Time to fire Olshey and Stotts?

[GEE]

If Olsheys' seat gets hot, then Stotts will be gone. If Olshey were to somehow be the first to go, which I think is unlikely, then a new GM will likely want to instill his guy, and Stotts will be gone.

IME UDOKA!!!

[Blazers20]

Stotts has a 37% playoff percentage with the Blazers in 8 years, that’s horrible. I read in another forum that “The Blazers have been in the playoffs enough times that they shouldn’t be falling apart like this”, which with I agree with 100%. Fire Stotts.

NeO has made so many mistakes in the draft and the 2016 signings that he needs to let go.

[Dzon Dilindzer]

as long as dame or players in general have a say about the coach, terry stotts isnt going anywhere

and im not sure jody allen will fire neil olshey, so there will be no changes

[JasonStern]

The Blazers lost to the 1 seed Lakers yesterday with a bench that consisted of Trent. Jr, Hezonja, Simons, and Gabriel. Not sure what everyone is realistically expecting Stotts to do with that.

[Blazinaway]

It's a bit much to go after Stotts for Portland without most of the front court is playing
a Lakers team with 2 of the leagues top 5 players on their front line. The team is
suffering from that shopping spree from 2016 that crippled cap flexibility for four
years and just when they perhaps had a bit of flexibility, the virus came and likely will
keep the team from adding a critically needed front court piece for next season.

I'd hold off on firing either man for this will be a difficult free agent period with real
financial questions staring most of the teams in the face.

we seem to use these "excuses" every year and remain on the treadmill and waste Dame's prime

[GEE]

To Olshey: People have pointed out how exhausted some of the players look, particularly Nurkic, and I tend to think that both overuse, and playing guys out of position can lead to injury, which is why our bench is always thin, IMO. Same excuse every year, and a fairly legit one, but it's old, and leads to Terry always hitting the panic button, and going small. Please just go get Udoka before someone else does.

To Jody: I like Olshey, and though he has made mistakes, some big, I think he has done some really good things too, and has our team very close talent wise, to make that push. But if Neil is unable to break up the bond he has with Terry, then it's Olshey's head that needs to roll.

[wco81]

Here is a history of Olshey's draft picks and signings, including his tenure with the Clippers.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/executives/olshene99x.html

He of course drafted Lillard and other than Lillard's rookie season in 2012-13, the team has been in the playoffs for 7 consecutive seasons.

Blazers have been a first or second-round exit in the playoffs other than last year when they reached the WCF.

During this time, the team has ranged from 4th to 9th in the league in attendance. No data on attendance this season.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/POR/2020.html

Has Jody Allen publicly committing to spend whatever it takes to winning championships? Or is she considering selling the team?

Attendance could be better, maybe generate more revenues if they had a new arena to harvest money from say more affluent workers, like other NBA teams have done.

I don't know if Paul Allen kept MSFT stock or left any to his sister but the stock is near an all-time high. Ballmer has seen his net worth go up tens of billions this year alone.

So the team doesn't lack resources, just a question of how interested the owner is in winning. There are a lot of rich owners in the NBA so it may take doing trades for some inflated contracts.

For instance, if there was a trade available to get either Simmons or Embiid, but you have to take some bad contracts, like for Harris or Horford, would Portland do it?

[JasonStern]

Dame signed a supermax contract and is putting up stats a a level that would cement him as the greatest Blazer of all-time. He's not wasting his prime.

Stotts is a top ten to fifteen coach and second in franchise wins only to the legendary Dr. Jack Ramsey. Replacing him is risky as odds are higher that the Blazers downgrade over upgrade. If a clear upgrade is available, then sure. Do it. But change for the sake of change doesn't guarantee success.

Nobody knows the inner workings of Jody and Vulcans. It seems as an outsider that, other than Bert Kolde, they aren't basketball fanatics to the level that Paul was. I suspect Olshey's job is fine so long as the Blazers remain profitable and win enough to make the playoffs. The potential benefit to this is that Olshey has more freedom as a GM to make decisions. As bad as that 2016 off-season was, you have to imagine Paul Allen was pushing Olshey to do something to make a run and overpaying Turner, re-signing Crabbe, etc. was as good as he could pull off. The counterpoint is that, outside of drafting undersized guards, there hasn't been anything overly impressive about Olshey's tenure overall.

[Norm2953]

It's a bit much to go after Stotts for Portland without most of the front court is playing
a Lakers team with 2 of the leagues top 5 players on their front line. The team is
suffering from that shopping spree from 2016 that crippled cap flexibility for four
years and just when they perhaps had a bit of flexibility, the virus came and likely will
keep the team from adding a critically needed front court piece for next season.

I'd hold off on firing either man for this will be a difficult free agent period with real
financial questions staring most of the teams in the face.

we seem to use these "excuses" every year and remain on the treadmill and waste Dame's prime

There is going to be a lot of financial hardship this summer if Wiz is correct that 20 or more teams will be
seriously into luxury taxes. With the Dame/CJ extensions on the horizon which will once again cripple
cap flexibility, teams like Portland will be highly motivated to reset their clock on paying repeater taxes. One
would suspect they will be more worried about moving CJ if there is a market than addiing salary to make a
playoff run to maximize Dame's prime. Team needs to add 2-3 front court pieces if Zach can't be counted upon
to stay healthy

[HoopsFanAZ]

wco81: thank you for the links. Good questions.

