There’s no question that the Portland Trail Blazers have struggled this season. In the month of April the Blazers have had one of the worst slides in the history of the Damian Lillard era.
Portland has lost 10 out of 15 games in the month of April. When you’re trying to win a championship, and when the General Manager has given you a roster that should compete for a championship, a record of 34-28 and barely making the playoffs is not an ideal situation.
Terry Stotts was hired before the 2012-13 season. He has enjoyed some great success in the role. The Blazers have reached the playoffs every year with Stotts having the reigns. In the system, that Terry Stotts runs, the Blazers have had a top 5 offense every year, but on the flipside they’ve had a lackluster defense. The furthest that Stotts has taken the Blazers is to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. However, the Blazers have also been defeated in the first round of the playoffs on four different occasions (three in the last four).
“All of this has occurred despite the fact that Portland has had one of the NBA’s best players in superstar guard Damian Lillard for the past nine years.
On paper, the Blazers look like they should be far better, as a supporting cast of CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington around Lillard should be good enough to put them in the upper tier of playoff teams in the Western Conference.
Portland has dropped off since reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2019, though, going just 35-39 last season before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, and falling to 34-28 this season.
It may still be possible for Stotts to save his job by turning things around and guiding the Blazers to a deep playoff run, but it seems unlikely at this point.”
The above quote is from Bleacher Report.
So who could the Blazers bring in to replace Stotts:
(This is just a few of the more successful names, who have been head coaches in the past)
Brett Brown
A former head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. As a head coach, Brown did not have success. However, he also did not have a good roster. Brown has a 221-344 record in the regular season, and 12-14 in the playoffs. Although, he has not obtained success as the head coach with the 76ers in the first four years, he was an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, winning two championships. In the final three seasons with Philly, Brown coached the team to 146-91 regular season record.
Mike D’Antoni
Currently an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets, he would bring in a lot of success as a head coach. In four seasons at the helm, D’Antoni amassed a 217-101 (.682) record, leading Houston to the postseason each year, including an appearance in the 2018 Western Conference Finals. As a head coach, D’Antoni has led his teams to a record of 672-527 (.560) in the regular season, and 54-56 (.491) in the post season.
Mark Jackson
He has not coached since 2014, so this one could be a rocky situation. He was the coach of the Golden State Warriors before Steve Kerr. Where he led them to a record of 121-109 in the regular season and 9-10 in the playoffs. However, Jacksons teams play hard night in and night out.
Jason Kidd
Currently the assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers Kidd has also been an assistant in the past. He led the Brooklyn Nets from 2013-2014 and then moved on to the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014 to 2018. Kidd has both a championship as a player and as an assistant coach in 2020. He compiled a record of 183-190 with the Nets and Bucks. While in the playoffs he went 9-15.
David Vanterpool
This is one that the Blazers could probably get Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum on board with. Both were active on twitter when the Minnesota Timberwolves overlooked Vanterpool for their head coaching job earlier this season. He has been coaching since 2007, and was an assistant coach for the Blazers from 2012 to 2019. He groomed one of the best backcourts in the NBA what it is today. If the Blazers, brought in Vanterpool, it would be his first stop as a true Head Coach.
Whether or not, the reports are true. The Blazers need to do something to fix the frustrations of Damian Lillard.
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Northwest Sports Desk 