Paul Allen released the following statement as the situation regarding Kevin Pritchard's future in light of the firing of Tom Penn remains unclear.

"The Trail Blazers made a change in the vice president of basketball operations position, and that?s all," wrote Allen. "Decisions like this are made at the top levels of Blazer management, and are not made unless we have good reason, have worked through the issues involved, and feel we should make an immediate change.

"We are not going to make any more long-term decisions today. When the season ends we will evaluate how best to move the Trail Blazers forward. That?s no different than the way we have operated for the past 21 seasons.

"I support everyone who works for me, including Kevin Pritchard, and that?s why he?s our general manager. We all have the same goal -- to bring another NBA Championship to the great fans of Portland."

Kevin Pritchard and Larry Miller addressed the media on Monday.

?I don?t know that,? Pritchard said when asked if he thought he'd back next season. ?I?m going to give it everything I have every day. I want to be here. I really do. I?ve enjoyed working with everybody here.?

Pritchard said his relationship with owner Paul Allen has not been strained and that he would not ?look over his shoulder,? as he operated the team.

Pritchard says he has never asked for a contract extension and would not speculate whether his future was in doubt.

?I don?t think I?m the person to answer that,? he said. ?I want to be here. I told this early on in my career as being a GM here is that I?d be here for 20 years. (Coach) Nate (McMillan) and I were just talking about it a minute ago. Utah has had their general manager and head coach for a long, long time. And that stability means a lot. I feel like I work for a great owner and work with a great coach and that?s all I can ask.?

Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard is desperately trying to save his job, according to sources.

Agent Warren LeGarie has encouraged Pritchard to resign since the firing of assistant general manager Tom Penn, but Pritchard has requested a meeting with Vulcan officials.

Vulcan is the parent company of the Trail Blazers.

After months of listening to LeGarie tell him he'd be in great demand on the market, Pritchard is finding that might not be the truth.

"Pritch has figured out that all those jobs that Warren promised him aren't there," one general manager said.

According to sources, agent Warren LeGarie became so convinced the Blazers would not commit to Kevin Pritchard that the agent has spent the better part of a year looking for another team to take on both he and Tom Penn. The firing of Penn only confirmed LeGarie's suspicions.

"I think their fears are justified," said LeGarie. "We've been given no indication that this team sees Kevin as somebody who will be there on a long-term basis. All we've seen is them taking away people that Kevin feels are important to his ability to do his job successfully.

"I've been a Blazer fan from early on. I've been involved in some way with the team for many many years. I want them to be successful. They gave Kevin an unbelievably wonderful opportunity. But in order to make that opportunity work, he still needs to have people who believe in him around him, and people that he'd like to have, and that's certainly not the case anymore."

Blazers team president Larry Miller was non-committal about Pritchard's future.

"Kevin is the GM here," Miller said. "I can never commit to anybody being around long term. I don't know that I'll be here long term. That's just not the way it works. To me, Kevin is our GM, and my feeling is we should focus on finishing out the season, trying to win games, trying to have a successful run in the playoffs. That should be our focus right now. The situation with Tom was an isolated incident. It's unfortunate, but hopefully we can put it behind us."

According to Blazers President Larry Miller, the team is in no rush to fill the position vacated by the firing of Tom Penn.

"That's probably going to be an offseason move," Miller said Friday afternoon. "I think we feel like we can get through the rest of the season and then we'll figure it out during the offseason."

Miller said his goal is to have the position filled before the NBA draft in June, but added that it was too soon to speculate about potential candidates.

Larry Miller, president of the Blazers, commented on the recent firing of Tom Penn and what it potentially means for general manager Kevin Pritchard.

"That is absolutely being dreamed up," said Miller when asked if there is animosity against Pritchard.

Miller said a senior management group made the decision to fire Penn.

"It wasn't just folks in Seattle; there were folks from Portland as well."

Boise State's newly formed search committee apparently has Trail Blazers coach Dean Demopoulos on its radar.

Greg Graham was fired last week after eight seasons, despite having the second-winningest record in school history (142-112).

At Blazers practice, Demopoulos said he's happy to be focused on a playoff run with his NBA team, and offered no comment on his level of interest at Boise State. He declined to confirm that he's been contacted, but said, "I think Boise State could do in basketball what they do in football."

Demopoulos, a Philadelphia native, has a reputation as a fantastic recruiter while a college coach with great connections. He's the former John Chaney assistant who spent 17 seasons working at Temple. The Owls made the NCAA Tournament 16 times, won seven Atlantic 10 conference championships and reached the Elite Eight four times.

The people who work at Vulcan Inc. are busy working behind the scenes again with owner Paul Allen's basketball operation, and those following the curious firing of vice president Tom Penn this week are looking at Kevin Pritchard wondering if he could be the next to go.

"They can't do Kevin in the middle of the season, but they can do a drive-by on someone close to him," said Warren LeGarie, the agent for Penn and Pritchard. "But guess who would be next?"

A league executive confirmed late Tuesday that higher-ups in Allen's operation were steamed after they believed they got played by Penn last summer when he "misrepresented" the offer from Minnesota to get a raise and promotion in Portland.

"I'm not guessing on this, there's no speculation here, the resentment over the Minnesota thing is real," the source said, "the Vulcans can be vindictive."

The Oregonian has obtained evidence that the Timberwolves indeed made a four-year offer to Penn on May 12, 2009 that would have made Penn the team's Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Penn turned down that offer to stay with the Blazers, where he got a new title and a raise.

Pritchard has the 2010-2011 season left on his contract. After that, there's a one-year option held by the Blazers.

The chances of Portland center Greg Oden returning to the court this season aren't too good.

Oden had surgery in December to repair a fractured left kneecap. Almost two months ago, he told the Portland Tribune that he was "actually hoping, and saying my prayers, that I can come back before the end of this season."

"The chance of that happening is remote at best," veteran Portland trainer Jay Jensen says.

The Trail Blazers want to ensure that Oden is healthy over the long haul.

"I want to get my knee feeling good to the point where if (a return this season) doesn't happen, I can at least go into the summer knowing I'm ready for next season. I'm just being realistic," the former first overall pick said.

Western Conference executives told the Oregonian that Vulcan headquarters (Paul Allen's company) was livid in late summer after they realized Tom Penn played them in getting a raise and promotion out of the phantom Minnesota offer.

"There's real resentment at Vulcan headquarters at that whole deal."

The source isn't buying the idea that something new happened on Tuesday that caused Penn's firing, rather, that the Vulcans decided long ago they were going to blow up Penn the first time they had cause.

"I'm not guessing on this, there's no speculation here, the resentment over the Minnesota thing is real," source said. "The Vulcans can be vindictive %$&#'s."