Terry Stotts: The Blazers “Can Have a Better Year”

In his first press conference since Portland’s run to the Western Conference Finals, coachTerry Stottshad plenty to say at 2019 NBA Media Day.

• Stotts showed clear excitement about Neil Olshey’s offseason team upgrades. According to Stotts, “I think it’s the deepest team we’ve had since we’ve been here. There’s a lot to like about the roster.”
• On the upcoming year, he commented, “We had a great year last year, and I think we can have a better year this year.”
• However, he also saw a negative in the deep roster: “I’ll have some difficult decisions on certain nights. I think it’s easier on me to have a 9-10 man rotation. When you have that though someone gets squeezed a bit and that’s tough”
• With the departure of assistant coachDavid Vanterpool, the coaching staff has adjusted as well. Stotts said that assistant Jim Moran will focus on the offensive side, and Dale Osbourne on the defensive.
• Stotts raved aboutAnfernee Simons’ progress to start his sophomore season. However, he’s not ready to pigeonhole him into a position. “I wouldn’t classify him as one or the other... he’s a smart player... he can run the offense. He can play alongside different guys.”
• It’s clear Stotts is looking forward to having more shooters on the floor. “I’d like to get more threes up.”
• With the hot topic of load management around the league, Stotts took a different viewpoint. He stressed the importance of managing work on off-days, instead of missing games during the season. While he’s not opposed to idea of load management when necessary. However, he states that the team has not discussed the concept of missing games.