Terry Stotts Reportedly Granted Interview for Pacers' Job
Neil Olshey insisted that part of the reason the Trail Blazers parted ways with Terry Stotts so soon after their season ended was to give him an opportunity to seek out other coaching jobs. Less than three weeks after his departure from Portland, Stotts is one crucial step closer toward finding his next NBA home.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Stotts will interview for the Indiana Pacers' coaching vacancy this week, joining former Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford and the G-League Ignite's Brian Shaw.
Stotts has been rumored as a potential favorite in Indiana ever since the team dismissed Nate Bjorkgren after just one season.
His experience, track record of success and even-keeled mentality make Stotts a snug fit for a veteran Pacers squad that grew tired of Bjorkgren's inability to relate to players and even assistant coaches during his lone season in Indiana. Indeed, ESPN indicated president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and company want a steady hand in wake of Bjorkgren's tumultuous one-season stint with Indiana.
The Pacers are a ready-made playoff contender in the Eastern Conference next season irrespective of who ultimately takes the reins on the sidelines. In Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Damontas Sabonis and Myles Turner, Indiana boasts a quality if somewhat mismatched core of young veterans, all of whom are playing on reasonable multi-year contracts.
Health provided, luck they sorely missed out on in 2020-21, it wouldn't shock if the Pacers challenged for home-court advantage in the East playoffs next season. Pritchard has several pathways available to improving the roster this summer, too.
Stotts, who attended high school in Bloomington, IN, finished his nine-year tenure in Portland as the franchise's second all-time winningest coach behind the late Hall-of-Famer Dr. Jack Ramsay. The Blazers made the playoffs in each of Stotts' last eight seasons, the longest active postseason streak in the NBA.