As new Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Micah Nori was officially welcomed yesterday, fellow members of the coaching fraternity continued to weigh in on the contract the Blazers offered him: reportedly below market value, with incentives attached in order to earn increased pay, and equipped with a team option that essentially puts his job on the line after each season.
President of the National Basketball Coaches Association J.B. Bickerstaff weighed in on the contract almost instantly after the news
of its terms was released, calling it a “slap in the face”. Sam Amick of The Athletic got quotes from Bickerstaff and two other coaches expressing similar concerns.
Bickerstaff underlined the challenges of the head coach needing to hold everyone in their organization accountable, a job made more difficult by perceptions of low salary and an insecure tenure:
“Support matters,” Bickerstaff said. “The type of leadership that you work under as a coach matters. If you have a disagreement with a player, or you want them to play a specific role, and you’re battling the idea that the people above you don’t necessarily have your back, that makes your job extremely difficult. One of our jobs as coaches is the ability to hold people and players and staff, as leadership, accountable. And if you don’t have that support from above, it makes it difficult.”
Former Atlanta Hawks head coach, current Indiana Pacers lead assistant Lloyd Pierce highlighted the need to resolve tensions and work through problems with confidence and assurance even in the most successful of organizations:
“We saw (the Knicks) come out of the (NBA Cup) tournament (in December) and have a rough stretch after winning the cup, and all of the criticism about the adjustments or decisions he made,” Pierce said. “But ultimately, he had ultimate support from (management) and everyone involved in New York. So they went through their adversity, and they came out and had a hell of a run. No coach wants to feel like they can’t finish the job, and it’s hard to finish the job if you’re walking into it knowing that you’re not truly being supported.”
Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach, current Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham echoed those sentiments, pointing out that coaches are perpetually on the hot seat, the first people blamed for woes besetting their teams:
“As a head coach, sometimes you’re the one that has to face the music,” Ham said. “You are at the forefront. You’re the face of that franchise. And so your (deal) should represent that as well. It’s a volatile business, so a lot of times that position is short-lived, and you just know it’s a matter of time before you’re fired, and we embrace that. We know what comes with the territory. But, you know, it’s just unfortunate to see that, and we’re gonna fight tooth and nail to make sure that we don’t go backwards.
“We can’t be left out because, again, the weight of the world is on your shoulders sometimes when you are in that seat. And so the contract structure, the finances, they should represent the seriousness of that position.”
Amick points out that all three coaches showed support for Nori himself. Their critiques were not about the person or the hire, but about the systemic structures influenced by the term of his contract.
