Blazers GM Neil Olshey would deserve the NBA’s Executive of the Year award based on his acquisition of Robin Lopez alone, opines Jason Quick of The Oregonian, who believes Olshey scored with upgrades to the team’s bench, too. Coach Terry Stotts is similarly pleased, as Quick notes.
“I’ve said it many times: Getting Robin Lopez was the perfect fit for our team,’’ Stotts said. “Getting Mo Williams was the perfect fit for our team. Dorell Wright gives us the ability to play [him at either forward position]. And the young guys have improved. But those three guys in particular, for what we needed coming into the season … Neil did a terrific job of addressing those needs.’’
I think there are several other deserving candidates for the award, but after recording their 50th win of the season on Sunday, it’s clear that the Blazers have taken a significant step forward after last season’s 33-win campaign. Here’s the latest from elsewhere in the Northwest Division:
- Finding the proper successor to coach Rick Adelman will be critical for the Wolves, and some in the organization believe having the right coach in place will help convince Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece.
- Kyler also suggests that it’s far from certain that Love would sign with the Lakers if he decides to opt out of his deal in 2015, and that other teams would be on his radar (Twitter link).
- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin and his staff will know by the end of the month if they’ll return to the team for 2014/15, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who includes the news in his latest NBA power rankings.