Tag: Terry Stotts

Lakers have interviewed Terry Stotts for coaching vacancy

The Lakers have interviewed one of their main head coaching candidates.

The Los Angeles Lakers are inching closer to officially finding a replacement for Frank Vogel as head coach.

Vogel was fired following their final regular season game, and they currently have three main candidates: Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts and Kenny Atkinson.

Reportedly, the team has just interviewed Stotts.

Via Lakers Daily:

“The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly interviewed former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts for their head coaching position on Tuesday.”

Stotts coached the Blazers for nine seasons from 2013 to 2021. In all but the first of those campaigns, they made the playoffs, thanks largely to the immense skills of Damian Lillard.

Portland usually lost in the first round during that span, but in 2019, they made it to the Western Conference Finals.

Prior to being at the helm of the Blazers, Stotts had brief stints as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks before joining Rick Carlisle’s staff as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks.

While there, Stotts helped the Mavs win the NBA championship in 2011.

Terry Stotts not interested in taking assistant job in Lakers

Lakers interview Terry Stotts for head coaching position

Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: The Lakers interviewed former Blazers coach Terry Stotts for franchise’s head coaching job in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Two more assistants will meet with LA in near future – Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson and …

Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: The Lakers interviewed former Blazers coach Terry Stotts for franchise’s head coaching job in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Two more assistants will meet with LA in near future — Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham.
Source: Twitter @wojespn

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
I think the Lakers would do well to get Terry Stotts or Kenny Atkinson, but I’m rooting for Darvin Ham to get his chance to be a head coach. He’s been close for a while now and I want to see him get that opportunity. – 6:08 PM
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
ESPN Sources: The Lakers interviewed former Blazers coach Terry Stotts for franchise’s head coaching job in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Two more assistants will meet with LA in near future — Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham. – 6:03 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
The ⁦⁦⁦⁦@latimessports⁩ has this from ⁦@Dan Woike⁩ and ⁦@Brad Turner⁩ on: Terry Stotts, Darvin Ham, Kenny Atkinson: What to know about Lakers coaching candidates latimes.com/sports/lakers/… – 12:09 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
For the sickos who like to watch, Monday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast, YouTube version. We discuss the Lakers head coach finalists: Kenny Atkinson, Darvin Ham,Terry Stotts, and what’s been reported about the hiring process. @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
youtube.com/watch?v=5Ipedz… – 2:59 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Monday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We discuss the Lakers’ reported finalists for the coaching job: Darvin Ham, Kenny Atkinson and Terry Stotts, plus who is (and is not) in charge of the final decision. #FirstListen @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ham… – 10:57 AM

More on this storyline

 

Suspicions persist in league coaching circles that the Lakers have not completely abandoned hope that Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers becomes unexpectedly available — despite the recent insistence from Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey that Rivers will be back in Philly next season. -via marcstein.substack.com / May 23, 2022
As written here on May 2, Ham is also long overdue for a head coaching shot and is known to possess the confidence/presence/demeanor to not only forge a working relationship with James and Anthony Davis but likewise let them know that he does intend to coach them. If the Lakers have no shot at a more established coach like Rivers or Utah’s Quin Snyder, my presumption, frankly, is that they would want to hire Ham as head coach and try to convince Stotts to accept a top assistant/offensive coordinator role that he’s overqualified for. -via marcstein.substack.com / May 23, 2022

 

Sources wonder if Terry Stotts may not command respect from Lakers

Terry Sotts, who is a candidate for the Lakers’ head coaching job, may not be the bench leader they need.

There are reportedly three finalists for the head coaching job of the Los Angeles Lakers, and one of them is former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts.

In nine seasons in Portland, Stotts turned the Blazers from a team that had been in turmoil because of injuries to Greg Oden and Brandon Roy and reshaped them into a perennial playoff team.

Portland made the postseason in all but Stotts’s first season there, and the team peaked with a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2019.

Although Stotts is regarded as a strong offensive tactician, people around the league aren’t sure he is the bench leader the Lakers need.

Via Lakers Daily:

“However, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, some are unsure of whether Stotts would be able to command respect in the Lakers locker room after former head coach Frank Vogel had trouble doing so.

“‘Some sources wondered if Stotts would struggle, like Vogel, to command the locker room’s respect, although he worked well with [Damian] Lillard for a long stretch,’ wrote Pincus.”

Coaching the Lakers means coaching LeBron James, and like many superstars, he is not easy to coach.

