Basketball - Patterson to Get Permanent GM Job

Yesterday, the Portland Trail Blazers announced that they officially gave Patterson a full-time general manager position removing the interim tag from his seat. Since 2003 Patterson has been the team president. He will have to perform both jobs in the near future according to the team’s spokesman. Indeed no one has been found yet for the position of president.

Patterson is now taking over the general manager duties of the Blazers after John Nash was dismissed in late May. The former president Nash spent three seasons as general manager. During the tenure of Nash it has been a time of fast decline for the once-proud franchise. Indeed last season, the Trail Blazers finished 21-61 and lost 19 of their final 20 games.

Patterson spent very little time to renew the team’s players and stroke half-dozen deals on draft day. By the end of the evening, the team added four first-round picks. The new team includes lottery selections LaMarcus Aldridge of Texas, Brandon Roy of Washington and but also veterans Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau.

Other players such as center Joel Przybilla re-signed with the team in July, agreeing to a five-year deal for $32 million. Later in the same month, center Jamaal Magloire arrived from Milwaukee in a trade for Steve Blake, Brian Skinner and Ha Seung-Jin.

The Portland Trail Blazers also announced yesterday that the team promoted Kevin Pritchard from director of player personnel to assistant general manager. Pritchard had been regarded as a front-runner for the GM job. But Patterson won the job.