Portland Trail Blazers' Dysfunction Starts at the Top

Paul Allen took to Twitter today to thank Nate McMillan for his service to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Right after he fired him.

The Trail Blazers Communications Department tried to make it look like a mutual split by issuing a press release that quoted Team President Larry Miller:

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“Clearly the season to this point has not gone the way we had hoped it would and after talking with Nate we decided it was best to part ways,” said Miller. “I want to personally acknowledge and thank Nate for his many contributions to this franchise and wish him nothing but the best for the future.”

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This statement should not be made about McMillan. But because he is the coach, he gets the blame.
They say kill the head and the body will die.

In the case of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise, the body is dead but the head is still there. The head being Allen.

Allen came close to killing the team in June of 2010 when he fired general manager Kevin Pritchard.

He sent the Trail Blazers to the ER by firing Pritchard's replacement Rich Cho less than a year later.

And he buried the team by not hiring a replacement for Cho.

Why did these two general managers get the ax? 

Both did the job they were brought in to do and did it well. But in the case of Pritchard, he took too much credit. He was too good and it rubbed Allen the wrong way.

With Cho, it was the same sort of thing: Allen didn’t like him.

The owner of the organization set the tone by making it about one person instead of the good of the team.

Allen lives a life most of us cannot fathom. One of his toys is an NBA basketball team.

While we are stuck searching the free agent pool of our fantasy leagues, Allen cuts million dollar checks for players.

Meanwhile he cashes in on a fanbase full of love and excitement for his team. These fans’ emotions ebb and flow like the wake of Allen’s 414-foot yacht on Lake Washington.

If Portland is to revive itself as a quality basketball team, Allen needs to sell the team or remove himself from the decision-making process. He needs to cede all control of personnel and the team to a general manager. He needs to rely on basketball people to make basketball decisions. If he wants to keep the team, so be it. But he needs to step back.

And he needs to do so soon.

The Blazers have given up on the 2011-12 NBA season.

They will be out of the playoffs and into the lottery come June.

With New Jersey likely headed for ping pong balls as well, Portland by way of the Gerald Wallace trade is looking at two potential top-15 picks in what’s expected to be a deep 2012 draft.

A youth movement is the most obvious way to get the team back on its feet and return Portland to contending for the playoffs in the future.

A few of the pieces are in place, but many more are needed. This year’s draft is a great place to start down that trail.

But with a software genius calling the shots instead of a GM, will that happen?

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