattle in the process by giving them a terrible product). It's like lining up T-Mac or LeBron at point guard, and I can't believe that more people didn't pick up on this in his first year.

Now, Scott Brooks takes over, and what do you know, Durant goes to the 3 (and even the 4), and the team looks a hell of a lot better (after going 1-15 to start, ensuring they're in the running for the Blake Griffin Lottery).

I would argue that if you put Presti's first 3 picks (Durant, Green and Westbrook) up against Prichard's (Roy, Aldridge and Oden), I'm taking that first group to win a chip. Now I do think he made a huge, Oden-esque mistake in passing up Rubio this year, but he's already proven he can do more with an expiring contract/trade exception than Prichard can (3 first rounders versus...nothing?), and we have no idea if Serge Ibaka can be as impressive as Rudy Fernandez (a long shot, admittedly).

Both Presti and Prichard have big, non-salary cap advantages that they use to the fullest extent: Paul Allen's money, and Oklahoma City residents' total lack of understanding what good basketball is (they were in the top 10 in home attendance). For the former, it results in buying picks (Roy, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Koponen, Batum), for the latter, it's getting 4 top 5 picks and a project center to develop with little pressure to win.

It's too early to tell, in the same way it's too early to really evaluate Daryl Morey either. Hell, it took awhile before people started catching on that Joe Dumars has been a strictly mediocre GM who made a series of great moves from 2000-2004, and one enormous blunder in Darko. Sort of a reverse Mitch Kupchak, who's made a series of excellent moves lately, but was Chris Wallace-bad when he first took over.

So we'll see. I believe that a good GM is like a good owner; you rarely hear their name, they've got a manageable ego, and people want to deal with them. Not sure if that describes Prichard very well.

 

I believe at least one version of those rumors involved Brooks ending up in Portland, and another one was about some three way trade in which he would end up in Phoenix. I never saw why Morey would want to put up those trade proposals, but it certainly makes a lot more sense that Pritchard was the one pushing incessantly.

 

Good post. Time will tell. I don't like Pritchard's flamboyance either. Not sure Presti made a mistake by passing on Rubio, who I think is very much overrated. PJ Carlesimo was such a disaster I suppose it makes sense to argue it was deliberate tanking, but much of KD rookie year was a complete waste of time because he wasn't coached at all.

Going from 32 to 54 wins is quite an accomplishment no matter how anyone slices it. The next step for the Blazers will be harder. The Thunder have yet to even come close to a winning record, though they have a chance this season. Their youth and lack of depth will be a big problem. I bet the home crowd still fills it up every night. I like watching Thunder homes games just because of the crowd sometimes.

sbyang, if you want to downplay every good decision Pritchard has made, that's your right an privilege. I prefer to be objective.

 

Yeah, that is exactly it. They simply don't know what good basketball is. I went to a game, and I literally had to explain to someone that the goal is to put the round shaped thing into the circular netted objects. Good times.

They were 11th in attendance.

Houston was 16th, because the Houston residents are such connoisseurs of Naismith's pastime. They know what great basketball is, and they expect nothing less. It is great to have such knowledgeable and discerning fans in attendance. Scratch that.... such knowledge and discerning fans at home.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/attendance


Loved your post though!

 

I'm not going to downplay his good decisions. Brandon Roy was a great pick, Rudy Fernandez might be, I won't say Aldridge was a great pick because he was 2nd overall, good move to go up to 2nd to get him though.

If you look at Pritchard objectively, please note that he got extremely lucky in 2007. A team is not supposed to get the best player in a draft, have a good turnaround, and then end up with the top pick in the draft again (Oklahoma City tried, but the ping pong balls didn't bounce their way). The last time a team got a break like this was the Orlando Magic with Shaq. I'll give Pritchard credit for finding the best guy in 2006, but he dropped the ball in 2007, he had a chance to solidify the foundation to a dynasty and now it just looks like another good young team.

The other advantage Pritchard has is that money is no object. He's been able to buy all the draft picks he wants towards the end of round one and beginning of round 2. In fact, he's bought so many picks that now the Blazers have too many guys and have to trade/stash them. Giving Pritchard credit is like giving Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein credit, it feels like they should be doing that well.

 

I think comparing the Blazers to the Yankees and Red Sox is silly. The NBA has a salary cap while baseball doesn't, plus the Blazers haven't even spent that much on salary. A better comparison to the Yanks and Sox would be the Mavs and Knicks, who have both spent incredible amounts of money. Portland has been in the bottom half.

Going forward, we will see about salaries. In the same way the Blazers will have to pay the piper, so will the Thunder.

 

Give credit where credit is due. The Blazers could easily have ended up with Foye and Tyrus Thomas or any other combo of players from the 2006 draft (welcome to lifetime mediocrity) instead of Roy and Aldridge the first being a surefire franchise player and the latter one a borderline franchise player. They literally got the 2 best players in that draft class. Whether that's eye for talent, Coach Mcmillan, fitment, system etc. No matter how you slice it, it's imprssive.

Now for Greg Oden.... I wanted the Blazers to take KD as well but it was hard to go against Oden at the time and I think Oden will end up being the right pick in the future. I'm not sayind Durant would've been the wrong pick but I think Oden will pan out and contribute nicely.

Blazers are a legit PG and a Shane Battier-esque player away from being true contenders. Hell even if they don't get a Battier... an upgrade from Steve Blake would do them wonders.

 

I need to correct this post. T-Mac cans till sign a max deal for $24.6 with another team, because the CBA allows players to sign a contract for 5% raise, no matter which team signs him.

