Interviews:
Allen's statement: <a href="http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/blazerbanter/2010/mar/25/statement-from-blazers-owner-allen/">http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/blazerbanter/2010/mar/25/statement-from-blazers-owner-allen/</a>
Miller on Penn, Pritchard, rumors: <a href="http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/blazerbanter/2010/mar/22/interview-miller-discusses-pritchard-penn-rumors/">http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/blazerbanter/2010/mar/22/interview-miller-discusses-pritchard-penn-rumors/</a>
Miller on Penn: <a href="http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/blazerbanter/2010/mar/18/interview-blazers-president-miller-on-pritchard-pe/">http://www.columbian.com/weblogs/blazerbanter/2010/mar/18/interview-blazers-president-miller-on-pritchard-pe/</a>
Check the Blazer Banter blog atcolumbian.com/blazerbanterfor notes, news, interviews and videos.
Twitter: twitter.com/blazerbanter
During the aftermath, though, a series of questions have been raised about the timing of and circumstances surrounding the unexpected decision to discharge Penn, who played a key role in the team’s revitalization in recent years.
Asked last Thursday if Penn was given a reason why he was fired, Miller said he could not go into specific details. He added, though, that a senior-management group consisting of people from Portland and Seattle made the decision, and that the firing was “specific to Tom Penn.”
Miller’s comments momentarily quieted rumblings that Penn’s firing was tied to general manager Kevin Pritchard’s future with the organization.
Prior to Penn being relieved of his duties, there had been no reports that Pritchard’s job was in jeopardy. Pritchard’s contract with the Blazers runs through 2010-11 and is guaranteed, and there is an option for the 2011-12 season.
But after a series of regional and national articles highlighted reported tension between Pritchard and the organization, the Blazers organized an informal press conference Monday afternoon.
During an awkward 20-minute period, Miller and Pritchard spoke of their devotion to the franchise and the people they work with. But an emotional Pritchard was guarded and uneasy. Meanwhile, Miller would not commit to giving Pritchard a contract extension, stating that the team always waits until the end of the season to evaluate its personnel — an assertion Allen repeated in his media statement.
Miller said Monday that the organization could have waited until the 2009-10 season was complete to fire Penn, but added that “this was the time to do it.”
“It wasn’t about anything else related to Kevin or anything else,” Miller said. “It was philosophical differences, and it was best that we part ways. And our feeling was, let’s do that and move on. But it became something other than that.”