Portland Trail Blazers: Terry Stotts 2012 -2021
Teresa Powe
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Good-bye Mr. Stotts
An evening after the Portland Blazers exited the first round in the 2020-21 playoffs; Terry Stotts is out. “Mutually parted ways,” as the saying goes. Was this the one too many times? The Blazers made a habit of leaving in the first round long before Stotts got there.
I believe it was not making the challenge call that his star center, Jusuf Nurkic, begged him to make in the third quarter of Game 6. Literally. A foul on a shot from beyond the arc. Nurkic didn’t recover from that foul. It was like watching a balloon slowly deflating. My family and I yelled at the TV, “challenge it, challenge it!” He didn’t, and Denver made all three shots. After Portland lost again, Stotts had to go.
“Damian Lillard won’t let that happen,” people told me when I suggested that Stotts won’t have a job by Monday morning. I think it was Lillard quoting Nipsey Hustle (How long should I stay dedicated? How long til opportunity meet preparation?) that woke up Blazers management. Now, according to Twitter, Dame is asking for Jason Kidd to be his new coach. That’s a different story for another time.
BlazerNation, PNWS will always keep you informed of the happenings going on in Portland. We will let you know if Jason Kidd gets the job or who the new coach will be. No draft news, of course, but there’s always free agency!