There are a lot of horror stories that can be told by former general managers and front office executives who spent time working for billionaire owner Paul Allen in the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office.
John Nash refuses to speak about his time there.
Rich Cho is too busy in Charlotte trying to be the next Sam Presti, and is too positive of a guy, to tell those stories publicly.
Kevin Pritchard, Steve Patterson and Tom Penn have moved on with their lives, too, just as Chad Buchanan is about to move on with his.
None of them lasted all that long as the guy in charge of the franchise (that is, aside from Allen, and the folks from his sister’s Seattle-based company, Vulcan), and Steve Kerr is not interested in adding his name to the list.
According to Jason Quick of the Oregonian, Kerr has told the Blazers that he is not interested in filling their opening despite being the No. 1 choice of team president Larry Miller.
The former general manager of the Phoenix Suns is said to be happy with his life as a broadcaster for TNT, which allows him to spend more time with his family. It is the same reason Kerr gave the Trail Blazers last May when team president Larry Miller first approached him as a candidate to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Cho.
“He likes Larry, and certainly isn’t closing any doors, but right now he loves his life at TNT,’’ said Mark Bartelstein, Kerr’s agent. “He will come back to the NBA in the future, whether it’s as a coach or in the front office, but that’s a few years down the road.’’
Reach by phone, Kerr declined comment.
Quick also is reporting Miller has conducted two interviews – one in person and one on the phone. The face-to-face interview is believed to be agent Noah Croom, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Chris Haynes, the Trail Blazers Insider for CSNNW.com, said former Hornets general manager Jeff Bower is interested in the job.
“Executives whom I’ve reached out to about Bower’s interest in the Trail Blazers says he’s a people-person who gets along with other general managers, very tolerable with agents, a perfect character fit to work along side owner Paul Allen, and well respected throughout the league,” Haynes wrote.