The Portland Trailblazers introduced long-time Phoenix Suns’ GM GreenBear as the new General Manager of their franchise last week. He finally agreed to sit down with some of the local media and answer some questions.
What led you to become GM of the Blazers?
(After applause from around the room regarding the Lakers)After stepping down from the Suns and focusing on other things for a while, I was able to recharge my batteries a bit and find my passion to come back. I sent out some feelers around the league to see what was available, and got a couple interviews with Denver and Portland. I was very comfortable with Denver already, as I briefly served as a consultant there and several former Suns are currently on the roster: Windler, Bolden, Clark, and Qi. Denver is in great shape with a talented roster and short-term contracts. Whoever is the next GM there will be able to hit the ground running, but I just couldn’t get over how they treated Isaiah Taylor at the end. The dude has won 2 titles, carried the Nuggets within a couple games of the CSL finals, and they allowed the previous idiot GM to trade him on his way out the door.
With Portland, they’ve been slowly building for a little while now. There’s definitely some intriguing young talent I’m excited to work with. Some of the recent draft picks have underperformed thus far, but we all know how young players struggle in this league. I was interested to get my hands on them and see if I could turn them around. The ownership group is pure class. I explained that it might take a couple more seasons to shape this team how I envisioned, and they were completely on-board. They sent me a 10-year offer to show their faith and willingness to give me a long leash, and I was sold. At the last minute, the L.A. Lakers reached out for an interview request. For a minute I considered them. They have a couple legit all-stars in the early stages of their prime in Bowman and Rui. But then I remembered they’re the Lakers. Screw that awful franchise and their spoiled fanbase.
You mention it might take a couple more seasons to shape this team how you envision. What do you say to those that expect a GM with your history to turn this team around right away?
So it sounds like some of the vets might want to think about packing their bags. Are any of them safe?Look, I totally get that it’s been a little while since Blazers fans have watched exciting playoff basketball. No one likes rebuilding, except maybe Gary. I could trade away some of the team’s young talent for proven vets and make a strong push for the playoffs as soon as this year. But would we be able to knock off Western juggernauts like the Kings or Warriors? Admittedly, anything can happen in the playoffs, but this team has a lot of flaws, so the odds aren’t great. And then in a few years, we’d be back at square one. Some really talented GMs might be able to pull it off and get a title out of it, but that’s not my formula of success. I’m not a quick-fix GM. When I took over the Suns, there were some nice pieces in-place (Bledsoe and Dragic), but we weren’t great. I traded away Dragic immediately to the Celtics, and we really struggled the first season (ended up with #6 overall pick). In year 2, we ended up as the 9th seed (missed the playoffs by a game or two), and then in year 3 we took off and didn’t look back the rest of my reign there. Every GM has different strengths and abilities. So what works for me, might not be the best course of action for others, and I respect that. But be patient with me, and we will enjoy consistent success down the line.
Last one: What’s the culture like in the locker room?I can’t talk specifics, but if you look at the productive vets on our roster, they’re probably already involved in trade talks. Any time a new GM comes in, he’s going to look to make some moves to put his stamp on the team, and I’m no different. Especially when the team is 19-30. At this time, no one is completely off the table, even some of the younger players.
Oh man! 23 emails about various incidents were sitting in my inbox about the shenanigans going on here. Twenty-Three! It’s unreal actually. Everyone’s in a terrible mood on my team except for my centers. I’m not sh!tting you. So we have a lot of work to do in that department. Lots of therapy.
2020, 2023, 2027, 2035
