Pick and Scroll, The Ink on Penn

 Your daily (Mon-Fri) roundup of links from around the blogosphere, typically Trail Blazers related. 

• The Oregonian’s Jason Quick broke the story: Tom Penn was suddenly fired.
• Via his twitter, Adrian Wojnarowski has the following (in chronological order):

League sources have been describing unrest in front office for months, centered on Pritchard’s inability to get new contract after Penn did.

Pritchard helped Penn leverage Port with Minny job, and sources say GM expected he could get new deal too. Ownership declined, emphatically. 

Many believed Penn was destined to run team, but clearly something caused momentum to change lately and Penn lost favor. And his job

• Dwight Jaynes gives his take:

The one thing I know about Penn is that a lot of people within the organization did not like him. What I heard most often was that Penn was impacting the culture in a negative way. He was apparently sensitive about things said in the media, by his own broadcasters and even others in the front office. There was a new brand of paranoia creeping in and a lot of people felt Penn was power hungry and eating away at Pritchard’s power base.

Now, Jaynes and I may have differing opinions about basketball and coaching, but this is an area where I must completely cede him the field. Jaynes has been around a long time and he’s as able to take the front office’s temperature as anybody.

• Canzano had this tidbit:

— Western conference executive tells me Vulcan headquarters was livid in late summer after they realized Penn played them in getting a raise and promotion out of the phantom Minnesota offer and, “there’s real resentment at Vulcan headquarters at that whole deal.” This source isn’t buying the idea that something new happened on Tuesday that caused Penn’s firing, rather, that the Vulcans decided long ago they were going to blow up Penn the first time they had cause. What was that cause? “I’m not guessing on this, there’s no speculation here, the resentment over the Minnesota thing is real,” source said. “The Vulcans can be vindictive %$&#’s” Keep an eye on the movements of Penn agent Warren Legarie (ex-Blazers GM John Nash’s agent and KP’s agent as well) who was at the center of that situation, and also, has been involved with the Clippers extensively.

• My take on that, as a law student and as someone who has read the CBA a bit is that for a capologist you need two things; first you need your cap guru to Grok the current CBA and be aware of the issues surrounding the next one and  secondly you need them to be an innovative, outside-the-box thinker. The CBA, like any contract, is more than just black and white ink on paper, it’s an idea. The approach you have to take is not “Alright, we have to abide by this rule.” You have to say “How can I accomplish X and still satisfy the rules?” and “Is there a way to accomplish X which might be more efficient or create a greater benefit for my team.” In some ways, being a capologist is like a game of Scrabble, where you work with what you’ve got and what other people have put on the table and try to maximize your score while fulfilling the requirements of the rules. 
• Ben Golliver from BlazersEdge looks to the future:

 Given Penn’s departure, the Blazers’ management team now has an obvious hole when it comes to salary cap management and understanding the intricacies of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. A league source has already floated Oklahoma City’s Assistant GM Rich Cho as one potential replacement for Penn.  

Cho currently handles the same duties Penn did — managing salary cap and CBA issues and negotiating contracts —  for the Thunder.  Cho is said to have a relationship with Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard that dates back to before the above picture was snapped at the 2007 NBA Draft lottery drawing.  Pritchard and Cho are pictured showing off the lucky charms that helped them land the #1 and #2 picks respectively. 

Cho is considered an elite mind when it comes to cap management and has aided Thunder GM Sam Presti’s dramatic turnaround of the franchise.  

Penn Firing Official Press Release Cites "Philosophical Differences"

From the team:

TOM PENN RELIEVED OF DUTIES AS VP OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Trail Blazers Team President Larry Miller announced today that Tom Penn has been relieved of his duties as Vice President of Basketball Operations, effective immediately.

Miller cited philosophical differences as the reason for the dismissal of Penn, who joined the Trail Blazers as assistant general manager in 2007.

“We felt it was in the organization’s best interest to move in a different direction at this time,” Miller said. “This was not an easy decision, as Tom has played an integral role for us the past three seasons. We thank him for his contributions and wish him the best in the future.”

Before joining the Trail Blazers, Penn served as assistant general manager/legal counsel of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies.

Tom Penn Fired?!

Jason Quick breaks the stunning, unexpected news:

Tom Penn, the right-hand man of general manager Kevin Pritchrd, has been fired by the Trail Blazers, The Oregonian has learned. Tuesday’s decision comes nearly 10 months after Penn was promoted to vice president of Basketball Operations.

It is unknown why Penn was fired, but it is believed to have come from owner Paul Allen and not Pritchard.

Read the whole thing here. Very strange. Will keep you updated as more becomes available.

Pick and Scroll, slow day edition.

 Your daily (Mon-Fri) roundup of links from around the blogosphere, typically Trail Blazers related.

