In the grand scheme of things, Kevin Pritchard was simply an NBA GM. There are 29 others in the NBA, and in the end, it's only a management position. If the guy puts a talented roster on the floor, then everything's gravy and the fans are focused on the on-court product. If the team is constantly awful, then the guy gets fired.
Kevin Pritchard helped rebuild the Blazers into a solid team on the rise during his tenure as GM, but the way he did it - through a unique sense of openness - endeared him to the fans unlike any other NBA General Manager.
At a rally in downtown Portland after the Blazers selected Greg Oden first overall in the 2007 NBA draft, fans responded to their GM with chants of "Pritchard! Pritchard! Pritchard!" It was a moment you would never expect for a member of the front office, but one that was deserving after the moves that Pritchard has made and the way he had done his job.
But three years later, on Draft Day 2010, Pritchard was given the axe; fired by owner Paul Allen for reasons that are still unclear.
And Blazer fans are, for lack of a better term, pissed.
I've never seen a fan base so taken aback by the dismissal of a front office executive. Tonight, friends of mine have been sharing their thoughts on Pritchard's firing, through Facebook, Twitter, text messages, and more.
The overriding feeling: why did this happen?
-Geoff Ziemer, the author of The 300 Level and my former mentor with the Franklin Post, responded to Facebook with the most disgusted (if slightly hyperbolic) reaction: "THE SKY IS FALLING. KP FIRED. You make me sick Mr. Allen. You better share with the media WHY this came about."
The last part I agree with wholeheartedly. The media cannot let this pass by without doing their job and continuing to ask the right questions.
-Anthony Mcfeters asked what we all have been asking throughout the duration of this mess: "I am so confused.... why is Pritchard fired?! He has without a doubt saved this franchise from a management standpoint."
-My brother Justin Sandberg had to come home from work to this ugly situation: "Leave it to Paul Allen to fuck things up for everyone." His night was probably completely ruined, especially with the trade of Martell Webster.
-Mark Nelson provided the only laugh tonight through this exchange on Twitter:
Me: The Portland media should camp outside Paul Allen's house until we get answers.
Mark Nelson: He'll sick the robotic Richard Simmons on them.
-Kevin O'Brien from Remember '51 gave me perspective on what other fans around the country probably think of the Blazer organization: "The fact that you guys fired a top-10 GM (perhaps even a top-5) shows how big of an ego Paul Allen has." Time will tell just how big of a negative impact this will have.
-Faris Tanyos predicted that Pritchard would be fired after the draft, but never imagined it would happen the day of): "Paul Allen is insane. I'm in complete shock."
-And Bill Christensen could only feel sympathy for the man who lost his job for reasons seemingly unknown: "I'm sorry Kevin Pritchard. I as a devout Blazer fan, I am extremely sad to see you go. THANK YOU for getting this franchise back on its feet and I am sorry that 'someone' lost their minds and let you go."
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Pritchard is gone, and judging on how fans in Portland respected him, I'm sure they won't stop talking about this for a very long time.
1 comment:
Good editoral here. And I still think Faris Tanyos is a genius.
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