 

perhaps this is karma for the Darius Miles Fiasco.....Suck it Kevin LOL

 

Those ARE Pritchard's best moves. Getting LMA was a great move and you're saying he isn't a great pick because he was no 2? What kind of reasoning was that? So I guess Chicago getting Derrick Rose over Beasely (who was the better fit on their roster anyway) wasn't a good move because he was number 1 right?

What do you mean might? Fernandez was a great pick simply because the Blazers bought him straight up. He's looking much better than a lot of guys taken in the lottery during his class.

Finally the money shouldn't really be taken against him. Just because you have money to burn doesn't mean you'd do well, just look at the Knicks and the Mavs.

 

At this point, I'm at a loss on what they will do at PG. Even if T-Rex forces his way into the rotation, he probably won't be the answer they need this season to make the Finals. I guess they still have assets to trade.

 

The NBA doesn't have a hard cap, the Blazers are like the Sox and Yanks in the way they approach the draft. The Sox and Yanks draft multiple signability guys in the later rounds of the draft. The redsox end up with a few guys every year that have 1st round talent who they picked in the later rounds, not every one of those guys work out, in fact most of them don't, but even if one of them works then the Sox look brilliant. The Blazers get to pick up whoever they want starting with the 1st team looking to sell, if they like 3 guys, they can get 3 guys. Compare them to a team like the Spurs, who have to penny pinch and be smart if they want buy a player, and you see how easy it is for the Blazers.

Pritchard did a good job buying Fernandez, but how many other guys did he buy? where are those other guys? if he's batting 1 for 10 on the late draft picks, doesn't that reduce his effectiveness?

 

Let's agree to disagree, you think Aldridge is the bomb, I don't. You think Fernandez is great, I think he might be but has a long way to go. You think getting Aldridge at #2 is a great pick, I think a great pick at #2 would have been Brandon Roy, just because a few guys behind you make stupid choices doesn't make you a genius.

 

You are reaching quite a bit. When the Blazers can buy any free agent on the market they want because of Paul Allen's money like the Yankees do, then talk to me about the Yanks and Sox. Other than that, it's a ridiculous comparison. Please give it up. The NBA cap isn't a hard cap like the NFL, but it has a very significant effect on how teams are built. MLB is a complete free-for-all.

Whatever you have against Pritchard, just keep it. His team has improved immensely since he took over because of his draft picks. I never said nor implied he was a genius, which is what YOU called Presti and Morey. I'm just giving KP the credit he's earned. When your genius wonderboy Presti (who I actually like) actually puts a team on the floor that accomplishes something, I'll give him a big slap on the back too because KD's deserves to be on a good team.

Lastly, judging a very successful GM like Pritchard on how he does with late draft picks is beyond nonsense. My reply: 32/50 to 41/41 to 54/28, the latter with the youngest rotation in the NBA. I think it was the youngest rotation to make the playoffs in about 30 years. But since he missed on some "late draft picks", it some diminishes how good a GM he is. If that's your take, fine.

 

You certainly get worked up having a conversation about basketball. You choose to judge a team by it's regular season record, I choose to judge a team, a young team, by how they are set up for the future. I am arguing that the Thunder are in a better position going forward than the Blazers, despite having fewer resources and breaks.

You didn't read my comparison on how the Blazers compare to the Sox, I said they compare on how they spend more resources than anyone else on the draft, not free agency, obviously free agency has a different set of rules. Missing on late draft picks diminishes the illusion that he's a great drafter and picks guys like Fernandez out of the air, he buys picks every year, he's got more chances than anyone else to get a lower round steal. Probability say he's got to hit on something. Do me a favor, go back and count all the non-lotto picks Pritchard and Morey have made in their tenure, not including this year, come back to me with a batting average for their ability to find rotation players.

Oh and late draft picks isn't the only thing he missed on, how do you ignore the #1 pick?

 

It makes me wonder if Roy's knees are a future concern.

 

I give up guy. You are a trip. How about you do the work and then tell me instead of asking me to.

One thing we agree on is KD should have been the #1 pick. I said it before the draft.

 

Isn't one of his legs an inch or two shorter than the other (just like Greg Oden I think )? I remember there was an article during Roy's rookie year that the Blazers were suggesting lopping of an inch or two off Roy's heel to make them equal...

 

I think we agree on several things: Pritchard is overrated to an extent, and I'd rather have Sam Presti and the Thunder's core than Pritch and the Blazers.

I never said LMA is the bomb, I said Pritch gets credit for getting taking away the two best players in that draft. It doesn't matter what their positions are, the point is he came away with the two best players in the draft. That's why LMA is a great pick, he's the 2nd best player in that draft and he got picked at no. 2 right on the money. Roy would not have been a good pick at no. 2, what if LMA gets picked by another team at number 3? Picking in draft usually has very little to do with the players actual value, its all about the perceived value he has to teams that determine a player's draft position.

 

That was sort of my point; that they can put a bad product on the floor and get people to fill up their fairly sizeable arena. It's an advantage that Golden State has as well since their fans are so rabid and loyal; these kinds of teams can endure longer periods of rebuilding and outright sucking.

Honestly, I would love nothing more than for that team to be wiped off the map in contraction, since they flat out stole 40 years of history from the NBA, so while I begrudge the fans nothing, I feel compelled to take shots at the team any way I can.

I have to say, hearing that Aubrey McClendon lost $1.92 billion in one day gave me warm feelings of Schadenfreude. Not only was he one of the biggest contributors to the "Swift Boaters" in 2004, but he decided that stealing an NBA team wasn't enough, and also stole pristine shorefront land in Michigan earmarked for a state park extension to build a gated millionaire community. AND he's a Dukie! (Shane Battier exempted)

So with all that in mind, you know how highly I think of Sam Presti.