Shams: Olshey being investigated for workplace misconduct

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BlazerBeav said:
Sure, but if that's the only evidence, and he offers contradictory evidence, what then?
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So...testimony from someone he wasn't a dick to? That would prove nothing.
 
There is such a thing as basic human decency. Unfortunately for five years the shithead in chief was cheered for being rude, crude, vicious, vulgar and hateful. Freedumb is doing and saying whatever you want without consequences or regard for others. Human decency is not weakness. It is respect for others.
I just went to theater, first time in two years, saw My Fair Lady. Towards the end Liza Doolittle tells Henry Higgins "I'm a poor ignorant girl and you're a book learned gentleman but I am not dirt under your feet".
Exactly.
Tolerating abuse isn't strength. Saying you are not dirt is.
 
I don't claim specific knowledge about Olshey and am not pronouncing him guilty. I am saying abuse is not part of a job description. Screaming, insults, name calling no more acceptable than hitting. Period.
 
OneSport3 said:
Testimony UNDER OATH is evidence. Testimony to an investigative firm is not sufficient evidence.
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Evidence in sworn testimony in court is not required to terminate an employee for bad behavior or behavior detrimental to the organization. A few affidavits will suffice. If he wants to challenge the termination, his lawyer will work something out with Vulcan's lawyer.
 
Is Dame tanking to get Olshey out for not getting him a 2nd All Star?
 
BBert said:
Evidence in sworn testimony in court is not required to terminate an employee for bad behavior or behavior detrimental to the organization. A few affidavits will suffice. If he wants to challenge the termination, his lawyer will work something out with Vulcan's lawyer.
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The investigation has to be clearly to avoid buying out his contract because they found something he didn't honor in it. With cause they can nullify his contract ...without, they have to buy him out.
 
Maybe they did an evaluation and put him on a "work program". And his performance didn't improve.

:cheers:
 
illmatic99 said:
playoffs in 8 of 9 seasons, with a near 100% hit rate on second round picks?

i couldn't care less if he leaves because i want someone who takes more risks, but his resume isn't really as bad as people make it out to be. his most egregious mistake i've long maintained is the 17 draft. outside of that, and general sleaziness in press conferences, i haven't found any glaring mis-steps along the way.
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If the goal is merely making the playoffs, yes he succeeded. However, he inherited a team with one All Star and it is not known how much the decision to draft Lillard was his. At no time have any of those teams been serious contenders. With the arrogance he displays, one would think he would have a better track record.

Same was true when he was with the Clippers.
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
That's the thing about Olshey; most people would not even know there was an assistant general manager; he has never given credit to or acknowledged accomplishments by anyone in the organization.
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that's just not true.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
Of course not... but people's definitions of "abuse" can differ. What one person sees as abuse, another might view as simply an obstacle to overcome, and might consequently view those unwilling to overcome said obstacles as lacking toughness.

Who's to say whose perception/reality is more or less valid than the other?
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Some in the construction world don't get anything done unless they get yelled at.
 
Ripcity4life77 said:
I am so damn tired of bashing without just context or reason just cause it's COOL to bash NeO. Also I have said it before not a fan of him in terms of thinks he walks on water but I can admit he has done some good and some bad but still try to have an open mind about him unlike most who want to run him out of town with pitch forks.

Also playing devil's advocate for a minute any chance this is blowback from people still upset with him hiring Billups and have decided to go after him in another way ? -- just saying something to consider
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I mostly agree with this. I do not like vague stories coming out where people draw their own conclusions before the facts are even out there.

I think Olshey is a self-absored douche, who has taken little to no accountability for his poor contracts, roster construction, and use of 1st round draft picks. However, I don't want to totally jump on him without having more, unbias, factual evidence in front of me.
 
Plenty of shoutouts for assistants. Didn't realize that was a criteria for his job for Olshey to sing praises about his assistants. Just SOME examples.




https://theathletic.com/1105064/201...urse-for-the-trail-blazers-summer-of-success/
After Olshey flew back from Oakland on June 30, he arrived early the next morning to the Blazers’ headquarters to find the office lights already on.

In their offices were assistant general managers Steve Rosenberry and Bill Branch, as well as Joe Cronin, the team’s director of player personnel and salary cap expert.

“We felt like we were rolling,” Olshey said. “Guys were in the office at 5 a.m., and we were like, ‘Let’s keep this rolling.’”

The enthusiasm was spawned from the sudden shift in plans. With Hood in and Kanter out, the scope had widened. Instead of filling backup roster spots with veteran minimums, the Blazers now needed a starting-caliber center.

“It became interesting because the offseason wasn’t myopically focused on free agency,” Olshey said. “It became, ‘What is everybody else doing now? And how can we further our goals and capitalize on other teams needing our assistance?’”

Also, Olshey said the front office was fueled by direction from new owner Jody Allen, who had a front seat during the team’s run to the Western Conference finals, which included a spirited speech to the team after the Game 7 win in Denver in the conference semifinals. Her two mantras since then:

I like winning; I want to win.

What’s your plan? Go do your job.

When Olshey arrived at the office, Rosenberry and Cronin were already getting creative. They knew Jimmy Butler was headed to Miami in a sign-and-trade with Philadelphia, but the Heat needed help getting under the tax apron.

Rosenberry recalled the Blazers’ 2016 free-agent interest in signing center Hassan Whiteside, a pursuit that was futile as Whiteside chose more years and more money to stay in Miami. Cronin began crunching numbers and found that offering Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard for Whiteside would help the Heat achieve their goal of landing Butler.

