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Portland Trail Blazers President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey held a press conference today in which he addressed the media regarding the state of the the Blazers, the disappointing finish to their season, and the subsequent firing of Head Coach Terry Stotts.
Here’s the video of the press conference, courtesy of KGW News.
Here are the highlights courtesy of Blazer’s Edge’s own Danny Marang...
Olshey said that Portland’s lack of defense was a coaching issue, not a roster issue:
“In this instance… the 1st round loss, the defense was not a product of the roster…” -Olshey on whether or not he feels he’s pressure on him/his job
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
“We’ve benefitted from the offense I’ve culture, but we’ve been hit on the defensive side of the culture” -Olshey on ending up 29th in defensive rating
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
“For anyone (prospective coaches) to advance in the process they’re going to have to prove they can do that (improve defensively) without a ton of roster changes.” -Olshey
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
On potential discontent among players Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic:
After Terry, Dame was the first persons we called to let them know a coaching change had taken place. -Olshey
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
“You heard his comments, I didn’t…”- Neil Olshey to @orlandokgw on Jusuf Nurkic’s post game comments following the final loss of the season
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
On potential new coaches:
“We don’t actually have a list yet” -Olshey on question about coaching prospects
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
Continued…
“We have not reached out to anyone yet.” -Olshey
“…Going to run a broad, expansive search and Dame will play an interval role in that….” -Olshey on coaching search
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
On free agency in the upcoming summer:
“…Made the Norman Powell trade hoping that he’d be a part of the future… “ -Olshey on roster construction
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
Olshey on drawing free agents: it’s about continuing to win…
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
Which - Brooklyn has a long history of winning, certainly
On the lineup...
Damian Lillard is not a small point guard… by position, Dame is not small. -Olshey on the 3-guard lineup
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) June 7, 2021
Olshey has served as lead executive for the Trail Blazers since 2012. The Blazers accumulated a 42-30 record this season, finishing 6th in the Western Conference, but falling 4-2 in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs to the Denver Nuggets.
Earlier today Blazer’s Edge author Dave Deckard wrote up a history of Portland’s transactions under Olshey from 2015 to the present. You can find that here.