Portland Trail Blazers: Time to discuss moving on from Terry Stotts
In light of four straight losses to Western Conference opponents, it’s a good time to discuss Portland Trail Blazers’ head coach Terry Stotts.
First off, I don’t like when coaches get fired. Letting go of a good employee is an unpleasant part of the business. Coaching isn’t an easy profession, but at least it pays well. We are currently 32 games into the 2020–2021 season. The Portland Trail Blazers are 18–14 on the year. Not exactly what anyone expected from this team.
Coming into this season, this team is the deepest it’s been this century. The Blazers have arguably their most talented roster in years. Yet, they’re only four games over 500.
Injuries have taken their toll. The Trail Blazers are dealing with Zach Collins‘ setback, Jusuf Nurkic‘s broken wrist, and CJ McCollum‘s foot fracture. Those three guys are critical to the success of the team. The depth of this team is on display as we speak. But even before these injuries hit, this team wasn’t playing up to expectations. Even without them, the Blazers should be better than four games over.
Now, maybe that’s because it’s a new season and the old season ended not too long ago. Or possibly all the new acquisitions are getting acclimated to their roles and each other. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for the Blazers to realize the biggest issue with this team is its head coach, Terry Stotts.
A change could do them good
Coaching his ninth season in Rip City, Stotts is the owner of the third-longest head coaching tenure in the NBA. Larry Bird believes that after three years, a head coach loses his voice in the locker room. Subsequently, I think this is both true and false. Head coaches lose their voice in the locker room if they don’t continue to grow, adapt and develop.
Stotts started with Portland in 2012. During this time, he’s been named coach of the month seven times, won the division twice, won .556 of his regular-season games, and .357 in the playoffs. Quite the resume Stotts has put together.
However, in his tenure, the Portland Trail Blazers left the playoffs in the first round four times. They’ve only made the Western Conference Finals once and bounced out in the Western Semis twice. So, again Stotts is a qualified NBA head coach. But is he the man to get Portland over the hump?
Look at some of the past NBA champions. History shows that a head coaching change makes the difference for a team looking to reach the next level. A few examples off the top include the Bulls dynasty, Lebron James’ Cleveland title, and the Golden State Warriors. Might this be in the Blazers’ future?
End of the road?
Stotts’ deal is up after the 2021–2022 season. His coaching style stayed pretty much the same throughout his time in Portland. He wants to play big and force other teams to adapt to his team. That’s great, but it’s not utilizing the talent and the Trail Blazers roster.
All the pieces are here for this team, this organization to be highly successful. Depending on how this season plays out, the Blazers could be looking for a new head coach before the start of next season (maybe sooner).
Unless Portland wins the NBA Title, the Blazers need to make the tough choice at the end of the season. They need to move on from Terry Stotts and bring in a new head coach who can maximize the talent on hand. The organization owes this to Damian Lillard for his loyalty to them. Stotts has been great for the Blazers, but he’s not the head coach to get the Blazers where they want to go.
Related: Four good deals the Blazers can make before the trade deadline
Do you think Terry Stotts’ time with the Portland Trail Blazers is winding down? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.