Cheeks says goodbye, Pritchard to take over

PORTLAND, \nOre. -- Coach Maurice Cheeks had to pull over as he drove home from the Portland Trail Blazers' practice facility. He had just been fired and needed some time to think.\n"Throughout my years of playing and as a coach, I haven't had a lot of heartbreak," he said.\nSitting alone in a quiet car parked on a side street, his radio and phone turned off, Cheeks reflected on nearly four seasons with the Blazers, who let the popular coach go Wednesday after compiling a 22-33 record this season.\n"We didn't win games, that's the bottom line," he lamented.\nThe Blazers appointed Kevin Pritchard, the team's director of player personnel, as interim coach -- a sign that the team's focus will shift from making the playoffs to evaluating younger talent like draft picks Sebastian Telfair and Ha Seung Jin.\n"I'm not going to mislead anybody. It's a long uphill battle to get to the playoffs from where we're at -- 11 games under .500," Blazers president Steve Patterson said.\nThe Blazers had lost seven of their last nine games and were in 12th place in the Western Conference, 5 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot.\nPortland's latest defeat came Tuesday night, 103-93 to the defending champion Detroit Pistons. That left Cheeks with a 162-139 record as Blazers coach.\nPortland went 41-41 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.\nCheeks was in the final year of a four-year contract worth an estimated $12 million. The fact that the Blazers hadn't pursued an option year was an indication that Cheeks was likely not staying in the job, but there was speculation that since he was not fired by the All-Star break he would serve out the rest of the season.\nCheeks, who played in the NBA for 15 seasons, was hired by Portland in 2001 to replace Mike Dunleavy. Cheeks guided the team to the playoffs his first two seasons, but the players hardly made Cheeks' tenure easy -- on or off the court.\nThe team was nicknamed the "Jail Blazers" after several brushes with the law, many involving marijuana possession.\nFormer Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace drew unwanted attention to the team two seasons ago when he threatened a game official on the loading dock of the Rose Garden. Wallace, later traded, was suspended seven games by the NBA.\nAlthough he was generally popular among his players, Cheeks did have a couple of high-profile verbal run-ins with former guard Bonzi Wells and current forward Darius Miles.\nThen this season, forward Qyntel Woods faced allegations of dog fighting. He was later released.\nCheeks never shied away from questions about his team's misbehavior, bringing him the respect of fans and reporters who covered the Blazers.\nProtective of his players to a fault, Cheeks was criticized at times for being too soft on his players. Wednesday, he was unapologetic.\n"I am who I am," he said at an emotional news conference at the Rose Garden during which he had to stop four times to gather his composure.\nAfterward, team employees who had gathered to say goodbye applauded him.\nHe endeared himself to many in April 2003 when he came to the rescue of a 13-year-old girl, Natalie Gilbert, who forgot the words to the national anthem before a playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks. Cheeks went to her side and helped her with the words.\nBoth Patterson and Nash said it was with great regret that they broke the news to Cheeks Wednesday morning at the team's practice facility.\n"We were kind of hoping in January and February that we'd gain some momentum -- but that didn't happen," Nash said.\nCheeks would not lay blame for his woes on Nash or Patterson, who came to the Blazers after Cheeks had already been in place for two seasons.\nThe assistants who served under Cheeks will remain with the team. Both Nash and Patterson said the search for a new coach wouldn't start in earnest until the offseason.\nCheeks, 48, said he'll likely take a vacation, and wouldn't mind coaching in some capacity again soon.\n"I love the game too much to stay away," he said.\nPritchard, hired by the Blazers in August after serving as a scout for the San Antonio Spurs, played at Kansas before spending four years in the NBA.\nPritchard, 37, also served as coach, general manager and director of player personnel for the Kansas City Knights of the American Basketball Association.\nCheeks served as an assistant in Philadelphia under Larry Brown for seven seasons before he was hired by the Blazers. He spent 11 of his 15 seasons playing for the 76ers, and was a member of Philadelphia's 1983 NBA championship team.\nHe was recently named a finalist for election into the Basketball Hall of Fame.