Nine Things To Know About Rich Cho (Henry Abbott)

[ABM]

Interesting.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/18422/nine-things-to-know-about-rich-cho

The Portland Trail Blazers' new general manager, Rich Cho, has not been in the media much, in no small part because the Oklahoma City Thunder are right there with the San Antonio Spurs in being true believers in the religion of playing your cards close to your chest.

So, while there is not much of a public record of his work to dig through, here is some of what we now:

Off the top of my head, I can see four key skills for a GM: Evaluate talent, communicate with the media, master the issues that go into making deals (CBA, legalese), and increasingly do some kind of global analysis that lets you find players who are good value. Kevin Pritchard got the job because of his proven mastery of the first two. Cho is, by reputation, almost the opposite. He's known for his proven mastery of the second two. In addition to being a CBA expert and a quantitative analyst, is he one of those rare few who can watch a workout and know "that's our guy?" Similarly, can he get a city excited about a team? "To be determined" on both counts. I haven't heard him described like that. And as you know he does not have a lot of experience with the media. But people around the league talk about his extraordinary work ethic and preparation. Free agency, the draft, valuing players, The Thunder are prepared for everything and this man is no small part of the reason why.

Sources with knowledge of the process insist that the key decision was Paul Allen's. That might sound obvious, but that's not how it works on every team. After interviewing with team president Larry Miller in Las Vegas last week, Cho flew to Helsinki where Allen's yacht, the Octopus, has been moored. That yacht is worth discussing further. It says here that some of the dozens of staffers on that boat are former Navy seals. And it has its own yellow submarine, two helicopters, a swimming pool, a basketball court, a bar you can swim up to from the ocean when the door's open, and all kinds of smaller boats and jet skis stashed here and there. Spend some time with Google looking at photos of this yacht, and I think you'll agree that there has never been any setting on the planet better designed to house a bad guy in a James Bond movie.

In 2007, Kevin Pritchard and Rich Cho represented their teams -- the Blazers and Sonics, respectively -- in the room with the pingpong balls at the draft lottery. They came in first and second. The Blazers selected Greg Oden and the Sonics (now Thunder) then took Durant. Cho will be the first person really live on both sides of Portland's decision to take the oft-injured Oden first.

Cho and his former boss, and Thunder GM, Sam Presti are two smart guys who got into the NBA the hard way: as interns. There's a doggedness to their commitment -- all those years of proving themselves, in a world where former players and big names move to the front of the line, commands respect. Cho quit his job at Boeing to go to law school before signing up with the Sonics, simply because he knew lots of sports executives had law degrees.

I met Cho once, at the draft lottery. He seemed very nice, and amazed me by remembering some nuance of something or other that had been on TrueHoop a few days earlier. Honestly, I wrote it, and I could barely remember the post at all. He read it and was all over the finest detail. When people have brains that do things mine can't I generally just start telling people that they're obviously really smart. So ... Rich Cho is obviously really smart.

In support of that last point, consider these few sentences from his Thunder biography, which reminds me a little of the legendary admissions essay of one of my college classmates: "Cho is responsible for contract negotiations, salary cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement matters, player contracts and all player personnel issues. Cho has also served as the team's director of basketball affairs (1997-2000) and vice president of legal (2005-07). As an attorney with experience on both the team and agent sides of professional sports, Cho calls upon his diverse skill set to aide the Thunder management staff. He also helped design and implement one of the NBA's most advanced and comprehensive college and professional player-evaluation systems. A member of the Washington State Bar, Cho is a graduate of the Pepperdine University School of Law with an emphasis in sports law, contract negotiations and dispute resolution. Prior to attending law school, Cho earned his engineering degree from Washington State University and worked as an engineer at Boeing in Seattle for five years."

Given the soap opera in Portland's front office over the last few months, Cho's law school focus on "dispute resolution" could prove to be the most valuable element in his time in Portland.

Nate McMillan worked with Cho in Seattle, and knows him well. The two say they ate sushi and played pingpong together more than once. Cho says McMillan is a better coach than pingpong player.

In a press conference, Cho says that he thinks the current Blazer roster is "a couple of pieces" away from a title, and he hopes to get those pieces.

 

[SheedSoNasty]

I hope he gets us those pieces as well. This coming week would be a great time to get that ball rolling.

It's interesting that this guy is basically the polar opposite of KP in these regards and it may prove beneficial to the team. Fans will probably have a difficult time with him since he'll likely remain tight lipped about roster changes and he doesn't carry the charisma of KP... yet. He seems like a very intelligent guy and I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt until he proves otherwise.

 

[Eastoff]

Did they really allow that big typo "some of what we now" ?

 

[Eastoff]

. Cho says McMillan is a better coach than pingpong player.

Nate must be REALLY bad at pingpong then.

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

I was hoping to read about how Cho starred on some small division college's basketball team... or at least something about high school. Am I wrong in thinking that someone who has never played can't evaluate talent properly?

 

[Further]

I was hoping to read about how Cho starred on some small division college's basketball team... or at least something about high school. Am I wrong in thinking that someone who has never played can't evaluate talent properly?

