Blazers Came Close To Firing Terry Stotts In Offseason

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Portland Trail Blazers internally considered firing Terry Stotts during the offseason and nearly made that decision.

The Phoenix Suns were one of several teams that began engaging third parties about Stotts' potential interest in their jobs.

Damian Lillard fought for the Blazers to keep Stotts.

"I was asked what I thought, and I just said I love him as a coach," Lillard said. "We all love him." 

Stotts and Neil Olshey have developed an understanding during their time working together.

Via Zach Lowe/ESPN

[Billl]

What? Were they mad he won too many games?

[Kurosawa0]

Firing a coach like Stotts is the move a bad organization makes. He's easily a top 10 coach in the league. The odds you'll replace Stotts with someone as good, let alone better, are very low.

[GordanFreeman]

He's looks like a good wholesome dude.

[basketballRob]

delete

[PDXKnight]

Firing a coach like Stotts is the move a bad organization makes. He's easily a top 10 coach in the league. The odds you'll replace Stotts with someone as good, let alone better, are very low.

He hasn’t done anything in the playoffs and got swept with hca in a seroes with hardly any adjustments... While he’s done an acceptable job in Portland I think we have every right to get rid of him at this point.

[maxin93]

Firing a coach like Stotts is the move a bad organization makes. He's easily a top 10 coach in the league. The odds you'll replace Stotts with someone as good, let alone better, are very low.

So? Blazers will have one of the best season records and get eliminated in the first round. Wouldn't be the first time a good coach was fired despite helping his team.Look at Casey. Won coach of the year, got fired and now Nurse is riding his wave. If they let him go some team will try to sign him.

[Jeff Van Gully]

What? Were they mad he won too many games?

lol. word.

wow.

[Shem]

What? Were they mad he won too many games?

They were a 3 seed that got swept in the 1st round of the playoffs.

[The Force.]

The Blazers lose in the 1st round because they don't have enough talent to compete in a 7 game series. But I am hoping they fire Stotts so the Bulls can swoop in and give him a contract.

[Billl]

What? Were they mad he won too many games?

They were a 3 seed that got swept in the 1st round of the playoffs.

They were team many projected to be a bubble team and they finished 3rd in a very tough west.

[Pickled Prunes]

What? Were they mad he won too many games?

They were a 3 seed that got swept in the 1st round of the playoffs.

They were team many projected to be a bubble team and they finished 3rd in a very tough west.

They were a 3 seed with an All-Star PG that can't split a double-team. They'll get worked in the playoffs again this year if they don't bring in another primary ball handler before the deadline. Right now it's as simple as taking the ball out of Lillard's hands. Not much Stotts can do about the personnel. I actually like what they've done in POR overall but Stotts is a better coach than Olshey is a GM. If one of them had to go....

[Kurosawa0]

Firing a coach like Stotts is the move a bad organization makes. He's easily a top 10 coach in the league. The odds you'll replace Stotts with someone as good, let alone better, are very low.

He hasn’t done anything in the playoffs and got swept with hca in a seroes with hardly any adjustments... While he’s done an acceptable job in Portland I think we have every right to get rid of him at this point.

Once again, this is the kind of move bad organizations make. This the kind of thing that leads to being the Sacramento Kings.

[PDXKnight]

Firing a coach like Stotts is the move a bad organization makes. He's easily a top 10 coach in the league. The odds you'll replace Stotts with someone as good, let alone better, are very low.

He hasn’t done anything in the playoffs and got swept with hca in a seroes with hardly any adjustments... While he’s done an acceptable job in Portland I think we have every right to get rid of him at this point.

Once again, this is the kind of move bad organizations make. This the kind of thing that leads to being the Sacramento Kings.

He’s had 7 years, an eternity in today’s standards... NAme one organization that wouldn’t wouldnt fire a coach for 5 years straight of first round exits... just because a team fires a coach doesn’t mean they’re the kings...

[Kurosawa0]

He hasn’t done anything in the playoffs and got swept with hca in a seroes with hardly any adjustments... While he’s done an acceptable job in Portland I think we have every right to get rid of him at this point.

Once again, this is the kind of move bad organizations make. This the kind of thing that leads to being the Sacramento Kings.

He’s had 7 years, an eternity in today’s standards... NAme one organization that wouldn’t wouldnt fire a coach for 5 years straight of first round exits... just because a team fires a coach doesn’t mean they’re the kings...

You're acting like you have Shaq and Kobe in 1999. It's not like the Blazers should've really gone further. And they've not had five straight years of first round exits. They made the second round in 2016. The issue is that the team isn't talented enough to go further in the West. You don't fire a really good coach because you don't have the true top end talent. Well, you can, if you're a crap franchise.