It’s being reported — Ben from Blazers Edge just reported it on Twitter — that the Trail Blazers will be naming Rich Cho (bio here) their new GM in a news conference today. We’re going live on the MSP now with discussion.

UPDATE: The Blazers have made it official. Cho is the new GM. You can talk about it now live on 95.5 The Game.

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There is a persistent rumor that began last night that the Blazers think they have, and that they’ve moved ahead to the negotiations phase of the hire. Not sure if that’s true, but I’d assume by now owner Paul Allen is at least in the interview process with the final candidate(s).

Make no mistake, no matter who Larry Miller recommends, Allen will have the final call on this one — even though it’s expected the new GM will report directly to Miller.

A couple of things I’m pretty sure of, too. First, I believe there’s another candidate other than Danny Ferry, Richard Cho and Randy Pfund. Sources have told me that San Antonio assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey may also be among those considered.

Lindsey would fit right in with the others – another low-profile guy who isn’t going to call a lot of attention to himself.

Still, I’m guessing that Cho, who apparently made a huge impression with his first interview, may now be at the top of the wish list. Cho, who has engineering and law degrees and is a member of the Washington State Bar, better be pretty good if they’re going to pass a man with Pfund’s resume to hire him.

But hey, he went to Washington State and is a Seattle guy — so do you see anyone with better credentials than that?

One other thing I’ve learned in the past 24 hours: It’s my understanding that Portland’s two lead scouts, college director Chad Buchanan and pro director Mike Born, are reporting directly to — guess who? — Hat Guy, Steve Gordon. He’s the same person, by the way, who Kevin Pritchard was reporting to in has waning days as Portland general manager.

As you know, this is about the only place where you’re going to find any background on Hat Guy.

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If you haven’t read this yet, sorry for not linking you up sooner. But you really have to go there and take a look at this detailed summary from T Darkstar on Blazers Edge — some speculation and some fact — on what happened, or may have happened. It’s good stuff.

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For some reason, The Oregonian did not have any interest in reporting on this story this morning. At times, I think they really don’t WANT you to buy their print product and would rather you find your news online somewhere.

Anyway, Wesley Matthews is a Trail Blazer, apparently, and the big question is what does that mean?

Well, as we said before, it portends more moves ahead this summer. Portland will be buying a backup for Brandon Roy at a very high price next season — $9.2 million. Which means Matthews is going to be playing a lot.

And it means there will be little or no playing time for Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez. Bayless is not a point guard — he’s established that. Fernandez is nothing but an off-guard — and one who has totally played his way out of the rotation here. So both are going to have to be dealt because neither is going to stick around for another season in a role where he doesn’t get significant playing time.

And it only makes sense that if you make any sort of 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 deal it’s got to be the big deal we’ve been waiting for here for a couple of seasons.

That deal has to be for a point guard. All other positions are covered and Andre Miller isn’t expected to be the player who will see this group through its window of opportunity. He’s too old. Plus, it appears the front office has bought into Nate McMillan’s vision that Roy has got to have the ball in his hands all the time and that the point guard has to be a big-time outside shooter. Miller will never qualify for that role.

I also believe there is probably already something in the works in this regard. If there isn’t, Portland will be seeking a deal out of weakness and not strength. I mean, everyone in the league now knows Bayless and Fernandez must be dealt, putting the team in a real position of weakness in any sort of deal.

I keep hearing Mo Williams is the target but I’m not sure how Houston matching the Cavs’ offer for Kyle Lowry affects any potential Portland deal. Everyone expects Cleveland, a real mess with the departure of LeBron James, to be active this summer in a frantic effort to rebuild. And the Cavs need players — a lot of them.

Jason Terry and Devin Harris also seem like possible targets. You may have more. I also don’t think a new GM needs to be on board for this to get done. Obviously, Portland has a structure in place allowing it to function in a workmanlike manner or the Matthews deal would not have gotten done.

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Yeah, you can get all pumped up about the Trail Blazers summer team being 2-0 if you want. But so far, I have to admit I’m a little disappointed by what I’ve seen.

Dante Cunningham and Jeff Pendergraph? For a couple of guys who spent all of last season in the NBA, I don’t think they’ve been all that impressive. Both are rushing a little bit and not letting the game come to them.

Patty Mills has been OK, pretty good, actually. But while I think he’s going to be on an NBA roster next season, I’m not sure it will be Portland’s. I’m not convinced Nate McMillan likes him — or likes small guards.

