Portland Trail Blazers: Neil Olshey should accept some blame
Olshey’s Endgame
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.
The Coach
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.
The roster
“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?
Out of excuses and scapegoat
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!