Blazers interview Weaver for GM job
The Portland Trail Blazers have started the interview process for their vacant general manager’s job, meeting with Oklahoma City Thunder executive Troy Weaver in Portland on Thursday, NBA front-office sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Weaver met with Blazers officials about replacing Rich Cho, who worked with Weaver under Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti.
Weaver has progressed rapidly as an executive, rising from a personnel director with the Utah Jazz to the No. 2 spot in Oklahoma City. Weaver is considered an excellent evaluator of talent, and is well-connected on every level of the game. He pushed hard for the Thunder to draft point guard Russell Westbrook(notes) out of the UCLA with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 draft, higher than any NBA executive had projected Westbrook to go.
Weaver started as an AAU coach in Washington D.C., before working as a college assistant at New Mexico, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Portland has also received permission to interview Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Lindsey has spoken to Blazers officials by phone, but no formal face-to-face has yet been scheduled, a source said.
Blazers president Larry Miller has expressed a strong interest in former Golden State Warriors GM Chris Mullin, sources said. Mullin's expected to talk with the Blazers too, sources said.
The Blazers are trying to solidify their basketball operations after firing two GMs – Kevin Pritchard and Cho – in consecutive years. Pritchard was considered too brash for owner Paul Allen, and Cho was considered too reticent. Blazers executive Chad Buchanan had served as an interim GM through the June draft, but recently withdrew from consideration for the permanent job. He’s expected to stay on the staff of the new GM.