• Ben Golliver from BlazersEdge has a great breakdown of how Nate McMillan is tweaking the offense to take advantage of Marcus Camby’s skillset.

• Phil Jackson admires the Trail Blazers?

• Wendell Maxey talks about Pendergraph and the career that almost didn’t happen. Pendergraph had a growth on his knee removed before he ever played a game for ASU.

• Elias Sports Bureau has a great little tidbit in today’s ESPN Daily Dime:

The Trail Blazers committed only eight turnovers in their 109-98 win over the Raptors. Portland committed fewer than 10 turnovers only once in its first 30 games this season. But the Blazers have done so in 14 of 39 games since then, dating back to Dec. 23. That’s the most games with fewer than 10 giveaways by any team during that time.

• Tracy MacGrady lists a few reasons that Bosh might leave Toronto.

• Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian thinks that if Bosh does leave Toronto, Portland should try to sign and trade for him.

• A new, shiny advanced basketball metric? Be still, my beating heart.

• By the way, the NBA is scoring at it’s highest level in 15 years. So those handcheck rules are apparently serving their purpose.

Vote for Your Favorite NBA Jam Trail Blazers

The NBA Jam reboot has opened up the ballots to see what three Portland Trail Blazers will be going BOOM SHAKA LAKA in the new game. You only have a week to vote, and while I have some issue with the lack of players presented (no Nicolas Batum, Jerryd Bayless, or Travis Diener), it’s nice to see the above trailer kickoff with LaMarcus Aldridge throwing down on Dwight Howard.

Canzano Wants Us To What?!

Guess who’s the bug in a suit?

Don’t buy John Canzano’s story about Hedo Turkoglu. And even worse, don’t pity the Raptors player. The whole premise of Canzano’s piece is predicated on the idea that now we should take Turkoglu at his word, conveniently forgetting that this whole mess began when the junk-food scarfing small forward lied in the first place.

We’re also asked to believe that Turkoglu’s wife had nothing to do with the decision. Well fine, even if it’s another thin premise (no one anywhere uses their wife as a shield). Because, for the same money, why join a perennial loser in Canada with a franchise player who’s about to bolt when the Blazers just inked their’s to a brand new contract? Makes little sense. But Canzano suggests again that we should take the liar for his word. On top of that we should trust the liar who just got his ass kicked by the team he shunned. The liar whose team is falling apart at the seams, who for the remainder of his contract is headed for the lottery. Oh, and the liar who probably just wants the meddling reporter to leave him alone after he was boo’d all night long.

Does that sound like a guy who might tell you the truth? Or just what you’re looking to hear?

Portland fans have every right to boo Turkoglu—more for what he represents than what he or his wife said or did. He would’ve been a horrible fit, which has now been proved (not only do the Blazers get Andre Miller for less years and less money, but Nicolas Batum is afforded the playing time his limitless potential deserves). The Blazer faithful, by boo’ing Turkoglu and bringing signs that read “Thanks for Andre” get to show Paul Allen and Kevin Pritchard what a absolutely atrocious mistake they nearly made—one that would’ve sent this team spiraling down the toilet.

So yes, Portland fans, boo to your heart’s content. And do the same to anyone who tells you to take a liar at their word.

Pick and Scroll

Your daily (Mon-Fri) roundup of links from around the blogosphere, typically Trail Blazers related.

• UPDATE: Via @InsideHoops: Andrew Bogut and Brandon Roy today were named official NBA Players of the Week.   
• The Batum, he does not forget.
• You can’t always get what you want/You can’t always get what you want/You can’t always get what you want/But if you try sometimes you might find/You get what you need/Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh…~Rolling Stones. Somehow, I imagine Mike Barrett listening to the above melody as he typed the following:

While it may be true that Turkoglu went back on his word, twice, during the free-agent signing period last summer and ended up signing with Toronto at the last minute, would you trade small forwards with the Raptors now? If sources with the Raptors are to be believed, Hedo would certainly like a do over. But, it’s way too late for that.

Nicolas Batum meanwhile, is Portland’s small forward of the present and future, and once again proved that he’s more than capable of handling the role.

• I’d like to point out that in my copy of Kevin Pelton’s Pro Basketball Prospectus, using the SCHOENE projection system Pelton accurately predicted that Batum’s three point shooting would “dramatically increase.” In fact, take a look at Batum’s HoopData shot locations, which shows that Batum is shooting 50% or better from everywhere but long jumpers inside the arc and he is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 65% outside the arc.

• According to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick, Nate McMillan is like the “good angel” in cartoons that would pop up on the protagonists shoulder. 

• Jarrett Jack still loves the Blazers fans and the organization. In other news, Jack still is unsure of the location of the baseline. No wait, it’s right under his foot.

