Terry Stotts Won’t Return As Trail Blazers Coach
10:01pm: The team has confirmed in a press release that Stotts will not return.
“I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons,” president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level but it’s in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction. Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best.”
9:40pm: The Trail Blazers and longtime head coach Terry Stotts have mutually agreed to part ways, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Stotts, 63, has been the team’s head coach since the 2012/13 season. Portland has qualified for the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons but only made the conference finals in 2018/19, when they were swept by the Warriors. The Blazers have been eliminated in the first round in two consecutive years, and four of the last five.
Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups, ABC broadcaster and former Rockets/Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy, former head coach and current Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni, and University of Michigan head coach and former Heat assistant Juwan Howard are expected to receive consideration for the job, Wojnarowski reports in a separate tweet.
The Blazers’ quick exit in this year’s playoffs was unexpected. They were facing a depleted Nuggets team, missing starting guards Jamal Murray and Will Barton, while all of their own starters were healthy. Despite some stellar performances from Damian Lillard, Portland was eliminated in six games.
Lillard has played under Stotts throughout his career. The All-Star point guard will have a major say on Stotts’ replacement, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.
In his nine seasons with Portland, Stotts accumulated a regular-season record of 402-318 (.558). However, the Blazers went 22-40 (.355) in those postseason appearances. Stotts had one more guaranteed year on his contract, with a team option for 2022/23.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Community Shootaround: Blazers Offseason
While the Lakers’ first-round flameout grabbed most of the media attention on Friday, another Western Conference franchise is facing similar questions after coming up short in the opening round.
The Trail Blazers were built for a deep postseason run and seemingly got a good draw against a Nuggets team playing without its starting backcourt. Despite the efforts of All-Star Damian Lillard, Portland lost to Denver in six games, creating a wave of uncertainty regarding the front office, coaching staff and roster.
The Trail Blazers have qualified for the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, yet they’ve reached the conference finals just once – in 2018/19, when the Warriors swept them.
That was the only time in the past five seasons Portland has gotten out of the first round.
Lillard averaged 34.3 PPG and 10.2 APG against Denver and made 35 3-pointers but it still wasn’t enough. He was worn out and frustrated in the second half of Game 6 on Thursday as his shots stopped falling.
In an era when superstars seek greener pastures, Lillard has been unfailingly loyal to the Blazers organization. It may come to a point, perhaps this offseason, where the annual postseason disappointment finally gets to him.
It’s fair to wonder whether a shakeup is necessary in the front office and the coaching staff. President of basketball operations Neil Oshey acquired starting forwards Robert Covington in the offseason and Norman Powell at the trade deadline. But the second unit remained thin, in large part because recent draft picks Nassir Little, Anfernee Simons and CJ Elleby have made little to no impact.
Highly respected Terry Stotts has been the head coach as long as Lillard has been on the team. Does the team need a new voice and some fresh ideas to get over the hump?
Powell is expected to decline his player option in order to test the free agent market. Jusuf Nurkic’s contract is only partially guaranteed ($4MM of $12MM), though there’s no obvious replacement for him. Covington’s contract ($13MM in 2021/22) expires after next season.
The Blazers could look to trade him or CJ McCollum, but his three-year extension kicks in next season, making it difficult to break up the high-scoring backcourt.
That leads us to our question of the day: What changes should the Trail Blazers make in order to become a true title contender?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Lakers Notes: Drummond, Vogel, Davis, James, Gasol
Outside of his rebounding totals (11.0 per game), Andre Drummond wasn’t much of a factor in the first-round series against the Suns. He was even taken out of the lineup for Game 6, but Lakers coach Frank Vogel is hopeful the unrestricted free agent will re-sign with the team, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
“‘Dre was great for us,” Vogel said. “We’re hopeful that he’s a Laker for a long time. He really played well for us and was a good culture fit.”
GM Rob Pelinka, Drummond’s one-time agent, said that signing the veteran center after he cleared waivers was something he’d “do again and again,” Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets. Pelinka added, “We’re proud of some of the big games and big moments he had,” but didn’t make any pledges about trying to bring him back.
We have more on the Lakers:
- Vogel didn’t want to comment about the possibility of getting a contract extension, but confirmed he’s entering the last year of his deal, Goon adds in another tweet. Vogel was hired on a three-year contract in 2019. “Obviously I love it here,” he said. “I love this organization, and I hope to be a Laker for life.”
