Neil Olshey, Portland Trail Blazers General Manager.
Neil Olshey took to the media to explain that the Blazers players were not to blame for their first-round exits. If the team wasn’t the blame, then it was Stotts’ coaching. Maybe it could be that the players around Damian Lillard weren’t good enough. If that’s the case, then the blame falls directly on Olshey’s shoulders. Truthfully the Blazers are always getting to the playoffs. It’s what they do/don’t do when they get there that’s the problem. In his post-Stotts presser, Olshey expressed his beliefs about the team and how the next coach should run things.
Olshey said the Blazers roster was not to blame for Portland’s early out. He handed the keys to his Ferrari to Stotts, and the coach couldn’t get it done with all that horsepower. Of course, he didn’t mention anything about the Blazers’ lack of size and lack of a power forward.
“the first round loss and the defensive rating at 29 was not a product of the roster.”
If it wasn’t a roster problem, that means that head coach Terry Stotts knowingly kept the best defensive players off the court and purposely allowed the Portland Trail Blazers to lose in the first round.
Before we condemn the man, let’s look at the players Stotts purposely left on the bench.
We can see that keeping these five on the bench is definitely not why Portland lost in Round 1. Truthfully, the word “defense” doesn’t readily come to mind when you think of the Blazers. That’s interesting because his first interview was with Mike D’Antoni, a coach known for his run and gun style.
The 29 out of 30 defensive ratings was definitely a big reason the Blazers went home after six games. The non-defensive players were the other reason. Olshey already knew that before the words even left his lips.
How many thought the Blazers were going to defeat the Denver Nuggets? I had little hope and knew for sure they would not get past Phoenix. Where were the 2018-19 Blazers? You know the team that defeated Oklahoma City. What happened to the three-point buzzer-beater and the wave goodbye. That Portland Trail Blazers team, coached by Terry Stotts, went to the Western Conference Finals.
“The mission is clear. If we’re going to take the next step, they’re going to have to make an impact on the defensive end of the floor, So, that will be a criteria.”
Didn’t I say that? Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter are not good for any team’s defensive strategy to emphasize the problem. Kanter, Portland can do without. But what happens when the Blazers need a sharpshooter who can rain down three’s with little or no effort? Who can lead the second team?
CJ McCollum and Norman Powell are another set of shooters. But they come up a little “short” on wing protection. Both are 6-3 and give up several inches to the men they had to guard.
What can the Portland Trail Blazers do? Getting a good defensive coach who can turn great offensive players into great defensive players also would be the place to start. Anyone except Tom Thibodeau that is, he already has a job.
Everywhere I look, I see that the “Blazers are the winningest team. They make the playoffs almost every year.” That’s true; the last time Portland missed the playoffs was in 2013. A nice streak, but it doesn’t mean much considering they made it out of the first round only three times.
Is it worse for a player not to make the playoffs at all or to continually go home after the first round? A third, fourth or fifth seed team going home in the first round on a regular would be pretty disheartening.
Terry Stotts, in my opinion, was wrong for not challenging that three-shot foul call in the first half of Game 5. One of his best players, his center, pleaded with him to do so. Could that be why Nurkic is now pondering his future with the team?
Within hours of Stotts getting terminated, Dame said that he wanted Jason Kidd as his next coach in no uncertain terms. Kidd politely declined. Lucky for Portland, Dame signed a five-year $139,888,445 “Larry Bird” contract. Not many teams can handle such a heavy load. There is one, but I don’t believe they’re back in the habit of selling off the store for a 30-year-old superstar.
Lillard can’t get the coach he wants, his star center is considering leaving, and his team needs some defensive weapons. And the Blazers have no draft picks in 2022. That sounds like Olshey made a horrible mess of things in Rip City.
Two of Olsey’s starters are unhappy. He doesn’t have much to work with as far as free agency and cap space. Not to mention he has no draft picks in 2021 either. Olshey expressed his confidence about the Portland Trail Blazer’s future. Obviously, he won’t say the team is bad. But he has to know what he has, won’t go far.
With 80% of Portland’s starters under contract, Olshey believes this is where the coach will start building his team. Figuring out “how to get this group to get to another level on the defensive end of the floor.” It’s easy to say, but not easy to do.
“Teams that made big jumps on the defensive end were led in part by coaches who players knew on Day 1 they were going to have to defend and be held accountable on that end of the floor because that’s what the coach valued.”
Teams such as New York and Atlanta changed their coaches and their seasons changed drastically on the defensive end. New York made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, and Atlanta changed coaches mid-season and reached the second round of the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Portland, only two coaches are chomping at the bit to lead the team. One coach wouldn’t know defense if it hit him in the head, the other a would-be first-time coach.
“There will be turnover in the roster. Oviously, the coaching change right now is of most immediancy, preparing the owner for our potential candidates, but we’re also working concurrently on free agency, trades and roster building in the advance of the June 20th Chicago Combine.” https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/trail-blazers/neil-olshey-happy-blazers-foundation-always-looking-build-contend
“The roster is not the reason,” “our guys are great.” “We need defensive guys.” Well Neil, which one is it? Is your roster okay as is, or do you need to own this postseason also?
Olshey declined to take any responsibility for another Blazers early exit in the postseason. Instead, he threw Terry Stotts under the bus. There is no one left for him to sacrifice if Portland underperforms in 2021-22. He’s wasting the best years of Damian Lillard’s career. The next bus has Olshey’s name on it, and it won’t be pretty.
TrailBlazer fans stay in touch with PNWS as the search for a coach to save our Blazers starts. We will keep you informed. Stay safe!