Terry Stotts is in the midst of his ninth season as Head Coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He has endured plenty of ups and downs over the years, from back-to-back postseason sweeps at the hands of the Warriors and Pelicans to a surprise Western Conference Finals appearance in 2019. His teams have made the playoffs every year but his first, which was also Damian Lillard’s rookie season.
However, with a (mostly) healthy roster and key upgrades at the forward position, simply making the playoffs will not cut it in 2021. Talent-wise, this is arguably Stotts’ best group since the 2014-15 squad, which seemed primed for a deep run before the devastating injury to Wesley Matthews derailed the season and ultimately broke up the team.