Raising the Bar

Within the context of all of Trail Blazers’ history, has Kevin Pritchard outperformed his predecessors and redefined the position of General Manager?

This much we know…he’s succeeded: A) in fumigating the locker room of its stale, selfish and outright rotten denizens; B) in effectively rebuilding the roster from scratch through the Draft and trades; and C) in wooing and recapturing the heart of a region.

More facts…every member of the current 14 man roster is a model citizen; players feel and are revered by fans; new players are openly welcomed without first having to prove their worthiness; tickets are essentially gone for the entire 2008-09 season; the days are likely gone of eras of winning teams followed by sustained eras of losing teams, due to KP’s plans (extended 5 years out) for continuing the influx of good talent so that the current crop of successful 20-somethings doesn’t erode to a future roster of beloved, food-gumming seniors; KP is ever-so-available for interviews and public appearances; and he has a fans-first approach to business. His demonstrated doctrine is - if the fans win everybody wins.

The totality of his impact within the franchise has reverberated externally to re-awaken dormant and disenchanted fans in at least two states. And his impact on the league as a whole has been revolutionary. The “Portland-model” has taken root with down-era franchises like Indiana, Minnesota and Sacramento. An argument could be made that the next to Greg Oden, KP is the best-known Trail Blazer.

But is all of this merely about style, and not about a new job model? Has the old job description simply had a facelift, or…has the job manual for all GM’s been totally rewritten – by one man?

Former Blazers administrators like Harry Glickman, Stu Inman, and Geoff Petrie will always have a place in our franchise’s Hall of Good and Capable Men, but does their approach to the job seem old school to you now? True, they didn’t assemble and, therefore, weren’t burdened by rosters full of jerks; their labors led to a standing All-American sports record for consecutive sellouts (800+ games) and their teams (from 1977 forward) made the playoffs consistently; and three of those teams made it to the NBA Finals, with one winning the World Championship. The quality and results of their job performance remains exemplary. But did it set the national standard? Did it create admitted copycats? Or did other GM’s just say, “That’s nice. I’m happy for them”? And were talk shows riddled with callers asking why can’t our GM be like their GM? You know the answer.

Today, in the modern era of industrial espionage, there might be some Watergate-type hooligans prepping to break into KP’s office to get his recipe & roadmap. But, you see, the goodies aren’t in his office. They’re in his head.

What would KP say about this? He’d modestly give a nod to the San Antonio franchise, his previous employer, for crafting the blueprint for turning around a roster. KP should know, but perhaps there’s more to it. The Spurs truly did re-make their team with world-class results. But therein lies the catch. It’s in the limits of the word “team”. KP has done more than bring in 14 new players – he re-invented an entire franchise, and the expression “Pritchslapped” is all over the worldwide web (much to his chagrin).

And Mr. Pritchard would rapidly throw caution all over this next statement, but I’ll venture where fools fear to tread – he’s the architect of a dynasty-in-the-making. Put that in your timecapsule - I'll stand by it.