Peter Vecsey has been down a lot of the same roads that I have — only most of mine have been backroads, while his have been expressways. Trust me, he knows where the bodies are buried in the NBA.

And he will give you a lot more information right here in his Sunday column about LeGarie. And it’s not pretty. Here’s a sample:

For the last couple of months, LeGarie has been maneuvering under the cover of darkness to pinpoint a destination for Pritchard next season.

I’m not saying Miller hoped to hit upon an excuse to sack Penn over what went down, but apparently a recent argument between the two got especially unpleasant. Someone had to go.

From what I can gather, Pritchard’s in trouble on a number of fronts, one being the aforementioned perceived conspiracy orchestrated by LeGarie. Sources say Allen was upset he was unaware that Rudy Fernandez (through his agent) demanded a trade before the Feb. 22 deadline. Spanish newspapers ran his dissatisfaction about playing time, but, when confronted by the Portland media, Fernandez had the luxury of claiming something had been lost in translation.

Additionally, I’m informed Allen’s people feel Pritchard did not represent the Blazers aggressively enough in contract negotiations with Brandon Roy. When talks dragged on, Pritchard allegedly sold out superiors to the local media, contending they were responsible, which was true. Miller was not in favor of giving Roy, who has knee issues, a fourth guaranteed year.

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In all the fuss about Kevin Pritchard not getting votes, I forgot to comment on this. Denver’s Mark Warkentien, a former Blazer guy, was named the winner.

How silly. They ignored the guy who engineered a deal that turned one team from an also-ran into a legit contender. That guy, of course, was Joe Dumars, the once-respected genius running the Detroit Pistons. Yeah, I know it was all about cap space. Sure. But look, the guy gave up Chauncey Billups, a player still good enough to, by himself, turn Denver’s season around. And Dumars, for that kind gift, also took A.I. off the Nuggets’ hands — a player who was pretty much useless.

Sorry, cap space be damned, that’s just a ridiculous trade. Fans who bought tickets to see the Pistons play this season deserve a refund along with a written apology from Dumars. That deal cut the heart right out of the Pistons.

And so Warkentien wins the award? For what, agreeing to a lopsided trade that ANYBODY would have agreed to do? I don’t think so. Give it to Joe for getting the Nuggets, who arguably weren’t going to be good enough even to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, into the conference finals.

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