OAKLAND, Calif. -- After the Portland Trail Blazers closed their season Wednesday with a 125-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, the team's first item of business is to retain coach Terry Stotts, sources say.
The Trail Blazers hold a team option for Stotts' services for next season, but sources say management and Stotts' representatives soon will explore a contract extension beyond 2016-17.
During his four seasons at the helm in Portland, Stotts has compiled a record of 182-146, and the team has qualified for the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
This season, in what was expected to be a rebuilding campaign, the Trail Blazers compiled a record of 44-38 and earned the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. Stotts finished a close second to Warriors coach Steve Kerr in the NBA's coach of the year vote.
The Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out to Golden State.
After spending parts of two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, Stotts joined Rick Carlisle's staff with the Dallas Mavericks in 2008. While on the bench with the Mavericks, Stotts established a reputation as a sharp offensive coach.
When the vacancy opened in Portland in 2012, the Trail Blazers saw Stotts as a logical candidate to sculpt a jump-shooting offense around forward LaMarcus Aldridge, not unlike what Stotts helped construct in Dallas for Dirk Nowitzki. After leading the Trail Blazers to a 54-28 record in 2013-14, Stotts agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the team in May 2014.
