Kevin Pritchard Chat Transcript
Pritchard chatted live on April 29.NBAE/Getty Images |
The 37-year-old Pritchard is in his first season with the Trail Blazers. He was named the club's Director of Player Personnel last August. Pritchard spent a year and a half as a scout with the San Antonio Spurs. Prior to that, he was with the Kansas City Knights of the American Basketball Association where he served as the team's general manager, head coach and director of player personnel. In 2001-02, he led the Knights to the ABA Championship.
After a stellar career at Thomas Edison H.S. in Tulsa, OK, Pritchard went on to the University of Kansas where he became one of the all-time best players for the storied program. He started 129 of 139 career games, averaging 12.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 3.6 apg. He was an All-Big 8 selection as a senior and was a three-time All-Big 8 Academic Team selection.
As a sophomore, he hit 6-of-7 shots from the field to score 13 points as Kansas defeated Oklahoma, 83-79, to win the 1988 NCAA Championship. Fourteen years after leaving the Jayhawks, Pritchard is No. 4 all-time in steals (199), No. 6 all-time in assists (499), No. 7 all-time in three-pointers made (154) and No. 9 all-time in points scored (1,692).
Pritchard was a second round selection (34th pick overall) of the Golden State Warriors in the 1990 NBA Draft. He spent the 1990-91 season with the Warriors, averaging 3.9 ppg in 62 games. During his NBA career, Pritchard also played for the Boston Celtics (1991-92), Philadelphia 76ers (1994-95), Miami Heat (1994-95) and the Washington Bullets (1995-96). He also played in Spain, Italy and Germany as well as in the Continental Basketball Association.
Pritchard chatted live with fans on Friday, April 29. See the complete chat transcript below:
beaverton: how was it being interim head coach?
Kevin Pritchard: Well, I think it was a great experience for me. In the seven weeks I was there, I felt like I connected with the players, and that is what this position is about, it's about building relationships with players.
Holly (Portland): Can you tell us a little about the coaching situation? Will it be you next year? Or are you looking to bring in some new blood?
Kevin Pritchard: It won't be me, I can guarantee that. We're in the process of looking for a new coach right now, and there is no timetable on that, because we want to make a good decision. That is the goal, to make a good decision.
Vancouver: Kevin do you think the problem of not having a veteran leader on the team next year would be a downside to the 2005-2006 team?
Kevin Pritchard: I think in this league, one of the most important things you can have is leadership in the locker room. So that is a concern, but more than one person collectively can handle that role, and I think we can accomplish that in our team. We can have players step up and lead this team.
Steven (Portland): What do you feel is the team's biggest need that should be addressed in the off season?
Kevin Pritchard: It's in the backcourt, more specifically our off-guard position. We need to balance our roster a little better. We have many small forwards and not enough shooting guards. And with Nick Van Exel leaving...and potentially Damon, we might need a backup point guard too.
Matt (Tigard): How has Ha Seung-Jin improved over the duration of the season? He was impressive in the final game of the season, and I am wondering whether he will be a holdover for next season's roster.
Kevin Pritchard: He definitely will be a holdover. We like how he's progressed. He has worked very hard to get himself ready, very quickly and we think if he keeps working, he can make an impact in our organization.
Jason (Vancouver): What do you think the possibility of Damon being resigned in the off season
Kevin Pritchard: I don't think that decision has been made yet. A lot depends on what happens in free agency and the NBA Draft. We feel strongly about Damon and about what he's meant to our organization, but that decision has not been made yet.
Bryan(Gresham): Who would you say learned the most and/or improved their game during your coaching?
Kevin Pritchard: That's a very difficult question. Many guys improved. We were tough and demanding on Sebastian and the last few weeks of the season, he showed great improvement. Both Viktor and Travis also got some good minutes, and they really responded and showed what they could do against NBA competition, so they have bright futures with us too. That was a pleasant surprise for us.
jeff portland: What players is the team focusing on in the upcoming draft?
Kevin Pritchard: I think in the Draft you need to improve your team, sometimes short-term, sometimes long-term. Right now, we need to look at the best player available. We need to take the best guy we can get so he can come in and make an impact for us on the court as fast as possible.
John (Salem): Hey Kevin, Can you tell me a little about your experiences playing overseas and how that helps you at your job now?
Kevin Pritchard: In scouting and player personnel, it's all about your networks of people. The NBA is a world game now, so those contacts you develop overseas are very important. I can make a phone call and get some trusted information, and hopefully that can help me make some good decisions for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Henry (Flemington): Wanted to get your thoughts about Jason Maxiell, who was in for a workout recently. Is he a consideration with your second round pick?
Kevin Pritchard: Well that's a very tricky question. If I answer that, I can potentially get in trouble. But we want to get books of knowledge on players, not just one workout and make decisions. Jason came in and worked hard. But we are trying to get as much information from as many players as we need to in order to make the best pick possible.
portland: you made it clear you didn't want to take over permanently for the coaching job, my question is, will you consider coaching full time further down the road?
Kevin Pritchard: Oh, boy that is a very difficult question. I'm a basketball fanatic, I love being around it, teaching it and everything. I'm not sure I can really say right now if I can say no to any part of being around the game. That being said, I look forward to moving back to Director of Player Personnel and doing my best for the Portland Trail Blazers.
David (Clatskanie,Oregon): In your Sunday Oregonian Article in the sports section a few weeks ago with John Nash and you. I read in their that you said in the article that you thought that if you were Portland's General Manager that you would want to turn the Blazers into a more run and gun team and style like The phoenix Suns or The Seattle Supersonics. So my question to you is why do you think that the Blazers would be better off and more successful switching to a more up temple run and gun offense more so then a slowed down set it up offense?
Thank you
Go Portland!!
Kevin Pritchard: That's another very good question. I think the most important thing a coach can do is analyze the skill sets of a team. When I opened the hood on this team, I kind of saw a racehorse engine. Sebastian has open court skills and speed. Darius Miles as a three/four is one of the fastest players in the league. And Przybilla is another guy who can play an up-tempo game. With the new hand checking rules, if you can get in transition and get easy baskets, you can win in this league. Plus, it's more fun to watch! These are the greatest athletes in the world, so why harness them and slow them down? That takes some of the excitement out of our game.
Ryan (Minneapolis): Joel Przybilla's contract expires next season. Are the Blazers going to give him a contract extension this summer?
Kevin Pritchard: Under current CBA rules, we can't do that. But I will tell you that we feel Joel is a long-term Blazer and we are going to do everything we can to keep him in the Blazer uniform. You can put me down as the President of the Joel Przybilla Fan Club.
David, Portland: How long do you think it's going to take for this Franchise to get back to 100% health and into the playoffs?
Kevin Pritchard: Those are two separate things. Getting healthy, we need Zach to continue to get healthy. He is coming along well. Theo will take this off season and hopefully come back ready to play next season. Other than that we had the usual injuries. As far as the playoffs, I've never tried to put a timetable on that. We need to focus on getting better everyday. Whether or not it's one year or two years away, we need to concentrate on getting better every day, that's how we will get back into the playoffs.
Kevin Pritchard: I'd like to thank everyone for joining the chat today. This is a great forum for us to communicate and share ideas. I'm always surprised at the depth of knowledge of Portland fans. I look forward to the draft and free agency and coming back next year re-energized and ready to compete.
