National Basketball Coaches Association President J.B. Bickerstaff and other NBA coaches aren’t happy about the unusual structure of Micah Nori’s new head coaching contract with the Portland Trail Blazers, according to an article by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
New Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon and general manager Joe Cronin’s hire of Nori as a first-time head coach on Tuesday has been met with general approval given his extensive résumé and likability throughout the league as a long-time assistant. However,
it has been accompanied by controversy because of highly unconventional terms. Jason Quick of The Athletic reported the contract includes only one guaranteed year, followed by team options for the second and third seasons. Additionally, MacMahon reported the deal has a below-market base salary and includes incentives based on team success.
In an interview with ESPN, Bickerstaff called the contract’s structure a “slap in the face to our value.” That opinion was repeated by several coaches throughout the league, though they declined to discuss the situation on the record, MacMahon reported.
“Most ownership understands that there is value in quality coaching and good coaching, and they’re willing to pay for it,” Bickerstaff said. “Coaching salaries have been increasing because the league understands and owners understand the value of quality coaching. So for a new guy to come in who doesn’t have that understanding and to go out and chop at the knees of coaches is a slap in the face to our value.”
Bickerstaff said Nori deserved and earned this new opportunity, but it’s unfortunate because it feels like the Blazers are “taking advantage of” Nori’s dream to become a head coach and “devaluing what we feel like coaches have earned over the years.” Additionally, Bickerstaff said coaches working on a one-year or year-to-year deal encounter challenges, such as maintaining authority with players and building a coaching staff.
“It changes the math on where a coach stands, and it creates an environment where how do you hold players accountable when it looks like you are easily replaced and removed if things don’t go the way that players may see it going,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s almost, which is disappointing, a mindset of the substitute teacher being there with no guarantee or support [regarding] what it looks like long term or in the future.
“I’ve talked to a lot of coaches — head coaches, assistant coaches — who are extremely concerned. It’s a very serious matter to us as coaches to make sure that we protect the value of coaching staffs. It’s years and years of work that coaches have put in to put ourselves in this position and to put future coaches in the position where our value remains and isn’t disregarded because of a power flux of ownership.”
While Bickerstaff criticized the structure of the contract, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch defended Nori’s choice to take the deal. Finch, who Nori worked under in Minnesota from 2021 to 2026, discussed the situation with reporters on Tuesday night:
“I thought it was a shame that a lot of the story about Micah’s great opportunity was overshadowed by the nature of the deal that he signed. That’s a personal decision. That’s a business decision. That’s between him, the team and the agent.
“I just know this. There’s 30 of these jobs. They’re hard to get. They’re incredibly rewarding in a lot of different ways. I know he wasn’t focused on certainly money, but he was first focused on opportunity. That’s what we preach to all of our guys here. You should chase opportunity, not money.
“Then I also know you bet on yourself in this world. Especially when you’re an outsider — we considers ourselves a little bit of outsiders, we weren’t raised in the game. We didn’t play at North Carolina or Duke, so sometimes your path is just different, and you’ve got to take chances along the way.”
ESPN said the Blazers, via a team spokesperson, declined to comment for the story. Additionally, Nori’s agent Bret Just, who also represents Bickerstaff and several other NBA coaches, declined to comment.
The Blazers are scheduled to hold an introductory press conference for Nori on Thursday at 11 a.m. PDT in Portland. Cronin will also be seated at the podium.
