Apr. 16, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Kaleb Canales reacts from the while sidelines while playing against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at the US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Trail Blazers 125-107. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports.

Earlier today it was announced that former Blazers Offensive Coordinator, Kaleb Canales would be leaving the organization to take an assistant coaching job with the Dallas Mavericks. Canales’ most prominent role with the Blazers was a brief stint as Head Coach in the wake of Nate Mcmillan’s dismissal in 2012. When current Head Coach, Terry Stotts, was hired, Portland kept Kaleb to help coordinate the offense. However; Stotts has decided to eliminate the Kaleb’s position and make coordinating the team a collective staff effort.

So what does this mean for Portland? Despite the appreciation the Blazers have for Kaleb Canales, this is decidedly good. Kaleb is an offensive specialist, as is Stotts, so combining their talents left the Blazers with mediocre defense. Stotts hopes to hire a new assistant by summer league. I’d wager dollars to donuts that a defensive specialist is in our future, and one couldn’t come at a better time.

Lillard has struggled with on-ball defense all season, but has taken criticisms to heart and will be training with 1995-96 Defensive Player of the Year, Gary Payton, this summer. While I admire Lillard’s initiative, he can’t be the only one to improve. The Blazers must function as a defensive unit and suffocate their opponents. The Memphis Grizzlies exemplify my goal for the Portland Trail Blazers. I want to see them dominate the full 24 every time. If they can do that and teach Meyers Leonard not to bail out opponents with bad fouls, they’ll be in great shape.

One of Portland’s biggest problems is the inability to balance offensive inconsistency. Sure, they’ll get hot for a while, but when the shots won’t fall they lack a higher defensive gear to make up for it. That’s why it’s so important that they see Kaleb’s departure as an opportunity rather than a setback. Defense is the one element of basketball that is always in the player’s control, but without the proper guidance it’s difficult to excel. The Blazers gave up the 2^nd highest field goal percentage in the league this season (47.4%) and must bring that down considerably in order to be a playoff team again. Kaleb just isn’t the man to make that happen.

Let it be known that Kaleb Canales’ contributions are not to be undervalued. His leadership in times of crisis and support in times of success have been priceless to the Portland Trail Blazers. The offensive minds of Canales and Stotts have simply overlapped into an area of redundancy the Blazers needed to address. So congratulations, Dallas, you’ve got a great guy coming your way. But if I see you use him to get to LaMarcus as BlazersEdge writer, Ben Golliver, suggested, you’ll have the best fan-base in the NBA very unhappy with you.

I would definitely hire Kaleb Canales if I wanted to pursue trading for LaMarcus Aldridge or signing him as a free agent in 2015

— Ben Golliver (@blazersedge) May 3, 2013

Best of luck to Kaleb in all of his future ventures. It’s been great having him on our side.

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

Feb 1, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Terry Stotts takes over for head coach Rick Carlisle (not pictured) after Carlisle was ejected during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the American Airlines Center. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks 95-86. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

The NBA pre-season is moving closer and closer, and now that the Portland Trail Blazers’ coaching staff is finally at capacity, it’s time to pull the curtains and unveil the final product.

There’s not too much information available on every member, but here’s a quick, but in-depth run-down of the people who will be teaching, leading and developing this young Rip City squad for the foreseeable future.

1. Terry Stotts, Head Coach
Profile: Former Head Coach of Milwaukee Bucks (Fired in 2007), Former Assistant Coach for Dallas Mavericks (2008-2012),  Assistant Coach for Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Seattle SuperSonics, Star Player on the CBA’s Montana Golden Nuggets (1980-1983), Current NBA Coaching Record is 116-168

Key Quotes:

“I think they are going to play an exciting brand of basketball,” Stotts said. “And the young players will improve. I think we will be better in April than in November. That will be the measuring stick. There’s not a player on this roster who is not going to try and make the playoffs this year … but my concern with this team, and especially the young players, is getting them better every day, and every month.” — Oregonian

“Yes I want to run. I want to shoot threes. And if we can score 100 points every night that’s great. But to be successful, you have to do it on both ends of the floor,” Stotts said. “I’m proud of what I can do offensively, and how I can help this team offensively, but make no mistake, I’m going to make sure the players know that defense is a priority.” — Oregonian

During his tenure as one of Rick Carlisle’s assistant coaches with the Dallas Mavericks, Terry Stotts rose up the ranks as an “offensive genius,” finding new ways to free up Dirk Nowitzki and re-vamping their offensive schemes during their championship run in 2011. Now the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Stotts will have to keep the Blazer offense pushing, while instilling defensive principles that won’t allow for a repeat of last season — Portland averaged 97.2 points per game (16th in the NBA), while allowing 97.8 points per game (18th in the NBA).

