If the season spirals out of control. Coaching change?

Fitz303 · Post #1 » by **Fitz303** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 6:56 pm

If the Blazers end up in the lottery, could Stotts be out? I know he and Olshey have a good relationship, but that's a tough pill to swallow if you're management, and Olshey isn't going to fire himself.

One potential move that I think could be a great benefit all around, if this were to happen, and Stotts was let go... Hire David Vanterpool. He is deserving of a shot at a head coach position. He's probably the only head coach that could come in right away, have Dame's respect, and alleviate some of the pain from losing a coach that's relatively well liked. His youth development is well noted, and while it's not known for sure what was the biggest reason for it, Andrew Wiggins is having a career start to his season in Minny, where Vanterpool is the associate head coach. I'd really like to see Vanterpool get a chance at a head coaching position, and I am hoping more and more that it's in Portland.

Epicurus · Post #2 » by **Epicurus** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:37 pm

Dzon Dilindzer · Post #3 » by **Dzon Dilindzer** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:40 pm

i lost my hopes long time ago that terry **** stotts will get fired

also that cj mccollum will get traded

**** them both

Fitz303 · Post #4 » by **Fitz303** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:09 pm

Epicurus wrote:LOL!

Settle down Terry

I'm not even calling for him to be fired. I'm just stating that if this team continues to fall short, and ends in the lottery after making the WCF and talking about championships, someone is going to have to take the fall. I don't think they just continue on, and I don't think Olshey is the one on the out

Epicurus · Post #5 » by **Epicurus** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:31 pm

Long season. Turnarounds happen. Turnarounds have happened with the Blazers during Stotts' tenure, even after wags saw coaching change as the only solution.

Interesting for Stotts, he probably be a hot commodity in the coaching market and wouldn't have to deal with gm mistakes made a few years ago (now with manifest consequences).

BlazersBroncos · Post #6 » by **BlazersBroncos** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 9:18 pm

I am disappointed in his passivity to letting CJ and to a lesser extent Damian simply ISO all day, then I look at the talent around them and realize why this hero ball may be our only option.

Terry is better than the alternatives IMO. He is a good coach.

Roy The Natural · Post #7 » by **Roy The Natural** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 10:18 pm

Epicurus will defend Stotts with tooth and nail, it's not worth even debating him on the whole Stotts front, likely a relative or friend of the coach.

Stotts is okay, he's not the full problem, but he's part of it. His defensive schemes have stunk for years, the offense despite doing well in the regular season has been stale iso-ball for years as well. Watching the G-league Warriors squad put on a beautiful clinic in ball movement and team-ball against the plain old iso offense the Blazers have been throwing out there was a revelation. If Stotts is let go, it's at the end of the season.

d-train · Post #8 » by **d-train** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 10:24 pm

I don't see any problem with Stotts. It would be stupid to judge this season after 12 games and dumber to sabotage the team without giving it a chance to perform.

Epicurus · Post #9 » by **Epicurus** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 11:32 pm

Roy The Natural wrote:Epicurus will defend Stotts with tooth and nail, it's not worth even debating him on the whole Stotts front, likely a relative or friend of the coach.

Stotts is okay, he's not the full problem, but he's part of it. His defensive schemes have stunk for years, the offense despite doing well in the regular season has been stale iso-ball for years as well. Watching the G-league Warriors squad put on a beautiful clinic in ball movement and team-ball against the plain old iso offense the Blazers have been throwing out there was a revelation. If Stotts is let go, it's at the end of the season.

Presumption is not a virtue. Neither is inflated evaluation of one's knowledge about a specializaion.

zzaj · Post #10 » by **zzaj** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 11:48 pm

I've been pretty critical of Stotts, and I still feel that way at times, but it's pretty clear his coaching isn't the reason Blazers are losing games...it's lack of fit and talent.

That being said, I've always wanted Monty Williams as the Blazer coach. I was a little jealous when PHX snagged him. He's already done a lot with that team and it shows as they sit at 7-4.

Norm2953 · Post #11 » by **Norm2953** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 1:23 am

I'd prefer NO get fired over Stotts.

The team is as far away from a team that can effectively run the Stotts offense. NO has failed
to provide Stotts the replacement for Batum and the coach while not blameless simply has
to work with the players he has which is why they are 4-8.

Matt800 · Post #12 » by **Matt800** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:43 am

I think POR could upgrade their coaching staff in some way, but I don't know if it is really Stotts that is a problem. I think the players like him and Lillard likes him and that says a lot to me. I doubt Lillard would advocate to keep a bad coach.

But there's been times where the game plans portland has had have been terrible. I remember on CJ's podcast he had Kevin Love as a guest and they talked briefly about Kevin's 34 point quarter against portland. And Kevin was basically like well your game plan didn't make any sense, you guys kept going under the screens and giving easy 3s. I think when opposing players are astonished at how stupid your team's game plan is, then there's room for improvement.

