...Olshey, in addition to letting McGowan know he should stay in his business lane, made a point of noting that the two executives didn't cross paths much, if at all, down in Southern California. The chemistry between the two of them simply isn't there yet. Meanwhile, McLoughlin's presence was a new dynamic, especially when McGowan openly admitted he would be calling on his colleague when he entered waters too deep, such as television contract negotiations.
Taken together, what we have is a clear shift away from the Larry Miller administration in two ways. First, his plan to merge basketball and business has been torn to shreds. Second, his efforts to keep Vulcan out of the Blazers' conversation were undone, in a very public manner, on Day One of McGowan's tenure.
How these developments do or do not impact the success of the team will be a key item to track in the coming months and years.
