PATFO had long been the Gold Standard of how to manage a franchise to ongoing success in the NBA. They drafted wisely, they made wise trades, and they got core players to sign team-friendly contracts. And though Pop and his congenial partner R.C. Buford are still around, they no longer are at the top of their game.
Brian Wright has taken over for R.C. as GM and Pop, as he said himself, is trying to build something for the next guy to work with. Whether or not that next guy, whoever it will be, and Brian Wright can achieve what I would like to call “patfoness” is completely out in the open.