Neil Olshey Leaving Clippers, Will Reportedly Be Offered Blazers GM Job

Clippers general manager Neil Olshey, responsible for swinging the trade that brought Chris Paul to Los Angeles, is now on his way out of Orange County. Olshey and the Clippers are parting ways, the team has announced, and ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz reports that Olshey will likely head up the West Coast to Portland.

Olshey and the Clippers had previously agreed in principle on a contract extension that would have kept him as Los Angeles' vice president of basketball operations and general manager, but the Clippers say they and Olshey "mutually agreed to end discussions concerning Olshey's future with the team."

Arnovitz reports that Olshey will be offered the general manager position by Portland. Olshey had previously met with the Trail Blazers in London, and was reportedly a finalist to become Portland's first big-name GM since Rich Cho was released in the 2011 offseason.

Olshey had been with the Clippers for almost a decade, and was the architect of the "Lob City" Clips, having drafted Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan, and flipped Gordon to the New Orleans Hornets in the deal that brought Paul to the bright lights of Los Angeles.

For more on the Clippers, who seem pretty well fixed on that "being the second-best team in Los Angeles" thing, visit Clips Nation and SB Nation Los Angeles.