By 9:30 a.m., the Blazers had a deal and their starting center.
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SN even did a big expose on his relationship with staffers. https://www.sportingnews.com/au/nba...idge-stays-or-goes/1gix2llek992a1hyztexg49jus

'Let's get to work'

One of Olshey's priorities as GM is to develop and draw out the personalities of his colleagues in the front office. He does so by engaging informally in one-on-one meetings with his small staff, based in Portland, which revolves around assistant GM Bill Branch, director of player personnel Joe Cronin and the Blazers' young data analysts.

"I don't want them to feel bullied or stuck in the corner or be afraid to express their opinions," Olshey says. "Guys will be much more transparent with me one-on-one, and then when we get into a room for the meetings, now they have to take ownership of what they said to me one-on-one, and they have got to stand up for their opinions."

For the biggest meetings the Blazers fly in their other assistant GM, Steve Rosenberry, who is based in Philadelphia. Rosenberry is among the most charismatic scouts in the NBA. He is the alpha male with substantiated outside-the-box opinions on players. His strong personality helps drive the meetings, with Branch, who is more conservative, providing counterpoints. Olshey wants the others in the room to not be intimidated by Rosenberry or Branch.

"It's not to hold them accountable," says Olshey of his one-on-one meetings. "It's to empower them. I want to hear the same things you were saying to me last month when we were talking about these three players: I want you to stand up and make the same compelling case to Rosie, who is more reactionary, or to Billy who is much more reserved, or to Joe who wants to see how it relates to the cap, or the analytics guys."

It's as if Olshey has surrounded himself with a stable of character actors, an ensemble of eclectic personalities. The creative tension among them spins up ideas that may not have emerged otherwise. Original thinking is a necessity for the small-market Blazers, whose biggest free-agent coup remains the three-year, $21 million contract signed in 2009 by Andre Miller.

"It compels us to make sure that we do have a partnership and a relationship with our players, because player retention in a small market is probably even more valuable than it is in the big market -- the vehicles for replacing that talent are far more limited than they are in what would be considered a destination market," Olshey says. "You've only got trades, free agency and the Draft. And if you are in the small market, if you are not a destination for free agents, then you really have to knock it out of the park with the draft and trades."

The relationships between Olshey and his staffers have been unusual from the start. He inherited Rosenberry, Branch and Cronin from the previous GM of the Blazers, Rich Cho, whom Olshey replaced in June 2012, less than four weeks before the Draft in which they would use the No. 6 pick on Damian Lillard, who would become rookie of the year, a two-time All-Star and the new presumptive franchise star next month if Aldridge should decide to leave. At that time Olshey had no relationships with any of the staffers upon whom he now relies intrinsically.

"I said, 'Look, here is the deal,' '' Olshey recalls. " 'You are all under contract, you are all going to get paid, let's get to work. We are going to work for as long as we can work together. If it's not going to work, you'll get paid. If you think I'm a jerk, you can quit and take your money. But I can't evaluate how we are going to get along if it's about you guys trying to curry favor with me to keep the job. So let's just work.' ''

The normal NBA approach would have been for Olshey to fire everyone and bring in his own people. In a league built upon personal relationships, he made merit hires. He kept on Branch and Rosenberry and Cronin and others, and he also hired Terry Stotts, who in no way was a "hot" candidate to become coach, but who by year two was turning the Blazers into a 54-win team without benefit of a major trade or free-agent signing.
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Ripcity4life77 said:
I am so damn tired of bashing without just context or reason just cause it's COOL to bash NeO. Also I have said it before not a fan of him in terms of thinks he walks on water but I can admit he has done some good and some bad but still try to have an open mind about him unlike most who want to run him out of town with pitch forks.

Also playing devil's advocate for a minute any chance this is blowback from people still upset with him hiring Billups and have decided to go after him in another way ? -- just saying something to consider
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spot on.
 
Quick had some good insight into NO and his temper as well. But it was a far more balanced take than the coverage we get from other outlets. Some of you should read it.
 
illmatic99 said:
that's just not true.
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Could you refresh my memory? I think I've watched every presser Olshey has given in the last five years and i just don't recall any praise for anyone besides maybe the owner, his boss. I certainly don't remember him saying something like that he couldn't have made a certain deal without the help of one of his assistant GM's, or couldn't have handled the salary cap without them.
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
Could you refresh my memory? I think I've watched every presser Olshey has given in the last five years and i just don't recall any praise for anyone besides maybe the owner, his boss. I certainly don't remember him saying something like that he couldn't have made a certain deal without the help of one of his assistant GM's, or couldn't have handled the salary cap without them.
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dude... scroll up
 
illmatic99 said:
Quick had some good insight into NO and his temper as well. But it was a far more balanced take than the coverage we get from other outlets. Some of you should read it.
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Quick and Jaynes are not known for balanced coverage regarding Olshey. Quick hasn't passed Jaynes as Neil's #1 apologist, but he's not far behind.

Got to keep that source happy.
 
I’ve never got the feeling that Lillard even likes Olshey, and especially have never got the feeling that his attachment to Portland coincides with Olshey being the GM. So I’m not sure why Illmathix is apologizing for Olshey. Dudes been a bunk ass GM.

It’s been clear for the past couple years he practically inherited the spot he’s in now by virtue of death and no clear leadership since Paul’s passing.
 
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