Steve Kerr: Terry Stotts' Blazers teams were 'well-coached and well-organized'

Before the Trail Blazers were dismantled by the Golden State Warriors on opening night, head coach Steve Kerr spoke to the media about the hiring of former Portland head coach Terry Stotts. Stotts joined the team over the summer as a senior assistant and was tasked with adjusting the offense to accommodate the new personnel, including the departure of Klay Thompson and the arrival of Buddy Hield.

Kerr met with the media before Wednesday's game. Blazer's Edge's Conor Bergin asked Kerr about his coaching history against his new assistant coach.

I think we met three or four times in the playoffs. We have had some discussions about some of these encounters. There's a reason I hired him. I always found his teams to be very well trained and well organized. I liked the offensive style. I think our vision of the game is similar in terms of player and ball movement, but they did some things differently than us and I wanted to incorporate some of those things into our team.

Stotts' impact became apparent quickly and the results are visible on the pitch. SBNation's Golden State of Mind took a deep dive into what Stotts brought to the Warriors' offense. Joe Viray provided a breakdown that is worth reading in full as it cannot be easily summarized. Here is an example:

Flares and pindowns serve as the building blocks of Stotts' offensive philosophy – a combination of flow and randomness supported by structure and organization. While the Warriors have favored the former over the latter in the past, the inclusion of Stotts means Kerr is more likely to aim for a balance between two seemingly dichotomous concepts. “Freedom within the structure,” as Stotts said above, meant that multiple options could be explored while leaving room for improvisation and adaptation.

Terry Stotts was Portland's head coach from 2012 to 2021. Along with All-NBA star Damian Lillard, their Blazers reached the Western Conference finals in 2019 and the second round in 2014 and 2016. He won 402 games in Portland, second only to Jack Ramsay's 453. He and the team parted ways in 2021 after a tough first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets, the team they defeated in the 2019 playoffs. After being a finalist in head coaching interviews, he joined Lillard's Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant. However, he resigned before the start of the season amid a training incident with newly hired Adrian Griffin, who was fired just three months later. In Portland, the Blazers hired Chauncey Billups instead after Lillard's attempt to replace Stotts with Jason Kidd failed. Lillard requested a trade two years later and the Blazers began a rebuild. Billups currently has an overall record of 81-166 and is entering his fourth season with the team.