The Portland Trail Blazers don’t have a coach. For their basketball team. You kind of forget as much, this late into July. Especially with new GM Neil Olshey neck deep in a significant rebuilding project that has seen him sign off on two lottery picks and committing eight figure yearly money to employing Nicolas Batum. You’d assume the Blazers would want to know what coach would be leading all these guys, the guy who would be making the day to day and minute to minute movements on the fly while Olshey can only watch from above.
The recently-hired Portland GM is taking his time, though, and this isn’t a criticism. The Portland Trail Blazers are his baby, now, and a baby unlike few others due to the significant wealth that team owner Paul Allen has accrued over the years. Those assets aren’t guaranteed to be used with the Blazers, though, so Olshey has to get this right. And by getting it right, he has to get real, real slow-like. And exacting. From the Oregonian :
The candidates who are known to have interviewed with Olshey are Indiana assistant Brian Shaw; Golden State assistant Michael Malone; Dallas assistant Terry Stotts; Memphis assistant David Joerger; former Orlando assistant Steve Clifford, who is nearing a deal to be an assistant in Chicago; Phoenix assistant Elston Turner; Atlanta assistant Lester Conner; Miami assistant David Fizdale, Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin and former Knicks and Phoenix assistant Phil Weber.
Jul 252012