According to sources close to the situation who spoke on anonymity with HOOPSWORLD, the Wolves have had discussions with Penn about their available front office position left vacant when head coach Kevin McHale moved to the sidelines after spending time as Minnesota’s Vice President of Basketball Operations…
Prior to joining the Blazers last season, Penn was an assistant general manager and legal counsel to the Memphis Grizzlies since 2000 and served an attorney and player agent before that. As the assistant GM for Portland, Penn assists general manager Kevin Pritchard with player personnel decisions, as well salary cap and collective bargaining issues.
It is those attributes – managing the salary cap – is what Taylor will find most appealing about Penn, and certainly his brief history alongside Pritchard in Portland only helps his situation, knowing how the Blazers have rebuilt themselves.
We all know about Penn’s cap wizardry in his short time here in Portland and were he to accept the position in Minny, it would be a definite hit for the Blazers’ management team.
Meagher also links to an interview he did with Penn over a year ago in which he talked about his first year with Portland, scouting and the draft process (audio).
Penn, like Kahn, seems mostly like a finance/salary-cap guy, which makes it look like Taylor is looking for a guy like that to complement Fred Hoiberg’s scouting eye. Unlike Kahn, he’s been in the league for the last nine years, including two with the up-and-coming Blazers.
From a comment Zgoda left on his blog:
The way I read the lawyer-capologist thing is, Taylor’s already decided Hoiberg’s going to be head his personnel/talent side but I think he’s concerned that Fred lacks the experience to run the whole operation, especially the business side. That’s why it looks like the search has turned from a personnel/talent evaluator guy to a financial specialist. I think that turn of events, if accurate, makes it more likely McHale returns as well. If you team the new guy with Hoiberg, that gives you continuity and keeps the guy who has been working on the draft all season in a year the Wolves own three first-round picks.
Penn has spent the last two seasons in Portland, focusing primarily on salary-cap and collective bargaining issues and assisting with personnel decisions.
Before that, he spent eight years with the Memphis Grizzlies, the final seven as assistant general manager/legal counsel.
Penn’s name surfaces two days after former Indiana Pacers general manager David Kahn emerged as the Wolves’ apparent favorite.
Kahn has declined to discuss his talks with the team, but at last report he had yet to receive a contract offer.
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