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.