- Some of Anthony Davis‘ teammates tried to talk him out of playing in Game 6 but Davis ultimately decided to give it a try, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports. AD lasted a little over five minutes before being sidelined by a groin injury. “I knew the only way I was going to be healthy enough to play was to get some rest, but time wasn’t on my side,” he said. “So, I tried to give it a go. I don’t regret anything.” A lingering high ankle sprain prevented LeBron James routinely attacking the paint, Haynes added, with estimations that James was about 85% health-wise for the series.
- Marc Gasol knew his role would be diminished after Drummond was signed but family reasons helped convince him to remain on the roster, rather than pursuing a buyout, Goon tweets. His family had settled into the Los Angeles area and he didn’t want to uproot them.
Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Millsap, Campazzo, Porter Jr., Crowds
A trio of Nuggets players earned financial rewards when the team advanced to the conference semifinals. Likely Most Valuable Player award winner Nikola Jokic pocketed $500K, while Paul Millsap and Facundo Campazzo added $100K apiece to their bank accounts, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. The bonuses do not impact the team’s cap situation since they were considered likely before the season started, Marks adds.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- Michael Porter Jr.‘s Game 6 performance confirms that he’s star material, Sean Keeler of the Denver Post opines. Porter scored 22 points in the opening quarter, which kept the Nuggets within striking distance. Though he only scored four more points the rest of the way, it was another step in his maturation process, Keeler adds. Porter is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
- The Nuggets will be allowed bring in crowds at near full capacity for the second round of the playoffs, according to a team press release. Some seating areas will be unavailable due to NBA safety restrictions but the team can fill the arena to 90.7% capacity. All fans age 3 and older will be required to wear a face mask and complete a health assessment prior to entry.
- Though the Nuggets surprised many people around the league by defeating the Trail Blazers without their starting backcourt, coach Michael Malone said the team has loftier aspirations, Mike Singer of the Denver Post relays. “Our goal coming into the season was not to get out of the first round,” he said. “We have much bigger goals.”
Atlantic Notes: Green, Knicks Offseason, Embiid
Nets forward Jeff Green will miss Game 1 of the conference semifinals series with the Bucks due to a left plantar fascia strain, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Green is one of the primary options to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo and he’s considered day-to-day beyond Saturday’s game, according to another Lewis tweet. “He wasn’t necessarily earmarked to guard Giannis but we’ll miss him in a number of ways,” coach Steve Nash said. Green hasn’t played since Game 2 of the opening-round series against Boston.
We have more on the Atlantic Division teams:
- In the aftermath of their first-round exit against Atlanta, the Knicks can start taking bigger steps to contention, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes. They have youth in their rotation, five first-round picks in the next three years and nearly $60MM in salary-cap space, which should lead to a brighter future if team president Leon Rose converts those assets into impact players.
- Determining whether Julius Randle can truly be the centerpiece of the team and which of their own free agents to bring back are among the questions hovering over the Knicks this offseason. Newsday’s Steve Popper takes a look at five issues confronting the front office this summer.
- While it seems unlikely Joel Embiid will suit up for Game 1 against the Hawks on Sunday, coach Doc Rivers hasn’t ruled out the possibility, according to an Associated Press report. The Sixers All-Star center has a small meniscus tear in his right knee. “He’s got to go through his treatment,” Rivers said. “As far as when we were doing shooting and stuff like that, he looked great. It’s too early (to rule him out).”
Heat Notes: Herro, Adebayo, Draft Picks, Okpala
After averaging 16.0 PPG and making 37.5% of his three-point attempts during last year’s playoff run as a rookie, Heat guard Tyler Herro didn’t take a major step forward statistically in 2020/21. The 21-year-old recorded 15.1 PPG with a .360 3PT% during the regular season and struggled in the postseason (9.3 PPG, .316 FG%).
However, president of basketball operations Pat Riley said multiple times during his end-of-season presser on Thursday that Herro is still a “core player for the Heat, expressing confidence that the second-year guard will continue to make positive strides going forward, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes.
“What happened to him going down the stretch, I actually thought he got better as a player,” Riley said. “If you think about his first year or his first 35 or 40 games, he really was strictly a catch-and-shoot type of player coming off of screens and catching and shooting. The only way that he was ever going to become a complete offensive player is he had to improve his ball-handling with both his right hand and his left hand, and he did. He’s an exceptional ball-handler. Now he can create space and get into gaps and raise on jumpers from almost anywhere.”
