https://theathletic.com/2939632/202...and-as-trail-blazers-investigate-his-conduct/
Everybody around the
Trail Blazers knows Neil Olshey has a terrible temper. Everybody. Including Olshey himself.
The Portland general manager in 2012 didn’t hire a coach for fear he would clash with his own temper. And after a public outburst at referees in 2017, the Trail Blazers’ top executive couldn’t trust himself to watch a game courtside because of his temper.
Today, Olshey is at the center of an investigation into the workplace environment at the team’s practice facility. The team hired the law firm O’Melveny & Myers to review concerns that were raised recently by non-player personnel. It is unclear who, and what, sparked this investigation. But to understand the undercurrents of life inside the Blazers, you have to consider Olshey’s temper.
Olshey swears a lot. He rants often. And he has little patience for incompetence. Catch him at the wrong time and all three of these traits can manifest into a red-faced, vein-popping tornado of anger. For the past 10 years, the norm around the Trail Blazers has been to check the Olshey weather forecast: Bad mood? Best to steer clear of the storm.
“He will talk to you however he wants and treat you however he wants. People literally avoid walking his way in the office,” a former employee said.
In a world where it seems everybody is accused of being an a–hole at one point or another, Olshey is widely regarded as a full-time a–hole. His New York confidence, Los Angeles arrogance and underdog mentality combines to form a mostly volatile, on-edge personality.
Sure, he can be charming, and funny, and caring. But if you know him, you also knew his temper could erase those traits like a wave over sand. His temper is his weakness. And he knows it.
When he was hired to run the Trail Blazers’ basketball operations in 2012, one of his first tasks was hiring a head coach. Unable to convince Jerry Sloan to come out of retirement, Olshey turned his attention to other candidates, and one, in particular, stood out: Michael Malone.
But as much as Olshey loved Malone’s basketball mind, and his leadership qualities, there was a catch: Malone was a firecracker, unafraid of confrontation or of speaking his mind. Just like Olshey.
“I loved Michael,” Olshey once said. “But there was no way two hot-headed Irish Catholics from New York like us could work together. We would kill each other.”
Malone would eventually land with Sacramento, and later Denver, and Olshey would go on to hire
Terry Stotts. For nine years, Olshey and Stotts became the Odd Couple. Stotts was a calm and non-confrontational man who emphasized treating people with respect, balancing Olshey’s direct and sometimes abrasive approach. Olshey’s tact was a plus when it involved tough conversations like convincing
Carmelo Anthony to take a bench role or negotiating a contract with an agent.
But often, Olshey’s tact left scars.
We still don’t know what incident prompted this investigation. But we do know he has a history of outbursts.
In 2017, at a home game against Washington, Olshey stormed the court and went after referees in a profanity-laced tirade after they missed
Markieff Morrisstepping out of bounds on his way to making a game-winning baseline jumper. Since that game, Olshey has tried to hide his temper by watching the majority of games on television from his office underneath the arena bowl.
And he has been combative in enough press conferences that it hardly registers these days when his ire is raised.
Keep in mind that there are a legion of Blazers employees who swear by him. One longtime employee who has connections to the Blazers’ 1977 championship season reveres Olshey, comparing him to former NBA commissioner David Stern: firm, fair, demanding and exceedingly smart. Other longtime staffers who have been around before Olshey’s arrival say the culture and feeling of being part of a team have never been stronger. Coach Chauncey Billups, who has known Olshey for more than 10 years, said he has never experienced or heard of misconduct by Olshey.
On the court, we can debate until the cherry blossoms return how successful Olshey has been as the decision-maker. He would argue his success by pointing to eight consecutive playoff appearances (the longest active streak in the NBA) and in 2019, the franchise’s first Western Conference finals appearance in 19 seasons. His detractors will point to draft busts in
Zach Collins,
Meyers Leonardand
Caleb Swanigan, and his testing the patience of Lillard, the franchise’s greatest player (whom he also drafted) by failing to construct a serious contender.
One thing that can’t be debated: When Olshey has constructed the roster over 10 years, he valued character, bringing in players who have been respectful, if not exceptional, members of the community.
I’m not sure anybody in the Portland media felt Olshey’s ire more often, and more harshly, than myself. We went at each other. And boy, did he give it to me sometimes. I’ve been so angry after conversations with him that my eyes have watered. For long stretches throughout seasons, we couldn’t even bear to make eye contact. We could be the only two people in a hall and we would pass without saying a word.
But in the past year or two, we’ve talked more than ever. And I’ve seen a different side of him.
He is a dedicated walker, and he loves to talk on the phone as he strides through the streets of Tualatin near the practice facility. Sometimes my calls would happen to catch him during these walks, and we would talk for upwards of an hour.
In these talks, I’ve learned that on the last Sunday of every month he joins his church, Our Lady of the Lake Parish, and helps feed the homeless. I’ve wanted to write about it, but he didn’t want it made public. And for as much as he spent his early years in Portland complaining about the rain and the lack of valet parking, he now laughs at himself being a regular on the deck at Duke’s, enjoying wings and a beer, followed by a trip to Salt & Straw. He, his wife and two sons have grown to love the area.
But as he has grown more comfortable in his everyday surroundings, he has become more sensitive to the growing criticism of his work. He would never admit it, but he’s been stung by the outside criticism. I know, because I’ve heard him rant and rave about an opinion of a random Twitter account with 860 followers. And I’ve listened to him lament how he was to blame for the moderator of Chauncey Billups’ introductory press conference inexcusably shutting down a question, simply because he happened to drink from his bottled water at the time it was asked.
This is not to try and paint Olshey as a saint, or as a sympathetic figure. He has done enough on his own to create his enemies. It’s to show that as much as he has eased into his life here, and as much success as he has experienced, he has never been able to enjoy it. He’s never been able to lose that edge, that temper.
Olshey considers himself a fighter, an underdog who scrapped and clawed his way to becoming one of the longest-tenured executives in the NBA. In college, he was a standout lacrosse player at Le Moyne and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. After graduating, he returned to New York City and became a soap opera actor, appearing in “One Life to Live,” “All My Children” and “Loving.” He later moved to Los Angeles and pursued his love, basketball, becoming a workout specialist for basketball prospects entering the NBA Draft. Eventually, he earned his way onto
Mike Dunleavy’s bench as an assistant with the LA Clippers. Ultimately, he became the Clippers’ general manager.
“There is no one more competitive than me because I love basketball and wasn’t good enough, so I have to find another avenue to compete in the game I love,” Olshey said in September. “And this is the avenue I’ve taken.”
It’s an avenue in Portland, however, that is threatening to end.
