Scalma
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Interesting article this morning
https://theathletic.com/2632377/202...nel-loom-after-blazers-eliminated-by-nuggets/
Highlights
There are questions surrounding the roster and coaching staff, most notably the future of head coach Terry Stotts, who is under contract for the 2021-22 season while the team holds an option for the 2022-23 season.
A decision on Stotts won’t come until after management and coaches hold exit interviews with players on Friday, and could linger into next week as ownership waits for the dust to settle from all of the NBA’s first round playoff series. The Blazers want to read the landscape of the league — which was disrupted this week with the surprising move in Boston that saw coach Brad Stevens transition to the front office to replace a retiring Danny Ainge — and be confident of options before considering moving on from Stotts.
—-
Stotts entered the season with two objectives clearly outlined to him by ownership and management: improve the team’s defense and win a playoff series. He failed on both accounts, finishing with the 29th rated defense and losing to a team playing without its injured starting backcourt. But perhaps more importantly, Stotts began to lose much of the support from his players, who protected him publicly but privately wondered if he was either using them correctly or making proper in-game adjustments.
—-
Nurkic on Thursday mistakenly suggested that his future with Portland is up in the air because the final year of his contract is non-guaranteed. It is true — only $4 million of next season’s $12-million contract is guaranteed — but the Blazers have until Aug. 1 to fully guarantee his contract, and a source says the team will guarantee his contract, barring a catastrophic injury. That non-guaranteed provision was negotiated three seasons ago as a protection for the Blazers in case Nurkic didn’t develop or suffered a major injury that prevented him from playing in his fourth year of the contract. The Blazers are committed to him and view him as a pillar of their foundation.
—
Two other roster decisions are less clear, and likely will be tied to whether Stotts is the coach. Norman Powell will become a highly coveted free agent, and Derrick Jones Jr. has until July 28th to opt into a second year with the Blazers at $9 million.
Powell was solid for the Blazers, and the team hopes to convince him to return to Portland, but there are questions whether the way Stotts used him is conducive to him flourishing here alongside Lillard and CJ McCollum. In Portland, Powell was relegated to mostly standing in the corner waiting for Lillard or McCollum to throw him a kick-out pass, or being on the end of an occasional dribble-handoff to let him create and attack.
Jones Jr., meanwhile, was buried on the bench by Stotts late in the season, losing not only his starting small forward position but his place in the rotation, period. The chances are close to nil that Jones Jr. signs up for another season of playing under a coach who clearly doesn’t value him.
The Powell decision will also likely be tied into whether how committed the Blazers are to the pairing of Lillard and McCollum. The two have combined to form one of the NBA’s highest-scoring backcourts for the past six seasons, but their defense and size have been exposed in the postseason, leading to Portland being bounced in the first round in four of the past five seasons.
Portland will be in the luxury tax next season, as Lillard’s salary goes from $31 million to $43.7 million and McCollum will make $30.8 million. Powell figures to command around $20 million on the free-agent market, so unless McCollum is traded, it is unlikely a return of the three-guard lineup will be feasible.
https://theathletic.com/2632377/202...nel-loom-after-blazers-eliminated-by-nuggets/
Highlights
There are questions surrounding the roster and coaching staff, most notably the future of head coach Terry Stotts, who is under contract for the 2021-22 season while the team holds an option for the 2022-23 season.
A decision on Stotts won’t come until after management and coaches hold exit interviews with players on Friday, and could linger into next week as ownership waits for the dust to settle from all of the NBA’s first round playoff series. The Blazers want to read the landscape of the league — which was disrupted this week with the surprising move in Boston that saw coach Brad Stevens transition to the front office to replace a retiring Danny Ainge — and be confident of options before considering moving on from Stotts.
—-
Stotts entered the season with two objectives clearly outlined to him by ownership and management: improve the team’s defense and win a playoff series. He failed on both accounts, finishing with the 29th rated defense and losing to a team playing without its injured starting backcourt. But perhaps more importantly, Stotts began to lose much of the support from his players, who protected him publicly but privately wondered if he was either using them correctly or making proper in-game adjustments.
—-
Nurkic on Thursday mistakenly suggested that his future with Portland is up in the air because the final year of his contract is non-guaranteed. It is true — only $4 million of next season’s $12-million contract is guaranteed — but the Blazers have until Aug. 1 to fully guarantee his contract, and a source says the team will guarantee his contract, barring a catastrophic injury. That non-guaranteed provision was negotiated three seasons ago as a protection for the Blazers in case Nurkic didn’t develop or suffered a major injury that prevented him from playing in his fourth year of the contract. The Blazers are committed to him and view him as a pillar of their foundation.
—
Two other roster decisions are less clear, and likely will be tied to whether Stotts is the coach. Norman Powell will become a highly coveted free agent, and Derrick Jones Jr. has until July 28th to opt into a second year with the Blazers at $9 million.
Powell was solid for the Blazers, and the team hopes to convince him to return to Portland, but there are questions whether the way Stotts used him is conducive to him flourishing here alongside Lillard and CJ McCollum. In Portland, Powell was relegated to mostly standing in the corner waiting for Lillard or McCollum to throw him a kick-out pass, or being on the end of an occasional dribble-handoff to let him create and attack.
Jones Jr., meanwhile, was buried on the bench by Stotts late in the season, losing not only his starting small forward position but his place in the rotation, period. The chances are close to nil that Jones Jr. signs up for another season of playing under a coach who clearly doesn’t value him.
The Powell decision will also likely be tied into whether how committed the Blazers are to the pairing of Lillard and McCollum. The two have combined to form one of the NBA’s highest-scoring backcourts for the past six seasons, but their defense and size have been exposed in the postseason, leading to Portland being bounced in the first round in four of the past five seasons.
Portland will be in the luxury tax next season, as Lillard’s salary goes from $31 million to $43.7 million and McCollum will make $30.8 million. Powell figures to command around $20 million on the free-agent market, so unless McCollum is traded, it is unlikely a return of the three-guard lineup will be feasible.