• After relating a kidnapping fantasy…Ben Golliver from BlazersEdge thinks it might be time for Chris Bosh to move on:

I also wouldn’t blame Bosh for finding his way out of Toronto this summer.  As Raptors fans are the separated-at-birth and smuggled across the border twins of Blazers fans, I would hate to say anything that might cross them in the slightest. But there has to be a better fit for Bosh’s talents and a better collection of supporting pieces somewhere else. One can’t help but wonder if Bosh — in the midst of a 1-9 streak over the last 10 games, with his team back under .500 again — is reaching that same conclusion.   

• TrueHoop Network sister blog Raptors Republic has a hilarious recap of last night’s game. When I got to the part where Sam Holako contemplates assaulting Jay Triano with a lemon poppy seed loaf, I nearly snorted my coffee.

• LZ Granderson of ESPN thinks McMillan is the coach of the year.

• It’s a bit long, but you should really read this great article by a Spurs fan visiting Portland.

• One last look at the Sloan conference… at least until next year.

Credit Well Deserved

“Mrs. Turkoglu,” the homemade sign read, “Thanks for Andre.” And indeed, we are thankful.

Thankful for a whip-smart ball handler. Thankful for a cagey veteran. Thankful for a guy who’s finally pushing the tempo (at least a bit). Thankful for one of the best rebounding guards in the league. And last, but not least, thankful not to have a big, dopey, bad-shot taking, constantly complaining, junk-food scarfing small forward clogging up his arteries, the Portland payroll and the Blazers starting lineup.

So yes, thank you Mrs. Turkoglu—for from saving us from ourselves (or at least the whim of Paul Allen). Because of you, the correct and natural order of things were maintained.

Had the balky, faux-hawked Turk signed with the Blazers as he originally promised (and for the record, I detested) certainly Nicolas Batum wouldn’t have seen the 30 minutes he did Sunday against the Raptors. And without those minutes, Batum wouldn’t tied a career high, hitting five three pointers (on six attempts). Nor would he have tallied 22 points (second best of his career). The thought of Turkoglu taking away minutes from the Frenchman stirs bile in my throat—it’s heresy, not to mention unimaginable that anyone would’ve been so stupid.

Batum was one of three Blazers—along with LaMarcus Aldridge (22) and Brandon Roy (20)—to score 20-plus, as Portland went on to handily defeat the Raptors for the second and final time this season, 109-98.

Then there was Miller, who the Blazers instead signed for less money ($6.7 million to Turkoglu’s $9) and less years (three against five). A bargain, Miller outperformed his more expensive counterpart. He finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and no turnovers to Turkoglu’s 14 points, five rebounds and four giveaways.

Portland fans “boo ‘d” Turkoglu every time he touched the ball, all the way into the fourth and final quarter. I make the assumption that, as educated fans, the Blazer faithful were more upset with the Turkoglu family’s belief that Toronto is a better, more culturally rounded city than their own, as opposed to being sad he doesn’t wear the Blazer uniform. Certainly Turkoglu would’ve liked a better outcome on this visit, but it just wasn’t in the cards.

By half-time the Blazers built a double-digit lead. With 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Portland led by 11. The Raptors then made their run, cutting the deficit as low as two, with 6:15 to play. Brandon Roy scored four-straight, and Portland never really looked back. He said afterwards that the team was never rattled—they talked about defense in the huddle, then came out and clamped down.

The win was Portland’s fourth straight, and seventh of the last eight. During the stretch the Blazers have beaten just one team over .500 (Memphis). Their lone loss came at Denver.

Portland’s 19 offensive rebounds played a big part in offsetting Toronto’s 54.9% shooting for the game. The Blazers scored 22 second chance points.

Coach McMillan appears buoyed by the better play of late, and seems especially happy he’s been able to settle into a solid rotation as the team has stayed relatively healthy. The starting lineup of Roy, Aldridge, Batum, Camby and Miller have put together an record of eight and one. McMillan spoke about finally getting some consistency, and what it means that these last two wins came relatively easy against inferior competition, something that hasn’t always been the case.

Every Blazer starter Sunday finished in double figures. Rudy Fernandez kicked in 12 from the bench. He hit three of five attempts from deep.

As team, the Trail Blazers were on fire from behind the arc. Their 12 makes were a season high, as was their efficiency (60% on 12 of 20).

LaMarcus Aldridge helped the Blazers spring out of the gates, amassing a stunning 10 points and seven rebounds in the game’s first six minutes. By the end of the first he had scored 16. But from then on out, Aldridge wasn’t as effective. He finished with 22 points and 12 boards. I asked the power forward what caused his productivity to drop as the game went on.

Finally, just for the warm feeling it gives me—and that I don’t have to cover what would’ve been a team-bursting move—one more time for the road: “Mrs. Turkoglu, Thanks for Andre!”