I've received numerous emails from SBR listeners and blog readers in recent weeks asking me to provide the latest update with the Portland Trail Blazers search for a new team President.

You may recall that I have written several columns on the search dating back to its infancy. Early on, I told you about the qualities the team should be looking for from their next President and I threw out a list of names that the team should consider for the position.

I also told you about the conversations the team had with former Nike executive Steve Miller. After a long, drawn out process that left Steve Miller unimpressed, he withdrew his name from consideration. In that same column, I told you that the Trail Blazers were turning their attention to another Miller, Larry Miller, who is the current VP and GM of Nike Basketball and the former President of the Jordan Brand (as in Michael).

That brings us to today. The rumblings I am hearing have the Trail Blazers naming Larry Miller team President within the next week to 10 days. As Trail Blazers Executive VP of Business Operations Mike Golub told me on our May 26th edition of SBR, the team's goal is to have a new President on board by the time the June 28th NBA Draft takes place.

Larry Miller would be an interesting choice. Miller was promoted to VP and GM for Nike Basketball just last October. In his current role, he is responsible for all aspects of Nike's global basketball business, including Brand Jordan. Miller joined Nike in 1997 and has led Brand Jordan (a standalone division of Nike), since 1999. He was named the Brand Jordan President in 2002. During his tenure atop Brand Jordan, the company has continued to grow despite the fact that the company's namesake is no longer an active NBA player. Brand Jordan grew revenues 40 percent in fiscal 2006. Nike is the global leader in basketball shoe and apparel sales and being the person charged with leading one of the company's most highly visible categories is pretty prestigious.

Its interesting to me that Miller would want to leave his very powerful position at Nike, with global authority and exciting expansion in to Asia looming, to become the team President of an NBA team. Don't get me wrong, the Trail Blazers job is very attractive, especially with the team on a major upswing with the addition of the #1 pick in the June 28th NBA Draft, but it doesn't have nearly the cache globally as Miller's current position with Nike.

My hunch is that the Trail Blazers job will pay Miller considerably more than he is making with Nike (a reported $300K annually) though and for that reason alone, Miller had to take a look at this opportunity. Former Trail Blazers President Steve Patterson earned a reported $1M annually and I would bet that Larry Miller would make at least that much as the new team President.

Miller is very well known inside of basketball circles around the world as well as at Nike World HQ in Beaverton, Oregon. My concern is that he's not as well known by the business and non-profit community in Portland. I'm sure he'll have no problem making those connections, but Miller will have to get out from behind his desk as Mike Golub has so successfully done during his tenure with the Trail Blazers, to engage these community leaders.

As well as things are going for the Trail Blazers organization, there is still a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to connect the Trail Blazers brand and organization with the business comunity, non-profit community, fans and even the media. Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nate McMillan, Kevin Pritchard and likely Greg Oden will go a LONG way in making that connection, but the new team President will be a vital part of the overall plan.

As I've also mentioned previously, the new President will have to focus his efforts on business items outside of just the business of basketball. Paul Allen now owns the Rose Garden again and he also owns a substantial amount of valuable land around the Rose Quarter. The new team President will need to figure out how to turn the Rose Quarter into a thriving location that can survive during dates where there are no events at the Rose Garden. This person will also need to push the envelope with the City of Portland to determine the fate of Memorial Coliseum.

Believe it or not, the financial upside of developing the Rose Quarter and the land around the Rose Quarter, is far greater for Paul Allen than re-establishing his basketball team's brand. Even if the Trail Blazers sell out all of their games, Allen stands to make more money by developing the real estate he owns around the Rose Quarter. Think of the waterfront property around the Rose Quarter as the next Pear District with retail shops, restaurants, offices and even condos and you may be able to begin to imagine how lucrative that could be. And if that area is buzzing with activity, it will only mean more business for the Rose Garden arena.

I know Miller will be excited to work on growing the brand of the Trail Blazers, but how engaged will he be with running an arena and being at the table for vital discussions with city officials about how to develop the land Paul Allen owns around the Rose Quarter? That should be interesting to watch.

Will I be surprised if someone other than Larry Miller emerges and is named the next team President of the Portland Trail Blazers? Not at all. But sources close to the situation tell me that Miller is notifying his team at Nike today that he will be leaving to take the Trail Blazers President position.

If I was a betting man, I'd say that we should all get to know Larry G. Miller a little bit better because he could be the man tasked with leading the business operations for Portland's only major league pro sports franchise in the very near future.

If I were the Nike executives looking for Larry Miller's replacement as VP and GM of Basketball Operations, I'd look no further than current Nike Basketball Senior Director Lynn Merritt. Merriit has been with Nike for 17 years and has overseen the careers of Scottie Pippen, Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson and now LeBron James. Merritt has been primarily responsible for discovering the new talent for Nike Basketball over the last several years - including recruting Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul for Brand Jordan. Merritt, who is keenly aware of the importance of growing Nike's brand in Asia, is one of the most influential people in all of the basketball world and it makes a ton of sense for him to oversee Nike's basketball efforts going forward. He's well respected by his staff, and he's well respected by NBA players. He's also a shrewd businessman who usually comes out on top of the shoe deals he negotiates on Nike's behalf.

What would you think of Larry Miller as the next President of the Trail Blazers? Call me on our KXL-edition of Sports Business Radio this Sunday between 4pm - 6pm and let me know. You can call me at 503-417-7575 or toll free at 1-800-827-0750.