Now keep in mind that you can’t get too carried away with summer league either way, but I’m so far very unimpressed with Luke Babbitt.

Man, that kid has a long way to go before he’s anywhere close to Martell Webster. In fact, he has a long way to go before he has a chance of even getting into an NBA game, unless Portland trades all its other small forwards away. And don’t even think about playing him at power forward. At least right now, that doesn’t look possible.

He just doesn’t look as if he’s going to be ready. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him before training camp if he wants to carve out a role.

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Let me offer right away that I have no inside information whatsoever. What follows is speculation, based on the kinds of moves I’ve seen happen in previous situations in this league. And a creepy feeling that there is some sort of master plan at work here that we don’t know about.

What does it mean that the Trail Blazers are seeking to pay a second-year player they really like, Wesley Matthews, around $9.2 million next season to be a backup off-guard behind Brandon Roy?

Well, my conclusion would be that they’re looking to use the current backups — both of them — in a trade. If either Jerryd Bayless or Rudy Fernandez is still around at training camp and Matthews is here, I’d be shocked. At $9.2 million, Matthews wouldn’t be sharing that backup time with anyone. Bayless, by now, has proved he’s not a point guard. He’d have to be gone along with Fernandez, whose departure at this point is virtually guaranteed.

I believe Portland already has a deal in the works. For a point guard. And thus Andre Miller would also most likely be included in the deal, which would move it up to the status of a major trade. This would be the big move we’ve been waiting for out of the Trail Blazers for the last two seasons. But it would also be a trade they’d likely not feel comfortable with unless they’ve already got a Roy backup in their pockets.

Why a point guard? I’m asked that all the time because people love what Miller did for the team last season. But the fact is, Miller’s too old to be the guy to lead this team through its window of opportunity. And not the right guy to play alongside Roy, either. You need someone who can shoot the ball a lot better than that if you are going to stick with Nate McMillan’s system of no ball movement and little player movement.

Who would come in this direction?

Again, speculation here. I have no idea if this is real. You may have your own guesses. But my guess would be it would come from a group that includes Devin Harris, Chris Paul, Mo Williams or Jason Terry.

Portland’s already made it known it likes Harris and Paul. Williams, there has been speculation for a month now Portland has talked to Cleveland about him — and the Cavs are in a position where they must turn one good player into two or three decent ones. Williams, too, can really shoot it from distance and would be compatible with Roy — and the Blazers seem stuck on the concept of Roy with the ball in his hands and the point guard being a shooter.

And Terry? Well,he’s a little old at 33, but the Blazers sent Martell Webster to Minnesota a few days ago. They’re down one in the “former Seattle-area stars” department, right?

Again, your guess is as good as mine here and I’ve probably missed a name or two. Feel free to offer your own suggestion. And really, at least this concept explains what was, at first glance, a difficult move to understand.

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Well, to me, this deal is pretty incredible. Once again, the Trail Blazers overpaid for a free agent — front-loading a deal for one who could end up never playing for them. And yes, once again he’s with the Utah Jazz. And I do believe, after much hand wringing, the Jazz will match this offer sheet.

But how would he fit in Portland?

Not bad — if a couple of other things happen. First, Matthews is an outstanding defender with a nice upside. I could see him being very solid as a long-term replacement, should Roy go down with another knee injury. Kid’s got a lot of upside and could someday be a starting two-guard in the NBA.

But in the near term, he’s going to get a lot of money and you don’t give that kind of dough to a guy who isn’t going to play at least a lot of backup minutes. Which, to me, foreshadows other Blazer dealings.

We’ve known since the end of last season that Rudy Fernandez is history. He’s gone. I believe if Matthews ends up  in Portland, it also means Jerryd Bayless will be dealt. We already know Bayless is not a point guard. I figured if he played much this season, it would be as Roy’s backup. But with Matthews on hand, that has to eat into Bayless’s minutes.

I hear from all over that the Blazers are still looking to trade for a point guard. Andre Miller, Bayless and Fernandez would probably be included in that deal — just as they were in the ill-fated trade for Chris Paul.

This is shaping up to be one interesting summer of change.

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There were rumors coming out of New York last week that Donnie Walsh would be resigning soon as the president of the Knicks and that Kevin Pritchard was seen as a possible successor.

Funny, though. Walsh is denying he’s retiring and also denying he’s even spoken to Pritchard, or his agent, Warren LeGarie, about Pritchard. The Knicks coach, Mike D’Antoni, is also represented by LeGarie.

