The Portland Trail Blazers have won four of their last five games and are just one game out of a guaranteed playoff spot in the Western Conference, but it does not sound like head coach Terry Stotts is going to be able to save his job.
Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Stotts’ time with Portland is “increasingly expected to come to an end” following the season. Stotts can likely only change the outcome if the Blazers make a deep postseason run.
The Blazers entered Wednesday with a record of 36-29, which is good for 7th in the Western Conference. The 7th-place team will host a play-in game against the No. 8 seed with a chance to advance to the playoffs. Even if the 7th-place team loses, they would still get a chance to face the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game for the final spot in the playoff field.
Stotts, 63, has been with Portland since 2012. The Blazers have Jusuf Nurkic, CJ McCollum, and Damian Lillard all back from injury now, but they continue to be plagued by inconsistent play.
The Blazers will likely focus on a big name to replace Stotts if they do move on from the coach, according to The Athletic. Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups are among the potential candidates.
Stotts has one season left on his contract, but he has been on the hot seat for quite some time.
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