Hiring someone who cannot command his respect would likely be a recipe for disaster, especially given how much influence he has over the entire organization.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3cgat297sst2b3dwj playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3cgat297sst2b3dwj/01g3cgat297sst2b3dwj-59d911cb73b12a11510b436438ac68b3.jpg]

[listicle id=82346]

Darvin Ham has made strongest impression in Lakers’ coaching search

The Lakers appear poised to make a decision on their coaching position soon, with Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts the finalists for the job …

The Lakers appear poised to make a decision on their coaching position soon, with Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts the finalists for the job that became vacant when Frank Vogel was fired at season’s end. But as the final round of interviews is set, sources tell The Athletic that Ham appears to have made the strongest impression yet.
Source: Shams Charania, Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Sam Amick @ The Athletic

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Terry Stotts, Darvin Ham, Kenny Atkinson finalists for Lakers coach nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/20/rep… – 5:00 PM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
I’ve been sick in bed basically all week so I’m not really following news as closely as I normally would, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear Darvin Ham was a favorite for the Lakers job. He’d be my pick among the favorites. – 4:31 PM
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Sources: Finalists for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job: Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts. Next stage of interviews are expected to take place in-person in Los Angeles. – 2:07 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Re: today’s news, who do you guys like best for the Lakers new coach? Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts, or AK’s radical plan where Westbrook opts out, retires, creates $19M of cap space, and gets a $47M coaching contract? @LockedOnLakers @LockedOnNetwork @ESPNLosAngeles @LockedOnNBAPods – 2:07 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Sources confirmed that Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham has moved on to second round of interviews for Lakers head coaching job vacancy. – 2:03 PM
The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
Lakers’ head coaching finalists include Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Trail Blazers HC Terry Stotts, per @Adrian Wojnarowski. pic.twitter.com/glLxRgCqt5 – 1:46 PM

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts are among candidates who’ve advanced to the final round of interviews for the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching job, sources tell ESPN. – 1:37 PM

More on this storyline

 

In terms of the Lakers’ preferences, sources say team officials have prioritized a coach who can command respect and authority from the locker room and who has a strong enough presence and voice to manage the varying roles and relationships across the roster. Those characteristics bode well for Ham’s candidacy. Throughout assistant coaching stops with the Lakers, Hawks and Bucks, Ham has been known for his no-nonsense style and ability to resonate with his players — attributes that have stood out in his communication with the Lakers thus far as well, sources said. -via The Athletic / May 20, 2022
Ham, who played in eight NBA seasons from 1996 to 2008, is the only former NBA player among the three finalists. Even before he reached the NBA, however, Ham’s reputation as a force of nature was cemented when he broke the backboard while dunking during his 1996 NCAA Tournament run with Texas Tech. Ham, Stotts and Atkinson are in consideration for the Charlotte Hornets vacancy as well. Ham is also a serious candidate for the Hornets, according to sources. -via The Athletic / May 20, 2022
All three finalists will soon meet with top Lakers officials — including owner Jeanie Buss — in Los Angeles for the next in-person stage, sources said. So far, Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, director of basketball affairs Kurt Rambis, vice president of research and development Joey Buss and assistant general manager Jesse Buss have led the first stage of coaching interviews. -via The Athletic / May 20, 2022

 

Darvin Ham has made strongest impression in Lakers’ coaching search

The Lakers appear poised to make a decision on their coaching position soon, with Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts the finalists for the job that became vacant when Frank Vogel was fired at season’s end. But as the final round of interviews is set, sources tell The Athletic that Ham appears to have made the strongest impression yet.

In terms of the Lakers’ preferences, …

In terms of the Lakers’ preferences, sources say team officials have prioritized a coach who can command respect and authority from the locker room and who has a strong enough presence and voice to manage the varying roles and relationships across the roster. Those characteristics bode well for Ham’s candidacy. Throughout assistant coaching stops with the Lakers, Hawks and Bucks, Ham has been known for his no-nonsense style and ability to resonate with his players — attributes that have stood out in his communication with the Lakers thus far as well, sources said.

Ham, who played in eight NBA seasons …

Ham, who played in eight NBA seasons from 1996 to 2008, is the only former NBA player among the three finalists. Even before he reached the NBA, however, Ham’s reputation as a force of nature was cemented when he broke the backboard while dunking during his 1996 NCAA Tournament run with Texas Tech. Ham, Stotts and Atkinson are in consideration for the Charlotte Hornets vacancy as well. Ham is also a serious candidate for the Hornets, according to sources.