LA Times: Toronto Needs to Avoid Pritchard

[Built Ford Tough]

Toronto already hired a GM much like Pritchard back in 2006 in Bryan Colangelo, and even though he's decided to step away from the GM role and just act as president of the team, his DNA is still all over the franchise -- something that may not mesh well with Pritchard.

 

Both Pritchard and Colangelo are control freaks with strong personalities. If he were to come into the Raptor-fold the two would likely butt heads with each other. And while healthy debate and input on how to improve the team is generally a good thing, constant disagreement is something a franchise doesn't want to deal with.

 

It has been reported in the past that the reason for Pritchard's departure from Portland was because he hungered for both power and media adoration. These are two things he isn't likely to receive as much in Toronto, as long as Colangelo stays above him in the franchise hierarchy.

 

The hire that the Raptors president should make is one that can create synergy amongst him and his GM. Colangelo won't find that perfect sync if he hires Pritchard, but he may just find it in Lindsey.

 

As the current assistant GM of the San Antonio Spurs, Lindsey would bring some championship knowledge to the front office and seeing how the Spurs have made a living off picking exceptional players later in the draft, his talent evaluation skills will work wonders for a team likely headed to the lottery.

 

A Lindsey selection would also make sense, as he'll work well with Colangelo because of the emphasis that the Spurs have made on scouting international players -- something the Toronto boss has been known for.

 

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the reason why Lindsey should be the prime candidate is because Colangelo will still be able to go hands-on with the team because Lindsey would be a rookie GM, making him more easily controlled, which would allow Colangelo to still execute his vision for the club.

 

Lindsey may not be the sexiest pick, but he seems like the right one. If the club decides instead to go with Prtichard, however, it will be very interesting to see how he and Colangelo work with each other.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sns-tsn-acn-loung-column-tor-20110804,0,1769606.story

 

There are definitely some valid points about how a Pritchard/Colangelo partnership would work as I thought of some similar things when I first heard that the Rapators were considering Pritchard for their GM job. Both him and Colangelo are very controlling people and even though Colangelo is looking to step aside as the GM and just focus on being the president, I think we all know that Colangelo is still going to have his hands on the majority of moves that the Raptors make. I don't see him simply stepping aside and giving his predecesssor free reign. I could definitely see Colangelo and Pritchard clashing on multiple occasions should the Raptors hire him.

 

However, even with that said, Pritchard definitely has a proven track record as a GM and I'd definitely rather have him over Bower or Stefanski. The Spurs connection with Lindsey makes him a very viable candidate in my mind, but I can't overlook what Pritchard did with that Blazers team. I'd be happy with either one of them, but Pritchard is much more proven than Lindsey is and I would be more comfortable with him as the Raptors Gm because of his proven track record. That isn't to say that I don't have faith that Lindsey could do a good job.