For the first time since his arrival, Neil Olshey’s ego and attitude will cost the Trail Blazers’ business operations some revenue.
I just wonder if it will cost the franchise its star player, too.
Olshey ignored public angst and charged ahead over the weekend, utilizing some friendly national media sources to help sell a move that some aren’t comfortable with. He’s hiring Chauncey Billups. The new coach will be introduced on Tuesday at noon but so much about this franchise still feels unsettled.
Lillard’s future, particularly.
There’s a faction of season-ticket holders who may opt out over Olshey’s decision to hire a candidate who once settled a sexual assault case out of court. I’m told by a well-connected insider that the Blazers are also particularly tuned in to their lucrative partnerships with Moda Health, Les Schwab, Wells Fargo, BioFreeze and Fred Meyer right now.
They ought to be worried about losing Lillard, too.
Owner Jody Allen hasn’t felt much like the conservator of the franchise lately. Team president Chris McGowan has been silent. Olshey interviewed some other candidates but ultimately hired the coach everyone knew he wanted all along. Lillard, meanwhile has been left dangling in the wind by his general manager, left alone to take the brunt of the public criticism for Olshey’s hire.
Lillard clapped back at the noise on social media over the weekend, telling fans he wasn’t aware of Billups’ history. Also, a report from Yahoo’s Chris Haynes indicated that Portland’s franchise player was unhappy with both the trajectory of the team and Olshey’s coaching search.
I find it hard to believe that Lillard wasn’t consulted and involved by Olshey. But Haynes, who has worked closely with Lillard over the years, wrote: “The coaching search was conducted by Neil Olshey, the team’s president of basketball operations. None of the candidates who were interviewed were from suggestions from Lillard, sources said.”
Digest that conflict. Because it’s at the core of what we’re going to witness in the coming weeks.
A few things:
♦ It’s puzzling that the franchise chose this hill to take a public stand on. Billups has no head coaching experience. He’s got only one NBA season of assistant coaching on his resume. No criminal charges were filed in his sex-assault case. That’s important to note. He’s widely respected and well regarded by those who know him well. That’s encouraging to hear. But the message his hire sends to women and survivors of sex assault is damaging and hurtful. The move is tone deaf.
♦ It’s been a funky sequence in the last few months for the Blazers. They’re knocked out of the playoffs by the Nuggets in the first round. Olshey quickly absolved himself and threw coach Terry Stotts under the bus. The team then moved its broadcast rights to ROOT Sports NW and mishandled the firing (Jordan Kent) and hiring (Kevin Calabro) of its lead television broadcaster. The franchise is also coming out of two seasons of pandemic-interrupted business. The last thing the operation needs is a negative influence on its brand. But that’s exactly where we are today.
♦ Olshey reminds me of soon-to-be former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott. He’s hyper-focused on his own survival to the detriment of the larger operation. He seized control of the franchise in the wake of Paul Allen’s death, immediately negotiating his own contract extension. Olshey engineered the broken roster, but submarined Stotts without blinking. He hired Billups and left left Lillard to be the firewall. Now, the GM has set the table for a nuclear war between the franchise and its star player. But Olshey is like the Twinkie that we expect will be found in the wreckage afterward. He may survive. I just don’t think he deserves that.
Lillard has three seasons remaining on his contract. He holds a player option for a fourth. Right now, I’m left wondering how many months the franchise has left to convince him to stay. Six months? Nine? A year? A week? He’s a star player in a league that gives all the leverage to players who operate on the upper tier.
Early in the hiring process, I kept hearing the words, “power play,” being thrown around. I used them myself in an initial column. Maybe it was inevitable given the lack of a sitting owner. Olshey desperately wanted a coach he could control and ease into the job. That slow-growth timeline keeps Olshey employed and essential. Lillard doesn’t have that kind of time. He wanted a coach who suited his needs and was ready to win right away. There just isn’t anything resembling the kind of congruency of vision you typically see in winning operations.
The Blazers should have been on predictable ground this summer. The franchise exited the playoffs in the first round for the fourth time in five seasons. Olshey should have been shown the door before Stotts. He built the roster. If the organization really wanted a first-time head coach it could have hired Ime Udoka, a home-grown guy with tremendous upside. Lillard’s timeline should have been a high-priority item. McGowan, the organization’s conscience, should have been out front leading and settling everything down. But here we are, watching an unfortunate circus act unfold.
We’ve seen some stuff over the years, haven’t we?
Allen, one of the richest men on Earth, once threw his NBA arena into bankruptcy to squeeze bond holders into a better deal. A player, Ruben Patterson, once showed up at media day and made demands of “headquarters.” This is a franchise that endured a period where it changed GMs six times in 10 seasons and couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t winning big.
There’s a news conference on Tuesday. Billups will be introduced. It’s not the hire I would have made but I won’t root against him. Ticket holders and sponsors have to decide for themselves whether they’ll stick around t to see it. Meanwhile, Lillard is positioning himself for a possible escape. So much feels unsettled right now and it just shouldn’t be.
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