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Trail Blazers sign Stotts to extension
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
After guiding the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs this season, coach Terry Stotts signed a multiyear contract extension with the team on Thursday.
According to reports, the deal is for three years with a team option for a fourth year.
The Trail Blazers finished with 54 wins during the regular season and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals before falling to the San Antonio Spurs in five games.
The club’s improvement from a 33-49 record the previous season is the best in franchise history and the sixth-biggest turnaround in NBA history.
“Terry has done an outstanding job during his first two years with the organization,” Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey. “This extension illustrates our confidence in him as our head coach as well as the Portland Trail Blazers’ continued commitment to building a model of consistency and stability.”
The Trail Blazers’ other accomplishments this season included winning their first playoff series in 14 years when they eliminated the Houston Rockets in the first round. It was Portland’s first postseason appearance since the 2010-11 season.
Led by forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Damian Lilliard, the Trail Blazers developed into one of the top offensive teams in the NBA, averaging fifth in the league in scoring.
“Portland is a unique and special place and I’m very proud to be the head coach of the Trail Blazers,” the 56-year-old Stotts said. “We started the process two seasons ago and laid the foundation for success. I look forward to the possibilities of the upcoming seasons.”
Stotts has an 87-77 overall record in two seasons in Portland. He also has worked as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks.
