Bob Whitsitt
Bob Whitsitt is a former sports executive in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the general manager (or in an equivalent role) for three teams: the Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, and the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. Whitsitt, commonly known as "Trader Bob" for his penchant for making blockbuster deals, has met with mixed success in both leagues. Seattle SuperSonics He likes to bill himself as the architect of the 1995-1996 Sonics team that went to the NBA Finals (and lost to the Chicago Bulls); several years before that Whitsitt shocked many observers by drafting Shawn Kemp, a promising player who had never played a game of college ball. At the end of the 1993–94 NBA season, he was awarded the NBA Executive of the Year Award after the SuperSonics went from 55 to 27 (and third in the Western Conference) the previous season to a 63–19 record and the number 1 seed in the Western Conference. However, after a falling-out with then Sonics owner Barry Ackerley, Whitsitt resigned his position with the Sonics in 1994 and took an equivalent job with the Portland Trail Blazers, owned by Paul Allen. In the eight seasons he was the general manager of the SuperSonics, the team had a total record of 377–279. Portland Trail Blazers During the first two years of his tenure, Whitsitt oversaw an aging roster that had been to the Finals earlier in the decade, but needed serious retooling. In the 1996 off-season, Whitsitt began to make his mark with several moves. He traded for guard Isaiah Rider and forward Rasheed Wallace, and signed guard Kenny Anderson to a free agent contract. He also drafted high-school player Jermaine O'Neal in the draft. These moves made the Blazers a better team in the short run (in 1999 and 2000 the Blazers advanced to the Western Conference finals), but criminal activity of some players Whitsitt acquired began to grate on the Portland fan base; many started to refer to the team as the "Jail Blazers". Whitsitt's reputation started to turn sour after the 2000 season, when the team executed several controversial moves. Popular player Brian Grant opted out of the final three years of his contract and was traded away in exchange for Shawn Kemp; and center-forward Jermaine O'Neal was traded for Dale Davis. Both players were unhappy with their roles and asked to be traded. These moves were made to push the team "over the hump" (the Blazers went to the Western Conference finals), but they backfired spectacularly—Kemp struggled with both on and off-court issues before being waived by the Blazers prior to the 2002–03 season, while O'Neal went on to become an All-Star for the Indiana Pacers. In addition, Whitsitt further alienated the Portland fan base by acquiring Seattle forward Ruben Patterson, a convicted sex offender, via free agency. Even before the disastrous 2000 off-season, many questioned Whitsitt's evaluation of basketball talent. For one