JasonStern: Realistic point ... non-Barkley-esque (though it's nice that Barkley sees the talent)

EDITED: My Guesstimate: Jody Allen and Bert Kolde want a championship for Paul Allen. Profit can be made elsewhere easier. The Lillard Years is a big positive for PA's legacy and IMHO it's go for it from JA and Bert.

Dzon Dilindzer: The Portland players (e.g., Lillard) have influence and support Stotts and each other. Even player personnel moves of significance and draft picks are going to get some Lillard discussion behind the scenes. Trading CJ is doable IF Lillard is good with it.

zzaj: Tempered praise for both and restrained criticism ... and realistic about the ease of tearing it down BUT what to replace it with?

In other words, I don't have a problem with a different GM and/or coach ... except based on who the UPGRADES are.

I don't know if Olshey can or wants to trade CJ with other pieces to make the BIG trade.
Philly: Simmons is the one they keep. They're not great together. Embiid for Nurkic with everything else sent AND taken back? It's doable. Embiid + Harris costs in talent. Embiid + Horford costs less in outgoing quality BUT a huge move nonetheless.
Boston: Hayward for CJ plus Little and/or Simons? Doable.

The FUNDAMENTAL question for me is whether this team is Olshey's Clippers where he angled for a BIG trade OR the Spurs with a BIG 3 to build around for years? I think this is THE question. Ariza's option date for the Blazers is one data point for an answer. Keep him as insurance and for trade filler means keeping the trade options open; gotta have $$$ contracts to get $$$ contracts. Jettison Ariza for a fraction brings the MLE front and center with a BIG trade less likely.

[Epicurus]

Some here seem to doubt Lillard's desire to win or his intelligence regarding what is best for the team to win. I am sure that if Lillard agreed with some here who regard Stotts is a fool regarding basketball, Lillard would long ago conveyed such to the front office. He has done the opposite. He knows he has a coach which has nurtured Lillard's talnets and is trying to maximize them even with the weak hand dealt to the franchise by some front office decisions regarding complementary cast. He seems to know that he with Stotts having his back has made lemonade from lemons over the last seven years.

[Blazers20]

Stotts-NeO combo hasn’t taken this team very far. Blazers got pretty lucky to get to WCF last year and got swept by the Dubs.

[Epicurus]

How many teams win the championship each year? How many get into the conference finals each year? Regarding the latter, were the Blazers the only one graced with luck? Each year this team under the Stotts regime met or exceeded preseason expectations. Sorry it hasn't won more and did so by 100pts per game or whatever silly standard being used.

[Goldbum]

The "it's Dame's Prime" has a ton of validity to it. The front office needs to adjust the roster so that they have a better than puncher's chance to get to the WCF every year while Dame is still producing at absurd levels.
Not only is he likely the greatest Blazer of all time,
he is possibly the least supported. I get that CJ as a ball handler/combo guard, relieves a lot of playmaking pressure from Dame, but for the most part neither is doing what they do best an optimal amount of time. Just imagine it being
Lillard
GTJ
T.Ross
A.Gorgon
Nurkic
Looks like a huge defensive improvement especially against small ball. Ross could be substituted out for Collins and it is a BIG defensive line up... or mix and match for the best match up/mismatch advantage

[DeBlazerRiddem]

If we do not get a scorer who can carry the load when Damian is doubled and trapped then replacing CJ with defensive role players wont help us. Guys like Gordon and Ross will just make us easier to defend.

[Blazers20]

Is there a chance that Embiid or Simmons are traded? Do the Blazers have to take on either Horford or Tobias bad contract? Embiid-Horford for Nurk-CJ-Ariza-Collins?

[Blazers20]

Dame-Trent-Hood-Horford-Embiid

[Revived]

Stotts is trash, that doesn’t require a hot take. Okay, he’s a good assistant, among several others. But a HEAD coach needs to put the fear of God in his crew, and Stotts is not that man.

By this logic, Thibs should be the greatest coach of all time.

[Epicurus]

Stotts is trash, that doesn’t require a hot take. Okay, he’s a good assistant, among several others. But a HEAD coach needs to put the fear of God in his crew, and Stotts is not that man.

By this logic, Thibs should be the greatest coach of all time.

Yep, and it is the reason why Bobby Knight turned down NBA offers. He knew his "fear of God" style would not work.
I would also suggest that court minutes are an NBA coaches really impactful way to discipline. And that only works when the threat of a sub to take and hold court time is credible.

[PDXKnight]

Stotts has a 37% playoff percentage with the Blazers in 8 years, that’s horrible. I read in another forum that “The Blazers have been in the playoffs enough times that they shouldn’t be falling apart like this”, which with I agree with 100%. Fire Stotts.

NeO has made so many mistakes in the draft and the 2016 signings that he needs to let go.

Nurk was injured last year before the playoffs and this year we have been injury riddled all year so we wound up playing the 1 seed lakers but even making the playoffs seems like an overachievement this season with how hurt we were. The other years it was the warriors that went on to win the championship many of those years. What exactly could we have done better with another coach?