I want to thank God for bringing a merciful end to LeBron-watch 2010, or The Decision as ESPN called their 1 hour “Hey, look at me!” fest put on by LeBron James and his “group”.  What an absolute disgrace this has been.  It should be no secret the disdain I have for the NBA.  Any self-respecting leader of a professional organization would have put a stop to this long ago. 

At the beginning of the NBA finals there was less significance put on the storied match-up of the Lakers and Celtics.  Magic and Larry saved the league back in the 80′s with their great rivalry and that of their respective teams.  What was the lead-in story?  Where is LeBron going?  The night of the NBA draft, when there are so many young men about to become multi-millionaires, speculation was how teams would draft due to the LeBron factor.  Has there ever been a single individual who has hijacked an organization as much as LeBron has?  David Stern has proven once and for all he’s just a puppet to a bunch of spoiled gansta wannabes.

The other “big” story draft-night was the unceremonious dumping of Trailblazers’ GM Kevin Pritchard.  To a man, the analysts working the draft were shocked at the development.  Here’s a man who almost single-handedly turned around a team with one of, if no the worst reputations in the league.  I thought the “Jail-Blazers” was a local phrase.  Au contra ire. 

Portland was the laughing stock of the entire NBA.  All Pritchard did was come in, jettison the knuckleheads and bring in guys with good character and much better than average games.  They’ve made the playoffs in back to back years and his moves this past season saved what could have been a disaster due to the multitude of injuries.  Some are blaming Pritchard for drafting Greg Oden, who has spent most of his first 3 years on IR.  Let’s also not forget that it was Assistant GM Kevin Pritchard who lobbied to draft Chris Paul instead of Martell Webster.  Yeah, that one worked out well.  Good luck in Minnesota Martell.

Latest word from the land of Vulcan is that they have their sights set on Mario Chalmers.  It has also been said the Trailblazers were interested in bringing both Chalmers and Michael Beasley to Portland in some kind of deal.  Now that Miami has shipped Beasley to Minnesota that doesn’t look to be happening.  However, this signals a step back in philosophy where character is taking a back seat to talent.  Remember Chalmers and Beasley were expelled from the Rookie Symposium for, get this, smoking marijuana in their room.

There is much speculation over what led to Pritchard being fired.  It’s universally agreed that those in control at Paul Allen’s company Vulcan didn’t see eye to eye with what Pritchard wanted to do in Portland.  In my own personal opinion, I feel the final straw was the negotiations with Brandon Roy.  At first there was disagreement over Roy wanting a max contract, which he really did deserve, and the team’s refusal to do so.  In the end, Roy got his way and I believe that was due to Kevin Pritchard.  The original offer by the team reeks with Vulcan all over it.  Those business-lousy, penny pinching misers haven’t a clue as to what it takes to build and maintain a successful franchise.  Just look at the Seattle Seahawks and the condition that team is in for proof.

The search for the next GM is producing some names that don’t elicit much excitement.  First, there was Danny Ferry late of Cleveland.  What did he really do there?  Draft LeBron James?  Any monkey could’ve made that decision, and now he’s gone.  Next on the list was Randy Pfund.  True, he put together a championship Miami team in 2006 but that too didn’t take a genius.  Shaq had already made indications he wanted out of L.A. and talked about going to Miami.  Throw in some role players and benchwarmers and Shaq goes to South Beach.  Look at what the team has become since.  With LeBron and Chris Bosh coming in their future just got a lot brighter, but Pfund had nothing to do with those developments.

Next up, Kiki Vanderweghe.  Seriously?  Most recently the GM in New Jersey?  Yeah, he’s done a stellar job there with a team that flirted last year with the distinct possibility setting the record for most losses in a season.  They didn’t of course, but what a disaster.  It is true though that he was the arcitecht of the resurgence in Denver, but again not rocket science.  Carmelo Anthony was the best player when they drafted.  Not a difficult choice.  But he may be on his way out after the upcoming season, and Vanderweghe obviously has already been put out of his job.

I’m a little concerned for the future of my favorite team.  I wonder if maybe Paul Allen got his medical marijuana card to offset the side effects his chemo has and doesn’t have a clear mind when making these decisions.  Can’t you just imagine him sitting around with his Vulcan chronies enjoying a fat one, and somebody throws out the idea to get rid of one of the best GMs in the NBA?  After the initial laughter subsides Allen can be heard saying “Dude, let’s do it.”  I’ll be watching in earnest, waiting to exhale.