Terry Stotts, Portland Trail Blazers officially agree to part ways

Terry Stotts is out as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers following their latest first-round ouster, multiple outlets reported Friday.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Yahoo’s Chris Haynes characterized the decision as mutual. Stotts leaves the Trail Blazers with the second-most wins in franchise history (402) and eight playoff appearances in his nine seasons. But four of the past five trips have ended in the first round, including the Trail Blazers’ 4-2 loss to Denver despite 34.3 points per game from Damian Lillard.

As noted by both reporters, Stotts had been the only coach Lillard ever played for since joining the Trail Blazers in 2013. Haynes reported that the six-time All-Star will have “major input” on who Portland hires to replace Stotts. Per Wojnarowski, the early candidates include Chauncey Billups, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike D’Antoni.

Thank you, Coach Stotts ❤️ https://t.co/dLHJdAEajZ pic.twitter.com/fGzPnuyvyL

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 5, 2021