Jan. 6, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan during game against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Trail Blazers 102-77. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Nate McMillan has taken center stage as the first option to replace Lawrence Frank as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. Frank was fired last week, concluding Detroit’s 29-53 record. McMillan coached the Portland Trail Blazers for 7 seasons with a 266-269 record. As you know, he’s been out of coaching work since he was fired partway through last season due to the team’s stagnation and, unofficially, player mutiny led by Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford.

McMillan has historically been a fan of the short rotation, playing a few players for big minutes in a slow, methodical offensive system. This is the offense that saw LaMarcus Aldridge backing down players in the low post and finishing at the rim, compared to Stotts’ offense, which has LaMarcus taking jumpers in the high post off the pick and pop. McMillan and Detroit make an interesting pairing because of this. The Pistons have two talented, young, big men in Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond. Both can hammer in the paint and have the youthful legs to play extended minutes.

Let’s look at Drummond, specifically, and see why the Pistons may be salivating at the prospect of coach Mac. McMillan helped LaMarcus Aldridge achieve league wide recognition by coupling him with Andre Miller on the pick and roll. This pairing was so successful that LA’s offensive production spiked and he found himself at the freethrow line more often as teams began to recognize him as a threat. Drummond has the same kind of potential for success if the offense is run to his advantage. This is where it is important for the Pistons to act quickly and decide which player they will need to run McMillan’s system (if hired).

Which brings me to Detroit’s most pressing dilemma; what to do about Jose Calderon. Jose is perennially underrated, but will likely draw some big offers in free agency this summer. The Pistons have good reason to be concerned, as he has not committed to Detroit. Bringing in Nate McMillan will do one of two things. It will either help convince Calderon to stay and play for a more competent coach or, more likely, it will give the organization a head start on what kind of point guard to look for in Calderon’s absence. I would not be at all surprised to see the Pistons welcome McMillan aboard in the coming week to give their team some direction.

I just want Nate to find success. He was a valuable coach for the Blazers and I will always look back fondly on the era of Roy, Aldridge, and Oden (some assembly required). There was buzz earlier this season when the Lakers fired Mike Brown, that Nate could coach in Los Angeles. Granted, all sorts of names were thrown into the ring, but his was there among media speculation nonetheless. Although that would have been a sight to see, I think Detroit will be a much better fit for him (Dwight’s pick and roll is a work in progress). I wish him the best and hope to see him gainfully employed once again in short order.

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

Portland's newest head coach is Terry Stotts. Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

The Portland Trail Blazers have announced that they have hired a new coach. Here’s the part that is a bit shocking, it’s not going to be Kaleb Canales. According to an official press release, Paul Allen has landed on former Dallas Mavericks assistant Terry Stotts.

Like most Blazer fans, I don’t know a whole lot about Stotts. To be fair, I haven’t actually been following the developments in the coaching search all that closely. I basically figured Portland would eventually land on Canales. Not because he was the best coach in the bunch, but because 2012-13 is a season with low to no expectations, or at least it should be.

Giving the job to Canales could have been a win/win for Portland. He isn’t expected to be a championship level coach, so if the team does well he outshines his expectations. If the team does poorly, he can be fired and it doesn’t look like the Blazers are burning through head coaches as the were GMs last year. Basically its the Chad Buchanan scenario all over again. Give him an extended interim period in which he occupies the position until management can wrangle somebody better.

Well apparently that somebody better was Terry Stotts. We’ll all just have to wait and see if management got it right.

Here’s the press release:

TERRY STOTTS NAMED TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH

Former Dallas assistant becomes 14^th coach in team history

 

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Trail Blazers have named Terry Stotts as the team’s head coach, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey. Stotts becomes the 14^th head coach in Trail Blazers history.

An 18-year coaching veteran, Stotts most recently served as an assistant coach with Dallas for four seasons from 2008-12. Under head coach Rick Carlisle, Stotts helped lead the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA Championship.

“Terry is one of the elite offensive minds in the NBA, has extensive experience with multiple organizations and was instrumental in the Dallas Mavericks winning the 2011 NBA Championship, said Olshey. “He understands the vision for the future of the franchise, appreciates the process involved and will create an environment on the court that will produce championship habits.”

Stotts, 54, has twice served as an NBA head coach, with two-year stints in both Milwaukee (2005-07) and Atlanta (2002-04). He has compiled an overall head coaching record of 115-168 (.406).

“I’m very pleased to be a part of a great franchise in a beautiful city with such a proud history,” said Stotts. “I look forward to working hard with Neil and our players toward the ultimate goal of bringing another championship to Portland.”

During his two seasons with Milwaukee, Stotts guided the Bucks to a 63-83 (.432) mark, including a playoff appearance in 2006. Stotts replaced Lon Kruger as head coach of the Hawks on Dec. 26, 2002, and accumulated a record of 52-85 (.380) in two seasons with Atlanta.

In between head coaching positions, Stotts worked as the lead assistant to Mike Montgomery at Golden State during the 2004-05 season.

Before becoming a head coach, Stotts served as an assistant under George Karl for 10 years, six with Seattle and four with Milwaukee. Those teams reached the postseason in nine of 10 seasons, including Seattle’s NBA Finals appearance in 1996.

A four-year starter at the University of Oklahoma, Stotts was selected by Houston in the second round of the 1980 NBA Draft. He played professionally for several seasons in Europe and with the CBA’s Montana Golden Nuggets, coached by Karl.

A native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, Stotts grew up in Illinois, Wisconsin, Guam and finished high school in Bloomington, Indiana. Stotts is married to his wife, Jan.