Bob Whitsitt Bob Whitsitt is a former sports executive in both the National Basketball Association and the National Football League . He has served as the general manager ( or in an equivalent role ) for three teams : the Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA , and the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL . Whitsitt , commonly known as " Trader Bob " for his penchant for making blockbuster deals , has met with mixed success in both leagues . Seattle SuperSonics . He was hailed as the architect of the 1995 - 1996 Sonics team that went to the NBA Finals ( and lost to the Chicago Bulls ) ; several years before that Whitsitt shocked many observers by drafting Shawn Kemp , a promising player who had never played a game of college ball ( prior to Kevin Garnett ' s entrance to the league , which launched an era of high school athletes being drafted directly into the NBA ) . However , after a falling - out with then Sonics owner Barry Ackerly , Whitsitt resigned his position with the Sonics in 1994 and took an equivalent job with the Portland Trail Blazers , owned by Paul Allen . Portland Trail Blazers . During the first two years of his tenure , Whitsitt oversaw an aging roster that had been to the Finals earlier in the decade , but needed serious retooling . In the 1996 off - season , Whitsitt began to make his mark with several moves . He traded for guard Isaiah Rider and forward Rasheed Wallace , and signed guard Kenny Anderson to a free agent contract . He also drafted high - school player Jermaine O ' Neal in the draft . These moves made the Blazers a better team in the short run ( in 1999 and 2000 the Blazers advanced to the Western Conference finals ) , but criminal activity of some players Whitsitt acquired began to grate on the Portland fan base ; many started to refer to the team as the " Jail Blazers " . Whitsitt ' s reputation started to turn sour after the 2000 season , when the team executed several controversial moves . Popular player Brian Grant opted out of the final three years of his contract and was traded away in exchange for Shawn Kemp ; and center - forward Jermaine O ' Neal was traded for Dale Davis . Both players were unhappy with their roles and asked to be traded . These moves were made to push the team " over the hump " ( the Blazers went to the Western Conference finals ) , but they backfired spectacularly — Kemp was a bust , and O ' Neal went on to become an All - Star for the Indiana Pacers . In addition , Whitsitt further alienated the Portland fan base by acquiring Seattle forward Ruben Patterson , a convicted sex offender , via free agency . Even before the disastrous 2000 off - season , many questioned Whitsitt ' s evaluation of basketball talent . For one thing , Whitsitt never shied away from players with checkered pasts ; this often upset fans ; it was also alleged that such players — while talented — lacked the emotional maturity necessary to be a " winner " . For another thing , Whitsitt was accused of not paying attention to team " chemistry " , or how the various players might interact on the floor ( or in the locker room ) . Whitsitt himself was famously quoted as saying that he " never studied chemistry in college " . The result of this , it is claimed , are teams that make inefficient use of the talents available ; or which are " less than the sum of their parts " . Whitsitt has also been criticized for attempting to stock teams with " All - Star " caliber players ( including for bench roles ) , leading to conflicts over playing time and reduced team camaraderie . Many other players acquired by Whitsitt have had significant off - court or legal issues ( either with the Blazers or elsewhere ) ; these include : After the 2003 season , Whitsitt resigned his position with the Trail Blazers and was replaced with Steve Patterson as the team president and John Nash as the general manager . Seattle Seahawks . Several years after hiring Whitsitt to run the Trail Blazers ; Paul Allen gave him a second role as president of the Seattle Seahawks in 1997 . Whitsitt is a self - proclaimed " basketball guy " , being more knowledgeable about basketball than about football ; for this reason his role with the Seahawks was primarily involved with business management ; decisions on players were generally left to others , that is until after his resignation in 2003 as GM of the Trail Blazers , he installed himself as the ultimate decision maker of personnel in the Seahawks organization , causing much friction due to his poor decision making and basketball background making him poorly suited as an NFL GM . The powerplay is generally viewed as the catalyst that ultimately lead to his firing after the 2004 season . While president of the Seahawks , Whitsitt oversaw two major changes to the team . First , he helped negotiate the development of Qwest Field , the stadium the team plays its home games in ( this facility replaced the aging Kingdome ) . Second , Whitsitt hired Mike Holmgren ( formerly of the Green Bay Packers as coach of the Seahawks ( and later as general manager ) . In 2004 , Whitsitt was diagnosed with a growth on his colon ( which was surgically removed ) ; according to media reports he has an excellent prognosis for recovery . After the 2004 - 2005 season , in a move which has been widely praised by both the Portland and Seattle sports media , Whitsitt was suddenly ( and unexpectedly ) fired as president of the Seahawks after losing a power struggle with Holmgren . The move paid dividends , as the following year the Seahawks won the NFC championship , advancing to Super Bowl XL .