Given the Heat’s lack of moveable future draft picks, Herro would be the team’s most appealing trade chip if the front office tried to take a big swing for another impact player this offseason. But Riley’s comments on Thursday suggest Herro remains very much a part of Miami’s “core.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Riley said on Thursday that during last fall’s extension talks with Bam Adebayo, the Heat broached the subject of putting off the big man’s new contract until this year in order to maximize the team’s 2021 cap room. However, Adebayo preferred to sign his extension immediately and the Heat were fine with that, as Jackson relays.
- Riley hasn’t had any discussions with the Thunder about removing the protections on the 2023 first-round pick Miami owes Oklahoma City, according to Jackson. Making that pick unprotected would allow the Heat to trade their 2025 and 2027 first-round picks, if they so choose, giving them more flexibility in trade talks. However, the Thunder likely won’t do the Heat a favor without receiving compensation — in a similar situation last offseason, the Bucks had to send the Cavaliers a 2025 second-round pick in order to remove the protections on the 2022 first-rounder Milwaukee owed to Cleveland. That allowed the Bucks to free up other future first-rounders for the Jrue Holiday trade.
- This summer will be a critical one for KZ Okpala, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Okapala was the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 draft, but has yet to develop into a reliable rotation player for Miami and will be entering the final season of his three-year contract. “It’s a blessing that I do have a full offseason with Summer League and all that,” Okpala said. “So I accept my blessing, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”
Jean Montero Becomes First International Prospect To Join Overtime Elite
Jean Montero, a 17-year-old point guard from the Dominican Republic, is signing with Overtime Elite, becoming the first international player to join the new basketball league for top high school prospects, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
As Givony explains, Montero – the No. 17 prospect on ESPN’s big board for the 2022 NBA draft – remains under contract with Gran Canaria, so he’ll be on loan from the Spanish team.
Montero, who debuted with the Dominican Republic’s senior national team last fall, played a little for Gran Canaria’s parent club in the EuroCup and ACB during the 2020/21 season. However, he saw more action for Gran Canaria II in Spain’s third division, averaging 18.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 2.5 SPG in 24 games (29 MPG) for the team, per Givony.
In addition to being the first international prospect to commit to Overtime Elite, Montero is also the first non-twin to sign with the league. Previously, OTE secured commitments from two sets of twins — Matt and Ryan Bewley and Amen and Ausar Thompson.
We shared more details on the new Overtime Elite league in a pair of stories earlier this year.
And-Ones: Jrue, Vegas, Pangos, Payton, Big Markets
Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy, having been named the winner of the 2020/21 NBA Sportsmanship Award, the league announced today in a press release.
The award, which aims to honor the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” is voted on by current NBA players. Each team nominates one of its players, a panel of league executives pares the list down to six finalists (one from each division), and the players vote on those six finalists.
Holiday, who earned 130 of 343 first-place votes, beat out runner-up Kemba Walker (74 first-place votes) for the award. Bam Adebayo, Harrison Barnes, Derrick White, and Josh Okogie were the other finalists.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- While it’s unclear when the NBA might seriously pursue expansion, Las Vegas has frequently been cited as a city the league would consider, and a Yahoo News report suggests one potential ownership group may be in place in Vegas. As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports relays, billionaire Jay Bloom heads a series of investors who reportedly have the funds and the connections necessary to be the frontrunners to own a Vegas NBA franchise if the opportunity arises.
- Kevin Pangos, one of the top point guards in the EuroLeague, is drawing plenty of interest from European teams but may wait until NBA free agency to make a decision, says Aris Barkas of Eurohoops. There’s no indication that Pangos has an NBA offer awaiting him, but the former Gonzaga standout wants to consider all his options before making a decision.
- Hall-of-Fame guard Gary Payton, who has spoken in the past about wanting to coach in the NBA, tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he has agreed to a multiyear contract to coach Lincoln University in his hometown of Oakland, California.
- In the wake of teams like the Celtics, the Knicks, and especially the Lakers being eliminated from the postseason, Ethan Strauss of The Athletic explores just how dependent the NBA is on its marquee, big-market franchises, and what the league can do to reduce that dependence.
