Let it never be said there's no honor in thievery. The Portland Trail Blazers, led by then-GM Rich Cho, traded for Gerald Wallace at the 2011 deadline, sending Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and a draft pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for the All-Star small forward. The Bobcats careened out of the playoff race, the Blazers zipped toward the finish line and gave the Dallas Mavericks their biggest pre-Finals scare.
Bobcats Appreciate A Good Theft, Hire Ex-Blazers GM Who Stole Gerald Wallace
The Blazers canned Cho at season’s end for reasons still unknown. (The team cites that it was a “bad fit.”) The Bobcats, instead of being resentful toward Cho, have decided that the Blazers’ loss will be their gain, and on Monday hired Cho to join their front office. Charlotte promoted Rod Higgins to president of basketball operations and made Cho the team’s general manager.
It's hard to really judge either Higgins or Cho on their merits; Higgins has done some good things, and also some questionable moves. Cho had 10 months to work in Portland. But a deeper front office is usually better, and Cho was the Thunder's "capologist" before moving to the Rose City; given that one of Higgins' struggles was effectively managing the cap, this looks like a good fit.
But the real benefit is that it sticks it to Paul Allen and the Blazers’ power structure. We can’t see enough of that.
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