There is now even a buzz within the league that LeGarie was trying to organize some sort of coup to get Pritchard into that job, in order to protect D’Antoni’s status as the team’s head coach.

It’s similar, of course, to that other rumor a few months ago out of New Jersey, that LeGarie tried to orchestrate a scenario that would slide Del Harris into the coaching job of the Nets and Kiki Vandeweghe off the bench and back into his general manager chair with the Nets.

Here’s a great little look at how LeGarie tried to manipulate Vandeweghe’s situation in Denver and how he conducts his business in the NBA:

Naturally, those who have dealt with the awfully fluent, commendably cunning LeGarie know better. He believes unconditionally that you have got to have at least two conflicts of interest to be successful. His cup runneth over in that regard.

Many of his coaching (Mike D’Antoni, the Thunder’s Scott Brooks, Kurt Rambis of the Timberwolves) and decision-making (Vandeweghe, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, Sixers GM Ed Stefanski) customers are strewn throughout the NBA.

Some clients (Chris Wallace) hire other clients (Lionel Hollins) after another client (Marc Iavaroni) was paid to leave the Grizzlies.

Some clients (Kim Hughes and Neil Olshey) replace another client (Mike Dunleavy) in Clippers management, one job at a time, at least temporarily, as LeGarie queues other clients to succeed them, just in case.

“You’re right,” yet another client concurs. “Warren will campaign for Kim and Neil . . . unless he can get another client in there.”

That can be rewarding if you’re the client-of-the-day that LeGarie is selling. Or it can be detrimental to your career if he recklessly pushes his luck and bullies the wrong billionaire purely to show how slick he is and/or to test his juice quotient.

Hmmm. “recklessly pushes his luck and bullies the wrong billionaire…”??? Are we seeing a pattern emerge here?

Now, are you still having problems believing that LeGarie possibly tried to orchestrate a coup with the Trail Blazers that would have pushed Tom Penn into the president’s chair and Larry Miller out the door?

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Jason Quick asked Trail Blazer coach Nate McMillan about his new assistant coaches — seeing as how he needs about four to fill his staff for the upcoming season. And for me, what we got was a rather interesting answer. He says he’s not going to hire any assistants until a general manager is in place — because “the general manager negotiates salary and contract details.”

Really? That could be the case, but I have to say that I haven’t heard that before in the NBA. Head coaches are usually given a budget and allowed to use it as they wish to hire the coaches they want. Trust me, it’s not as if any of these coaches has a chance to break the bank. This is not a high-priced item in an organization as big as this one.

In most cases, the head coach would get that staff in place as soon as possible — before the best candidates were taken by someone else.

But if it’s true that McMillan was told by his front office to dump a couple of his assistant coaches after last season, then it’s certainly no leap to think that same front office is going to tell him who to hire, right? And could it be that’s what he’s waiting for? If not who to hire, at least getting approval for who he’d like to hire.

And overall, that certainly indicates to me that McMillan may not have the power that he once had within the organization. Man, when you talk about this team heading into an interesting season — a crossroads season– this is just one more sign of it.

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Normally, I’d say they’re not. I mean, Larry Miller is a leader who knows his way around the NBA. And he’s well-known around the league as a good man. Michael Born and Chad Buchanan are solid guys who have been working the phones for a few years.

So really, Portland should still be able to function.

But I guess what bothered me a little the last few days is the assertion that Miller was in San Diego seeing relatives over the weekend and that nothing would get done on the search for a new general manager until today. You know, the office was “closed.”

There is a line forming of teams with sign-and-trade proposals for the Toronto Raptors and I believe the Blazers ought to be at least in that line. I hate the idea that the Houston Rockets are making a big play for him and Portland doesn’t even seem involved.

I also must admit that I’m disappointed in what I’m hearing so far about players being pursued by the Blazers. Jordan Farmar? My goodness — I cannot believe this team would be interested in that turkey. Wes Mathews? A restricted free agent, so why bother? Roger Mason? Maybe, if he’s healthy. I guess.

But really… weren’t we waiting for the Big Move here?

Now it’s possible that the Blazers ARE involved in the Bosh chase and are just a little quieter with their play than other teams. It’s also entirely possible that Miller was working over the weekend, perhaps even interviewing a potential GM on the holiday. I hope so.

Nobody appreciates holidays and family more than I do. But there will be plenty of time for days off when all this is finished. And the NBA never has quit over the Fourth of July. It’s supposed to be a busy time.

And I guess I wish it were just a little bit busier in Portland.

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