Jason Kidd Expected To Receive Interest From Celtics, Blazers
Having spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach on Frank Vogel‘s staff, Jason Kidd has impressed the Lakers during that time, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who says the front office has “raved” about Kidd.
Haynes cites Kidd’s innovative ideas, communication skills, and ability to “rally the troops” as traits that have impressed the Lakers. The club believes he should be a top candidate for open head coaching jobs this offseason — and it sounds like he will be.
According to Haynes, the Celtics are expected to interview Kidd for their newly-opened head coaching position. Additionally, Haynes reports that there’s an expectation Kidd will be a top target for the Trail Blazers if they move on from Terry Stotts. Marc Stein of The New York Times echoes this point, tweeting that there’s “strong buzz” in coaching circles linking Kidd to Portland.
Boston is the only team that currently has a head coaching vacancy after Brad Stevens transitioned to a front office role. However, a number of other teams are evaluating their head coaches. Besides the Blazers and Stotts, the Pacers and Wizards will have to make decisions on Nate Bjorkgren and Scott Brooks, respectively. So it may not be long before there are multiple clubs in the market for a new coach.
Kidd has two stints as a head coach under his belt, having led the Nets for a single season in 2013/14, then the Bucks from 2014-18. He had a combined regular season record of 183-190 (.491) during his four-and-a-half years as a head coach in Brooklyn and Milwaukee, with a playoff mark of 9-15 (.375), including a lone series win in 2014.
Kidd has had some run-ins with the law in the past. He pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse charge in 2001 and to a misdemeanor DWI charge in 2013. However, his legal history hasn’t prevented him from being hired for multiple jobs since then.
Poll: Brooklyn Nets Vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Three of the NBA’s four second-round matchups are set, and while the Sixers/Hawks and Suns/Nuggets series should be entertaining and competitive, the showdown between the Nets and the Bucks in the East looks like the clear headliner of round two at this point.
The Nets are the favorites to take home this year’s championship now that Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving – who have combined for 27 All-Star nods, seven scoring titles, and two MVP awards over the years – are all healthy. No other NBA team can match Brooklyn’s offensive firepower, and the club made quick work of the Celtics in round one, dispatching Boston in five games.
Milwaukee, however, was one of the only teams that looked more impressive than Brooklyn since the postseason began — the Bucks’ win over Miami was the lone sweep of the first round, and it showed why this year’s squad may be more dangerous than the one that led the NBA in regular season wins in 2018/19 and ’19/20. With Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker now in the mix, the Bucks have a versatile, switchable defense to complement All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, this series looks like an NBA Finals-caliber matchup. In fact, Hollinger predicts that whichever team wins this series will go on to win the championship, and I’m inclined to agree with him.
The Nets are the favorites, but the Bucks are one of the only teams in the NBA that could realistically hope to slow down Brooklyn’s superstar trio, according to Hollinger, who points out that the Bucks could assign Holiday to Irving, Middleton to Harden, and either Giannis or Tucker to Durant.
On the other side of the ball, the Nets’ have no obvious primary defender for Antetokounmpo if Jeff Green remains sidelined, Hollinger argues, since Giannis is too quick for most of Brooklyn’s bigs, but would likely to be able to overpower Durant.
Still, the Nets will have some advantages of their own. It remains to be seen whether Bucks center Brook Lopez will be able to hang with Brooklyn’s offensive attack, and if Lopez is forced off the floor, Milwaukee will have fewer options for smaller lineups with wing Donte DiVincenzo sidelined. While role players like Bryn Forbes and Bobby Portis provide offensive punch, the Nets would likely pick on them on defense.
Health will play a big part in this series — with DiVincenzo out for the postseason and Green potentially able to return for some or all of round two, the Nets seemingly have the injury advantage, but it’s worth noting that Irving, Harden, and Durant all missed time during the regular season due to health problems. If one of them turns an ankle or tweaks a hamstring against Milwaukee, it would quickly change the outlook of the series.
We want to know what you think. Are you picking the Nets or the Bucks to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals? How many games do you think the series will go?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Which team will win the series?
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Bucks in 6-7 games 54% (856)
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Nets in 6-7 games 33% (532)
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Bucks in 4-5 games 7% (106)
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Nets in 4-5 games 6% (103)
Total votes: 1,597
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