FILE — Head coach Terry Stotts of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on against the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter during Round 1, Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on June 03, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
The Portland Trail Blazers have parted ways with coach Terry Stotts after nine seasons.
The move comes after the Blazers’ fourth first-round playoff exit in five seasons, a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
“I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement Friday night.
💯 percent … I will miss him. https://t.co/yoZNdY625W
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) June 5, 2021
“This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level, but it’s in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction. Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day, and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best,” Olshey said.
Stotts, 63, leaves as the second-winningest coach in Blazers history with a 402-318 mark, behind only Jack Ramsay. Stotts led Portland to eight consecutive playoff appearances.
Overall, Stotts is 517-486 in 13 seasons as head coach with the Atlanta Hawks (2002-04), Milwaukee Bucks (2005-06) and Blazers.