With likely the NBA’s youngest roster — 12 of the 15-man roster are 25-years old or younger — Coach Stotts has his work cut out for him. He’ll be starting two rookies in Damian Lillard and either Meyers Leonard or Joel Freeland at center, and he’s working with a far from complete roster, but any forward progress is upward mobility from Portland’s horrendous 28-38 finish last season.

Stotts has a ridiculous amount of endorsements ranging from Shareef Abdur-Rahim (bet you wouldn’t hear that name again) to his former boss, Rick Carlisle. We just have to remember that Rome wasn’t built overnight, and it’ll probably take a season, maybe two, before the Blazers start wreaking havoc in the Western Conference again.

2. Kaleb Canales, “Defensive Coordinator” 

APRIL. 11, 2011; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Kaleb Canales yells out to his team during the fourth quarter of the game against the Golden State Warriors at the Rose Garden. The Blazers won the game 118-110. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Profile: Blazers Interim Head Coach (2012), Former Head Coach of Texas-Arlington, Blazers’ Summer League Head Coach (2012).

Key Quotes:

 ”Since he has such a good relationship with the players, that’s an asset that’s invaluable,” Stotts said of Canales. — Oregonian

Kaleb Canales was highly-regarded as the “in-house favorite” for the head coaching position, but ended up losing out as a finalist to Terry Stotts. What’s interesting is that general manager Neil Olshey had the two working together during their interviews in London, thus setting up chemistry for the situation the two face now.

The players love him, the front office loves him, and there’s no question he’ll be a head coach in the NBA sometime in the not-so distant future.

3. Jay Triano, Assistant Coach

Feb 2, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano questions a call during the game against the Atlanta Hawks in the first half at Philips Arena. The Hawks defeated the Raptors 100-87. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Profile: Head Coach of Canadian Nation Team, Former Canadian Basketball Player, Former Head Coach of Toronto Raptors (2008-2011), Former Assistant Coach for Team USA (2008).

Jay Triano doesn’t have the best NBA track record — he’s 87-142 through two-and-a-half seasons with the Toronto Raptors — but his experience as an international basketball player and Olympic coach is more than enough to warrant him a seat at the table.

I don’t have much info on Triano, what offensive/defensive schemes he likes to run, or even what kind of coach he is. But I do know that he holds each and every player on his roster accountable for bringing their A-plus game and no less.

“I think gone are the days when you can throw 12 players out there and expect to compete, and I think my time with the United States team showed that,” Triano told the Toronto Globe & Mail. “Jerry Colangelo asked those players for a three-year commitment. When they did that and the players became committed, that’s when they became successful and won back-to-back gold medals.

4. Kim Hughes, “Big Man Specialist”
Profile: Averaged 15 Points and 11 Rebounds As a Senior At the University of Wisconsin, Drafted in the Third Round Pick No. 9 by the Buffalo Braves (1974), Averaged Eight Points and Nine Rebounds as a Rookie with the New York Nets, Named to First Team ABA All-Rookie Team, Interim Head Coach of Los Angeles Clippers (2010).

With the entire offense running through LaMarcus Aldridge, having an ex-big man like Kim Hughes on the coaching staff is an invaluable addition. Not only can he give L.A. tips and tricks to improve his game, but he can help speed up the development of Meyers Leonard and Joel Freeland, as well as help add towards J.J. Hickson’s clearly-lacking post game.

5. David Vanterpool, Assistant Coach “Will be working primarily with the guards”
Profile: All-Euroleague Second Team (2004), Former Washington Wizard (2001), Former Assistant Coach for CSKA Moscow, Italian Supercup MVP (2005)

This excerpt from CSNNW.com should be enough:

“Stotts ran into Vanterpool – a former 6-5 professional guard – five years ago while he was playing overseas ball for the European club CSKA Moscow. The coach at the time, Ettore Messina, told Stotts that Vanterpool would make a great coach some day. A year later, Vanterpool,39, attended an NBA coaching clinic in New Jersey in which Casey, Carlisle, and Stotts were present, as well. The two got reacquainted and apparently Vanterpool blew Stotts away with his coaching mind and work ethic. Vanterpool will be working primarily with the guards. ‘With his playing experience and being young enough to get out there and bang with them in practice, will really benefit our program,’ Stotts said. ‘He will work mainly with the development of our perimeter players and I’m happy to have him on board.’”

6. Dale Osbourne, Player Development
Profile: Former Head Coach of NBDL’s Tulsa 66ers, Utah Flash and Austin Toros, Former Assistant at South Alabama, Former Oklahoma City Thunder D-League Affiliate.

Key Quotes:

“I’m very excited about Dale joining our staff,” said Stotts. “His diverse coaching background and experience at the college and D-League level will be very valuable in the development of our younger players both on the court and off.” — RealGM

Now that we’ve fully introduced the official 2012 Rip City coaching staff, are you excited for this season?

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.