I've said this before, and I'll reiterate it, even as Bob Whitsitt makes his ignominious departure as warden of the Portland Trail Blazers: I admire Whitsitt for attempting the impossible, amassing the greatest collection of talent in one locker room in a sport that notoriously demands that role players play, well, roles.

His endeavor to put talent in roster spots 1 through 12 was a bold move, deserving of recognition and adulation, especially when he came six minutes away from a trip to the NBA Finals, and ostensibly an NBA championship.

But here's what I can't figure out: That Whisitt, a bright man, could not figure out that it was not working.

	Will Bob Whitsitt, left, still have Paul Allen's ear on how to run the Blazers?

Even as the constituency of the Blazers became less patient and less enamored with the makeup of the team, to the end, Whitsitt continued to sign and draft players with large salaries, larger egos and large voids in the ethical compasses that directed their lives.

It was almost as if the more criticism Whitsitt took, the more insistent he became that his way was the right way, no matter how many late-night phone calls he had to field to discover that yet another of his signings had committed an egregious sin, further alienating a fan base that is among the most loyal in the NBA.

And so Whitsitt heads back to his Seattle home -- yet another source of friction for residents of the Rose City -- and his legacy will be his statement, "I did not take chemistry," a firm rebuttal to the media's insistence that the Blazers lacked a certain, ahem, cohesiveness.

I guess that's not as bad as having your legacy be, "It's rolling, baby, it's rolling," Mike Price's alleged giddyup response to two female acquaintances' mid-romp assertion, "Roll, Tide, Roll."

However, it's not exactly something to put on your resume -- unless you are George O'Leary.

Whitsitt's departure is the organization's direct response to owner Paul Allen's midseason proclamation that he was embarrassed by the direction of the team and that serious changes needed to be made. In other words, "If the team don't fit, you must quit."

There is some feeling that this is only a public relations ploy meant to assuage an uneasy fan base, and that Whitsitt is going to continue to control the organization from his office at the headquarters of the Seattle Seahawks, Allen's other high-profile, underachieving sports team. After all, as long as Whitsitt is in the employ of Allen, he has his ear, and he only needs to pick up the phone to exert his influence on any or perhaps all decisions.

However, I find it hard to believe this could happen: Eventually, the truth would come out that Whitsitt still is making the ultimate decisions, and if Blazers fans thought they had been taken advantage of before, imagine the erosion of confidence in the organization if that level of deceit were indeed perpetrated.

No, the Blazers organization needs a fresh start, it needs a new set of eyes to objectively evaluate the situation and make some difficult decisions about what needs to be done to correct what has become a league-wide running joke. Because, while changing Whitsitt is a start, I don't remember the last time Whitsitt made a basket for the Blazers; clearly, some personnel changes need to be made, as well.

It seems impossible that two players with the history that Ruben Patterson and Zach Randolph now have can be kept on the same roster. It's one thing for players to forgive and forget a heated practice scrum. It's quite another for a sucker punch that results in a broken eye socket to be so easily forgotten, particularly with a person that possesses the intellect of Patterson (read: "dumber than a rock.")

Prior to Whitsitt's departure, the speculation was that Randolph, along with Arvydas Sabonis, was going to be shipped to Milwaukee in a sign-and-trade deal for Gary Payton. Sabonis has a contract that is only half guaranteed for next season, and if the Bucks choose to waive him, they would save money, which seems to be their most prudent decision-making at a time when Sen. Herb Kohl is attempting to unload the team.

Payton has always been a favorite of Whitsitt, who selected him with the second pick in the 1990 draft. One Blazers official told me the Blazers likely would be willing to give up Randolph and Derek Anderson to get their hands on Payton, and a league source told me that the Blazers and Sonics were on the phone on the day of the trade deadline.

The Sonics ultimately chose to ship Payton to Milwaukee, both because they could get their hands on Ray Allen, an Olympian, and because they never have been keen on the idea of shipping Payton to their Pacific Northwest rival.

In any case, with Whitsitt making the decisions, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Payton was coming back to the Northwest. Now, it does not seem so certain. At a time when the Blazers are trying to unload their problem children, do they want to keep baking the same recipe by bringing in yet another aging, highly paid superstar who is notorious for selfish play and a combustible locker room personality?

	The Blazers organization needs a fresh start, it needs a new set of eyes to objectively evaluate the situation and make some difficult decisions about what needs to be done to correct what has become a league-wide running joke. Because, while changing Whitsitt is a start, I don't remember the last time Whitsitt made a basket for the Blazers.

Perhaps that will be the telltale sign of whether or not Whitsitt is still making decisions. Under Whitsitt, Payton would be the perfect fit for this team, given his profile. Under a new regime, Payton presumably is the antithesis of what they are trying to accomplish.

Payton, Patterson and Randolph are only three cogs on which decisions need to be made. Clearly, there are others.

Perhaps the biggest is Rasheed Wallace. Mo Cheeks was brought in specifically to handle Wallace, whose vast talent and vast leadership void are diametrically opposed while conclusively frustrating. Do the Blazers continue to ride Wallace, knowing that, at this stage of his career and life, he is unlikely to change? Or do they deal him and perhaps allow Randolph to blossom, rather than give up on Randolph the way they gave up on Jermaine O'Neal?

Bonzi Wells is a fine player with a not-so-fine attitude, in part because it is affected by Wallace, his best friend. The team has three point guards -- Damon Stoudamire, Jeff McInnis and Antonio Daniels -- all of whom think they should start and probably none of whom should.

Cutting ties with Whitsitt -- if that is indeed what happened -- is a start for the Blazers. But clearly there are a lot more difficult decisions that need to be made if this team is going to make amends with the public the way Allen promised earlier this season.

Frank Hughes, who covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.