By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Portland Trail Blazers and Terry Stotts mutually agree to part ways, the team announced.
Stotts, 63, was hired prior to the 2012-13 season. After missing the playoffs in his first attempt, he guided the Blazers to eight straight playoff berths and up to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. This year, his side was eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in six games.
Per the press release: “The Portland Trail Blazers and Terry Stotts have mutually agreed to part ways, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.
“I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons,” said Olshey. “This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level but it’s in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction. Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best.”
Stotts completed his ninth season as head coach of the Trail Blazers in 2020-21 after guiding Portland to a 42-30 record and an eighth consecutive postseason appearance.
A 27-year coaching veteran, Portland introduced Stotts as the franchise’s 14th head coach on August 7, 2012. He is the second-winningest coach in franchise history after Jack Ramsay. Overall, Stotts holds a career coaching record of 517-486 (.515) and a 402-318 (.558) mark with Portland.
“We are all grateful for Terry’s contributions and his nine years with the Trail Blazers,” said Jody Allen, chair of the Trail Blazers. “I appreciate his steadfast dedication to the players, the game, and the broader Portland community. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Mike D’Antoni, Jeff Van Gundy, Chauncey Billups, and Juwan Howard are among the candidates to replace him, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Blazers superstar Damian Lillard told Yahoo Sports he prefers Jason Kidd to be the next head coach.
Photo Credit: Getty Images