Portland Trail Blazers team President Larry Miller ended his five year tenure with the organization Saturday.
Miller came to the Blazers from Nike in 2007, bringing finance credentials and a strong track record of growing the company's Brand Jordan division.
Since then, young stars like Brandon Roy have energized the fan base. But the team also suffered from speed bumps - like Roy's departure, and the fizzling of 2007's prize draft pick, Greg Oden.
Oregonian sportswriter Mike Tokito notes Miller spent years trying to resolve a dispute with Comcast. The contract signed shortly before Miller arrived locked in Comcast as the Blazers media partner, but Comcast has not licensed Blazers games to satellite TV channels. Tokito says this made for terrible PR with Blazers fans.
"It's one of those things where he would hear about it constantly," Tokito says. "But it had kind of a minimal effect on their bottom line. They've gone into sellout streak of 192 games, even this past season when they struggled. And the Comcast deal, the money's set."
Tokito says he expects the team will take its time hiring Miller's replacement.
