I read a story once about a Canadian blogger who traded his way from a single red paperclip to a house in a chain of trades over the course of a year. He got a fish pen for the paper clip and a door knob for the fish pen and a stove for the door knob and so on. He eventually got a two-story farm house. Big things can come of opportunity when placed in the right hands.

So right get to it, whoever you are Mr. Blazers GM.

Either that, or Paul Allen ought to hire that blogger guy and tell him to turn Raymond Felton into a house.

On Wednesday, Portland joined the ranks of the desperate and disenchanted. Trade-rumors flew, fans digested the talk, and guard Jamal Crawford sat out of the Blazers embarrassing 42-point loss to the New York Knicks, Portland's eighth defeat in 11 games. Crawford looks to be on the move. But the sobering reality is that the Blazers best chance to quickly fix the franchise is to get someone in the general manager position who knows how to get things done.

Kevin Pritchard would know exactly what to do at a time like this.

Unfortunately, he was run off by Allen and now works for the Indiana Pacers.

Pritchard was wrong about Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. But who wouldn't have been? More importantly, Pritchard knew how to undo a mistake and keep moving forward, and he thrived off the adrenaline with making a splashy series of deals. I've never seen a general manager glow after a trade, except for the day Pritchard set a league record with six draft-day trades. He made the Blazers matter. And that's what's missing from the organization right now, more than a point guard or center or a coach.

Trade deadline? Blazers losing ground? Crawford going, going...?

As long as there's a deal being made, throw in whoever is pulling the Blazers strings behind the scenes. Because what Portland needs most at a time like this isn't a cosmetic roster move but a experienced executive with vision and smarts who is in position to make a difference. It's evident that the Blazers don't have that right now, and it's inexcusable that Allen has allowed the franchise to be run as though such an integral job doesn't matter.

I know Pritchard sometimes grated his owner and his fellow executives. But Pritchard wasn't boring. And this new era of Blazers basketball feels like two scoops of vanilla topped with vanilla syrup. I suspect Pritchard, who was historically more of a draft-day broker than a trade deadline guy, would have relished being turned loose with one instruction: Make the franchise relevant again.

Again, Pritchard is gone and would probably laugh hysterically if asked to come back. But I believe two summers ago, draft day, is where the Blazers were de-railed. Allen fired Pritchard then scurried out the back of the practice facility, avoiding having to explain why. The organization hasn't been the same since. And won't be until Allen either sells the team or comes to the realization that he made a terrible mistake and unwinds it by hiring a qualified basketball person to make the basketball decisions.

The reports on Wednesday indicated that Portland would give up Crawford in a three-team trade and receive in return either: A) Steve Blake; or B) Derek Fisher in conjunction with one of the following: 1) a Lakers draft pick; or 2) a plastic pocket comb.

A move such as this amounts to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It would be a trade designed to spark season-ticket renewals from fans who might think the organization is at peace with getting flattened night after night. Sorry, but if it's Blake coming back, the organization might as well re-hire Maurice Cheeks as coach and slap "Groundhog Day" on the grain silo across from the Rose Garden Arena. Love Blake's game, but it's a reach into the past, not the future.

I have no confidence that Allen and his merry band of men know what they're doing. The organization's greatest asset has always been, and will always be, the die-hard fan base who still want to believe long after the players themselves have given up. And yes, the Blazers have quit on this season. The executives appear to be trying, but I'm not sure they're capable.

Bash Allen if you'd like for his failure to connect with his customer. The guy's a billion-dollar piñata. But the bigger offense is that Allen still apparently believes that he knows better than the good basketball people in the league, despite a pile of evidence (odd draft picks and lousy trades) since firing Pritchard and Rich Cho that suggest otherwise.

Maybe Allen is going to sell the Blazers. Maybe he aims to fire Nate McMillan at the end of the season and make Phil Jackson a coach/GM offer he can't refuse. Maybe he's just lost, and guessing.

Allen wants to make a trade today for the sake of making one?

Here's one: Give up playing fantasy league for just being a good owner. Hire a general manager and get out of the way.

I'd celebrate that.

;

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