Does Agent Deserve Blame for Odd Blazers Pink Slip?

All parties in the messy dismissal of Blazers assistant general manager Tom Penn last week have sought to frame the issue in their own favor, no different than with any other bungle.

The Blazers officially canned Penn on the basis of "philosophical differences," while unofficial theories have centered on a power struggle between the basketball ops crew headed by G.M. Kevin Pritchard and those closer to billionaire owner Paul Allen. Namely, Allen deputy/Blazers biz side president Larry Miller, a former Nike exec, is seen as someone who'd like to see Pritchard's power diminish, as much as he denies it publicly. (Miller joined the Blazers in 2007, shortly after Pritchard officially took the G.M. reins.)

Allen's crew, and Miller by proxy, had been hammered by the press this week as Penn's agent, Warren LeGarie, spoke to reporters rather freely and stoked fan fear Pritchard could soon be pushed out of power. LeGarie also represents Pritchard, and told The Oregonian's John Canzano and TrueHoop's Henry Abbott that Blazers fans ought to worry Pritchard will soon be elsewhere.

But LeGarie himself ought to be taken with a grain of salt, and New York Post curmudgeon Peter Vecsey provides it in Sunday's column. Vecsey recounts an old story in which LeGarie attempted to get his client Kiki Vandeweghe a raise in Denver, only to end up seeing the Nuggets can Kiki anyway. Sound familiar? LeGarie has told reporters this week that the Blazers have given Pritchard grief about a contract extension. Is LeGarie overplaying his hand again?

Dwight Jaynes, a former Blazers beat writer, checked in with his own LeGarie tale, one with a Portland peg. LeGarie formerly represented Drazen Petrovic, the legendary Croat who as a youngster couldn't get much burn on the stacked 1990 Blazers coached by Rick Adelman. LeGarie, Jaynes writes, convinced Petrovic to lobby for a trade, infuriating Adelman.

It's fairly clear LeGarie is still using unsavory means to help his clients: just last summer, LeGarie badmouthed Kings coaching candidate Paul Westphal to local and national reporters. Why? LeGarie's client Kurt Rambis, considered a favorite for the job, wasn't happy with the salary offered by the Kings. As Westphal and Rambis were the two finalists for the job, LeGarie thought he could knock Westphal out of the race, giving the Kings no choice but to pay Rambis more than the $3 million over two seasons offered.

It didn't work -- the Kings hired Westphal when Rambis wouldn't agree to the salary structure. Rambis told the press he rejected a Kings offer because the team was too deep in rebuilding mode, a made-up excuse proven false when Rambis later took the Wolves job, which came with even more rebuilding but more money.

Is Penn's sacking LeGarie's fault? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for LeGarie to have overplayed his hand.