2. Terry Stotts
Terry Stotts is one of five candidates that has received official interviews with the Los Angeles Lakers, joining Atkinson, Mark Jackson, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin. Out of those five candidates, Stotts has had by far the most success.
He had a successful stretch as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, where he spent nine seasons at the helm. The Trail Blazers went 402-318 under his watch, making the playoffs eight consecutive seasons.
However, Portland couldn’t consistently get over the hump in the postseason, going 22-40 and making the Western Conference Finals once in 2019. Working with stars shouldn’t be an issue for Stotts, as he coached Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in Portland.
His experience is something that could be appealing to the Lakers. It would be hard to imagine them handing a first-time head coach this job given the expectations that come with it as they are in win-now mode with LeBron James on the roster.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Lakers-Timberwolves Trade Sends D’Angelo Russell To L.A
Portland was successful on the offensive end during his tenure. Personnel certainly helped, as Lillard and McCollum were a high-scoring duo. Los Angeles could be hoping he brings some of that to the table to help get James, Davis, and Westbrook on the same page.
