Blazers Eyeing Danny Ferry For GM Job

After the abrupt firing of Rich Cho, the Blazers are back at it, on the prowl for a new GM. There was speculation last year that owner Paul Allen was after Danny Ferry, and the rumors have started again. From Spurs Nation: “A trusted NBA source insists the Trail Blazers have Spurs vice president of basketball operations Danny Ferry at, or near, the top of their list of candidates to replace their general manager, Rich Cho. Cho on Monday became the second Blazers GM in the past year to be fired by club owner Allen, the Seattle-based multi-billionaire and Microsoft co-founder. Any team that wants to put together a championship-contending roster should consider Ferry, a smart executive whose experience as general manager of the Cavaliers makes him uniquely qualified. During his five years in Cleveland, Ferry worked for a billionaire owner with a big ego, Dan Gilbert. He also dealt with a superstar, LeBron James, who had a team of sycophants behind the scenes second-guessing and undercutting the GM. Still, Ferry built a team that made it to one NBA Finals and posted the NBA’s best regular-season record in back-to-back seasons. That’s not exactly a mirror image of Allen’s operation in Portland — the sycophants there work for Allen, not a player — but it’s close enough to prepare Ferry for what he would face if he were to end up as Cho’s successor. Aside from banking several million dollars, though, why would Ferry even consider leaving San Antonio to work for the NBA’s version of George Steinbrenner, without the championship rings? Allen hired Kevin Pritchard in 2007. In his three years as GM, Pritchard retooled the Trail Blazers’ roster, and the team had back-to-back 50-win seasons. For this, he was fired last June, on draft night, but allowed to conduct the draft for the team.”