Posted on Tuesday 22 March 2005 by Shawnie Boy @ 9:01 pm
For those of you who listened to the press conference after Silas was canned on Monday, Dennis Gilbert’s refusal to give G.M. John Paxson the “dreaded vote of confidence” was deafening. I keep going back and forth with him…it’s like the guy has two distinct sides…the dumb Pax (Diop, Wagner, letting Boozer go) and the smart Pax (dumping Kemp, trading for Varejao and Gooden)…Pax can only hope that Gilbert only sees the smart side. His last move, getting Welsch at the deadline rather than a shooter, could be the beginning of the end.
I’m not a big Paxson fan, not by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s made a couple very good moves, the best being the trade for Gooden and Varejao. I mean, seriously, he mugged Orlando then came back and kicked them in the groin for good measure on that one. The other Pax highlight was drafting Carlos (hate to say his name) Boozer in the second round a few years ago. Granted, that didn’t turn out great in the end for the Cavs but he still deserves credit for that one.
As for the Kemp deal, I think the grace period’s run out on that move. That was, what, five, six years ago? Come on. Of course, he also drafted LeBron, but even Butch Davis couldn’t have screwed that one up.
So should he be the next one out the door? I think the Gooden/Varejao deal buys him a little leeway, but Gilbert may not be willing to give it. Griff’s right — the press conference was very telling, with Gilbert responding by saying that everyone in the organization would be evaluated. Dum-dum-dum!! Those aren’t very promising words. Maybe Gilbert will see how the early offseason pans out. Will Pax be able to re-sign Z? Can he land their reported #1 free agent target, Michael Redd? One thing’s for certain — Gilbert’s top priority is to keep LeBron in C-Town for the long haul, and if he doesn’t feel Paxson gives him the best chance to do that, it’s pretty obvious that he won’t hesitate to can his ass and find someone who will.
No doubt, Paxson is on thin ice. Gotta love the Gooden/Varejao acquisitions, but my gut tells me he’s gone as well.