Case2012 · Post #13 » by **Case2012** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:55 am

he doesn't coach is the problem. It's only iso ball and leaving mid range shots open on defense because #analytics. He doesn't adjust in the offseason either.

PDXKnight · Post #14 » by **PDXKnight** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:58 am

I’m not saying stotts has done a poor job prior to this year but I think If we end up with a bad record it’s a ripe time to make the switch. Dame is locked up long Term along with cj and Nurk so there’s really no scare factor of a big time player jumping ship unless it’s through a trade but with a locked up Lillard we hold more value than if he was expiring.

Terry has done well with little in many years but I’d totally get shifting directions as a franchise at this point as he’s had a much longer run than most coaches have gotten at this point and it feels like someone fresh could be good for this roster

Shem · Post #15 » by **Shem** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 5:14 am

No, Stotts won't be fired. Dame loves him and has been vocal about it as a reason why he committed here long term. It's like telling Michael Jordan that the Bulls want to fire Phil Jackson. Jordan wouldn't have it just like Dame won't have it if Stotts is fired.

Dzon Dilindzer · Post #16 » by **Dzon Dilindzer** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 12:57 pm

Shem wrote:No, Stotts won't be fired. Dame loves him and has been vocal about it as a reason why he committed here long term. It's like telling Michael Jordan that the Bulls want to fire Phil Jackson. Jordan wouldn't have it just like Dame won't have it if Stotts is fired.

if he wont have it, then trade his ass, simple as that

players should play, coaches should coach, front office should do their job

perhaps dame wouldnt like it, but he wouldnt do anything, hes not like that...

dunlop212 · Post #17 » by **dunlop212** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 1:25 pm

If Nurk and Collins were healthy we would not be having this conversation. Every year the team exceeds expectations, and the first down year he is on the hot seat. Same thing happened with the last coach, who has had a nice run at Indy after being fired here.

GEE · Post #18 » by **GEE** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 7:52 pm

Olshey is the one that ultimately carries the blame. He is the boss, and the one responsible for this teams rise or fall, and with the preseason statements about possibly winning it all this year (Super-high expectations), and currently losing to multiple G-Leauge teams, his seat must be at least a little warm, because the Blazers are beginning to become the laughing stock of the league, and it's hard to blame the level of talent we have, when we lose to G-leaguers. Signing Melo only adds to this IMO. He will likely throw off the scent for a week or so, as it's a sexy move, but won't save our season, because as Wiz pointed out, he just adds to what we already have in ball dominating, iso style shooting, with no defense.

Now to get on topic... Stotts. First point is, Of course Dame likes him. Dame is allowed to do whatever he wants on O, and is required to play very little on D, often getting stashed like the old Suns did with Nash. A majority of the plays I see is 5 out, big man set high screen, shooter then drive or shoot a 3, with everyone else standing around watching. Doesn't even pass the eye test IMO. In short the offense is stagnant, with very little ball movement, low assists, we simply live or die by the 3.

The defense is worse. With such a focus on offense and 3 point shooting, Stotts goes with 3 and 4 guard lineups often. This allows NBA wings an ability to feast on the guards. He also plays guys out of position all the time, going small, and forcing guys like Hood and to guard PFs, and Simons to guard SFs, just as an example. Defense and rebounding matters.

To sum up, Stott's Small-ball SUCKS!

Post #19 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Sat Nov 16, 2019 9:51 pm

GEE wrote:The defense is worse. With such a focus on offense and 3 point shooting, Stotts goes with 3 and 4 guard lineups often. This allows NBA wings an ability to feast on the guards. He also plays guys out of position all the time, going small, and forcing guys like Hood and to guard PFs, and Simons to guard SFs, just as an example. Defense and rebounding matters.

To sum up, Stott's Small-ball SUCKS!

This definitely feels like a result of having poor roster construction and not poor coaching. Stotts goes with small lineups because our best players are small.

Unless you are really asking for MORE minutes from Mario and Tolliver...??

DusterBuster · Post #20 » by **DusterBuster** » Sun Nov 17, 2019 12:02 am

Epicurus wrote:Long season. Turnarounds happen. Turnarounds have happened with the Blazers during Stotts' tenure, even after wags saw coaching change as the only solution.

Interesting for Stotts, he probably be a hot commodity in the coaching market and wouldn't have to deal with gm mistakes made a few years ago (now with manifest consequences).

Yeah, there’s still a ton of season to go, but I think if they do fall short and even miss the playoffs, it’ll be viewed as more of an off year due to injuries. As I’ve mentioned before, this season is just kinda a redshirt year for the Blazers. It was always gonna be a rough year without Nurk. This season was mostly all about trying to patchwork things together to just keep the ship afloat for one more season before a big overhaul at the trade deadline or the summer of 2020. Hope for the best, but just let the chips fall where they may.

I think most everyone gets a free pass for this season, but next year - if they are still struggling, than I think we may see some changes. I’m kinda wondering if Stotts even wouldn’t mind a change at this point. He was close to wanting out a couple years ago, so not sure if he’d want to stay for another season if the team bombs hardcore this year.