A GM does not need to be the one to evaluate the players. He has Born and Bucannon and eventually an assistant GM who can specialize in that. But, if he is not good at evaluating players, he better be very good at trusting the right people to evaluate players for him. He better be great at listening to others when they spend the time to show him why certain players are right or wrong for the Blazers.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I was hoping to read about how Cho starred on some small division college's basketball team... or at least something about high school. Am I wrong in thinking that someone who has never played can't evaluate talent properly?

My guess is that he is not a talent evaluator, but more of a whiz at other GM type functions. However, if he has people around him to evaluate the talent, then so long as he can obtain that talent properly I'm fine with that.

 

[huevonkiller]

In support of that last point, consider these few sentences from his Thunder biography, which reminds me a little of the legendary admissions essay of one of my college classmates: "Cho is responsible for contract negotiations, salary cap and Collective Bargaining Agreement matters, player contracts and all player personnel issues. Cho has also served as the team's director of basketball affairs (1997-2000) and vice president of legal (2005-07). As an attorney with experience on both the team and agent sides of professional sports, Cho calls upon his diverse skill set to aide the Thunder management staff. He also helped design and implement one of the NBA's most advanced and comprehensive college and professional player-evaluation systems. A member of the Washington State Bar, Cho is a graduate of the Pepperdine University School of Law with an emphasis in sports law, contract negotiations and dispute resolution. Prior to attending law school, Cho earned his engineering degree from Washington State University and worked as an engineer at Boeing in Seattle for five years."

That would seem to bode well. Those are some decent accomplishments.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Am I wrong in thinking that someone who has never played can't evaluate talent properly?

If you're right in thinking that, then the vast majority of us should never question a roster move.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I was hoping to read about how Cho starred on some small division college's basketball team... or at least something about high school. Am I wrong in thinking that someone who has never played can't evaluate talent properly?

There are others. There are also those like Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor, Billy King, Isiah Thomas that have all kinds of basketball experience that are horrible at evaluating talent.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Good read. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Cho and what he can do for the Trail Blazers. I think the combination of him and Born/Bucannon will be great.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Good read. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Cho and what he can do for the Trail Blazers. I think the combination of him and Born/Bucannon will be great.

I know they really kinda have to say it, but Buchanan and Borne both sounded like this would be a much better partnership than the old one. Maybe I was just reading into it though? Did anyone else pick up on that/

 

[RR7]

I know they really kinda have to say it, but Buchanan and Borne both sounded like this would be a much better partnership than the old one. Maybe I was just reading into it though? Did anyone else pick up on that/

I didn't read/hear anything from them, so can't comment on how it sounded, but I'd imagine they could sound that way just because they will have more influence now than before? If they are now being relied upon as talent evaluators, as opposed to being part of the group.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I didn't read/hear anything from them, so can't comment on how it sounded, but I'd imagine they could sound that way just because they will have more influence now than before? If they are now being relied upon as talent evaluators, as opposed to being part of the group.

Ya, that's true. Cho could have came in and said I am going to lean on you guys a lot for evaluating talent, where KP might have said they were simply a small part of the team? Who knows, but it DID sound that way to me

 

[Idog1976]

Good read. I'm becoming more and more of a fan of Cho and what he can do for the Trail Blazers. I think the combination of him and Born/Bucannon will be great.

I agree beerboy! I'm telling you guys this guy is special. I have a good feeling about him. KP was a god among franchise resurrecting GM's. I think this guy is the cold analytical decision maker who puts us over the top. KP was TOO much of a people person IMO. Now we need a new coach and PG and we're good to go.

 

[Further]

I agree beerboy! I'm telling you guys this guy is special. I have a good feeling about him. KP was a god among franchise resurrecting GM's. I think this guy is the cold analytical decision maker who puts us over the top. KP was TOO much of a people person IMO. Now we need a new coach and PG and we're good to go.

I hope you are right. I just don't know how you can know this without any history to base that judgement on. I am pleased with Cho as I think he is a good risk to take, but I don't have any idea if he will end up being special.

 

[Idog1976]

I hope you are right. I just don't know how you can know this without any history to base that judgement on. I am pleased with Cho as I think he is a good risk to take, but I don't have any idea if he will end up being special.

Just using my wimmins...er MAN intuition. Just a feeling I got, not unlike my crying uncontrollably during hallmark commercials.

 

[Further]

Just using my wimmins...er MAN intuition. Just a feeling I got, not unlike my crying uncontrollably during hallmark commercials.

well that's just too much testosterone if you ask me.

 

[OddEnormous]

Nate must be REALLY bad at pingpong then.

Awesome

 

[Natebishop3]

So can Cho fire McMillan or is that Miller's territory?

 

[OddEnormous]

So can Cho fire McMillan or is that Miller's territory?

I think you need to slay Paul Allen before you can even broach the subject.

In other words, if the thought even pops into your head during a dream.... Prepare to die.

 

[Minstrel]

Cho says McMillan is a better coach than pingpong player.

Said Cho, "McMillan always talks about the importance of running, but when the game starts, he stands in one place. That's his problem in pingpong."

 

[Natebishop3]

Said Cho, "McMillan always talks about the importance of running, but when the game starts, he stands in one place. That's his problem in pingpong."

He's isolating.