Brandon Roy Got Z-Bo Traded

Posted Jul 2nd 2007 4:07PM by Tom Ziller

Filed under: Trail Blazers, Western, NBA Media Watch
The basketball world has revolved around Jason Quick's must-read Oregonian opus on all things Oden since Sunday publication, with guesses about Kevin Pritchard's disclosed (and only mildly anonymous) received offers for the #1 pick abounding.

But by far the most shocking Pritchard disclosure has nothing to do with Oden, as noted by TrueHoop's Henry Abbott. The passage: Pritchard had known he eventually would trade Zach Randolph since a prominent player on the team requested at the end of the season that the high-scoring but troubled forward be dealt.

And Abbott's thought experiment:
Hmm ... if Jamaal Magloire asked Kevin Pritchard to trade somebody, would he? No. How about Ime Udoka? Go through the whole roster. I think you'll get 100% "no" except for possibly one "maybe" (and he wasn't prominent last year) and only one clear "yes."

While Henry doesn't come out and say it, I will: Brandon Roy got Z-Bo shipped out. (And that 'maybe': LaMarcus Aldridge, who had considerably more cachet before May 22.) But however giddy the knowledge writ makes Portland fans, realize this revelation has two dangerous edges.

Of course it's nice to know the most sensible Blazer has pull with the brass. Brandon Roy -- by every account available -- is a great kid with a sharp mind and excellent leadership skills. Not all managers are so smart/humble to listen to junior employees with dispatches from the frontline. It should feel good to know Pritchard and Roy are on the same page.

In the same breath, why on Earth is Pritchard disclosing things like this to The Oregonian? While it's hard to fault KP too much for covering his tracks so haphazardly in revealing the Oden offers, this is inexcusable. I'm not sure Randolph had many friends left in Portland's locker room. If he did, how do you think they feel about this rook who came in and sent their boy to New York? Even excluding that possibility, how would any of these veterans feel about Roy holding so much sway? How would Oden feel? Not to bolster the whole 'Stop snitching' ridiculousness... but how would you feel if a young and able coworker got you transferred to another department behind your back/against your will? Basketball's different, but it still reflects poorly.

This isn't Roy's fault, though. He had to do it; Randolph was preventing Brandon from asserting himself as the credible leader in the locker room with his various transgressions (not limited to half-assing it). By going to Pritchard, Roy did what was right for his team. But... why did Pritchard disclose this? Why hand it to the press on a silver platter, barely even trying to conceal the identity of the jerseyed personnel guy? What good could that possibly do?

Combined with Pritchard's open lips regarding the Oden offers, we're getting a picture of Kevin Pritchard: Talker. Not that Portland wants to become San Antonio Jr., but look at the Spurs -- they don't talk about anything to anyone. It works -- no one can guess R.C. Buford is going after Jackie Butler or Ian Mahinmi or Tiago Splitter. Look at the New England Patriots. The greatest front office wizards play everything close to the vest. It's not what makes the great, but it's a big part of what keeps them great. The few disclosures made in this long piece give Portland's competition more information about how things run under Pritchard than they deserve to know. How does that help the franchise? It doesn't -- Pritchard is tipping his pitches, so to speak. And he's uncovering his apple pie Rookie of the Year as somewhat sneaky. For what?

(A tangent attempting to answer said question: How much of this excessive media cooperation is Pritchard atoning for the well-publicized failures of his predecessors? Is it borne of fear at the hands of the Portland newspaper punditocracy [i.e., John Canzano, Kerry Eggers]? Is it a legitimate attempt to build sincere rapport with the media or build momentum for this new Blazers era? It's impossible to ignore the franchise's frigid past with the press while experiencing the current cozy situation.)

(One more thought experiment: Could Roy get Oden traded? Assumedly not. Is Roy now Beta Dog? Will Oden ever turn evil and decide to find out for sure? Can someone corrupt these two so we can get Shaq-Kobe II?)

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by COSSUCKS:

Yeah that sounds like a real article....not. Probably some lamers blog

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/
sports/1183258519153980.xml&coll=7&thispage=2

Lame this article....... Lame one


JASON QUICK(PDX long time beat writer says)
The Oregonian Staff

Some proposed trades involving Zach Randolph, the Blazers' star forward. Pritchard had known he eventually would trade Randolph since a prominent player on the team requested at the end of the season that the high-scoring but troubled forward be dealt. But most discussions focused on the No. 1 pick.

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by COSSUCKS:

Yeah that sounds like a real article....not. Probably some lamers blog

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/
sports/1183258519153980.xml&coll=7&thispage=2

Lame this article....... Lame one


JASON QUICK(PDX long time beat writer says)
The Oregonian Staff

Some proposed trades involving Zach Randolph, the Blazers' star forward. Pritchard had known he eventually would trade Randolph since a prominent player on the team requested at the end of the season that the high-scoring but troubled forward be dealt. But most discussions focused on the No. 1 pick.

Posted by Pharzeone:

Don't tell me Roy already has the disease of Me or should I say Kobe.

Posted by tkf:

And this has what to do with the knicks?

Posted by TMS:

POR now has a true franchise calibre talent to build around & some nice young pieces to surround him with... they are now set up to have the cap flexibility to court a big name free agent in 2009 just when these young guys should be coming into their own in this league as well... it took a while for them to reach this point, but i think they're on the right track towards building for a championship.