Blazers Fire General Manager Rich Cho -- Twitter Tornado Ensues

Portland TrailBlazers fired General Manager Rich Cho today after less than a year in the job – a move that provoked sports fans and made Cho's name a the Twitter 'trending topic' within an hour.

Most of the Internet posts bitterly slammed the team's management for the decision.

"Another sad day for Blazers fans," tweeted chadfordinsider Chad Ford. "Rich Cho is both brilliant and a great human being. How do you top Pritchard, Penn and Cho? Chaos in PDX."

"The fit between Rich and our team simply wasn't right," Trail Blazers President Larry Miller said in a statement. "This was a tough move because I respect Rich and he's a good person with many strong skills. But it simply wasn't a good match."

Chad Buchanan, director of college scouting, was named as acting general manager, with head coach Nate McMillan reporting to Miller until a permanent replacement is found.

"This decision, as difficult as it was to make, reflects our willingness to admit and recognize that things haven't worked out," team owner Paul Allen said in a statement. "We're going to be tough on ourselves in assessing what we could have done better, and then go out and find the executive who is the best fit with the needs of our franchise. That chemistry and connection is critically important."

 "Dear Paul Allen: You have fired Tom Penn, Kevin Prichard, and Rich Cho in less than 2 years," tweeted D_MED. "Is it possible that we should fire the owner?"

Cho was hired last July from his position as assistant general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Rich is the perfect fit for our organization," Miller said at the time. "He has the right balance of basketball knowledge, business acumen and tremendous people skills."