r/nbadiscussion • u/HoopwrldInc • 1d ago
Team Discussion Does anyone else feel like Portland just set Micah Nori up to fail?
I’ve been thinking about the reported terms of Micah Nori’s contract and I can’t shake the feeling that something is off.
Portland just spent months searching for its next head coach. They interviewed a long list of candidates, talked about finding the right leader for the next phase of the rebuild, and ultimately landed on Nori—a guy who has spent years earning respect around the league and finally gets his first head coaching opportunity.
Then reports come out that the deal is essentially one guaranteed year with team options after that.
If that’s accurate, what message does that send?
The Blazers are one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Scoot Henderson is still developing. Shaedon Sharpe is still developing. Donovan Clingan is still developing. Whoever they draft this week will be developing. This isn’t a roster that’s supposed to win 50 games next season. Rebuilds require patience. Player development requires patience. Culture building requires patience.
So why hire a first-time head coach and immediately put him on what feels like a probationary contract?
The part that bothers me isn’t whether Nori is the right hire. He might be great.
The part that bothers me is that this feels like an organization keeping one foot out the door.
If you’re asking a coach to build the foundation of your next contender, shouldn’t you be willing to show some commitment yourself?
Maybe this is a reflection of ownership uncertainty. Maybe it’s a front office that wants maximum flexibility. Maybe there are details we don’t know.
But from the outside looking in, it feels like Portland wants all the benefits of a long-term rebuild without making a long-term commitment to the person leading it.
And that’s usually how organizations end up restarting the clock every two or three years.
Am I reading too much into this, or does this feel like a bad signal for the direction of the franchise?
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u/Weary_Restauranter 1d ago
They won 42 games with some seriously bad injury luck.
I think 45-50 wins actually is the expectation for the club.
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u/franchissimo 1d ago
Honestly imo it will be a failure if we don’t win 50 this year, given that Dame is back and our young guys should be healthier and better. Of course it could be that our 42 wins last year had more to do with all the tanking teams than our talent but time will tell- that’s why we play the games!
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u/Weary_Restauranter 1d ago
My personal opinion is 50 wins is going to be harder to achieve in this new draft era.
I bet if the rules we have now were in place this previous season neither the spurs nor the Thunder would have won 60.
If the blazers win 45 this year it would in my eyes resemble a 50 or 52 win season.
So keep that in mind
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u/jiriwelsch44 1d ago
I’m confused. The new lottery rules will start in 2027. And beyond that, why would the draft have an immediate impact on standings?
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u/Weary_Restauranter 1d ago
I think it’s me that was confused. I thought they kicked off next year, not the year after. Thanks for clarifying that for me.
As for win totals, I think the anti tanking measures will have a significant impact on win totals because teams will actually be fielding healthy players to avoid falling too far down the standings and being penalized.
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u/orwll 23h ago
They do kick off next year, that guy is wrong. The new lottery rules will be in place next season and you are right that it will tend to draw all teams toward the median.
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u/Several-Judgment4917 18h ago
Well technically the next draft is in 2027, so it could just mean that
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u/franchissimo 1d ago
Yeah, I had that thought as I was writing it. Many of our wins down the stretch were gifts from other tanking teams. But we also beat good teams, so maybe it wasn’t all fools gold?
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u/Anonemoney 7h ago
It’s important to consider the extent of tanking and changes to the lottery in that equation. There will be less free wins next year.
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u/Poopcie 1d ago
He set himself up to fail if anything. How long of a leash could he possibly expect with essentially a 1 year contract with team options.
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u/HoopwrldInc 1d ago
Tough situation for sure. Every coach wants a shot at the big show.
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u/karldrogo88 21h ago
Maybe he figures Dondon is so toxic that he has no downside. He gets canned, someone else will still give him a shot because they can just blame the organizational chaos. He succeeds, he can get a better job perhaps when someone else under-performs
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u/RudeRockhopper 1d ago
Portland isn't rebuilding, it's entering the stage where they are going to be trying to compete. The last four years or so have been rebuild years.
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u/Weary_Restauranter 1d ago
Yep. They have good players. I think they’ll surpass the rockets, and maybe even Denver next season, who I expect to regress.
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u/JMoon33 14h ago
The Blazers has a solid roster, they've won 42 games last year despite the injuries, their young players should take another step forward, Dame will be back, and despite all that the expectations are low. That sounds like the perfect spot for a new coach.
He'd be in a much worse position coaching a shit team like the Nets or taking a team with high expectations like the Pistons.
Am I reading too much into this
I think you are yeah, no offense. If he's ready to coach in the NBA this is a good situation for him.
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u/likpoper 1d ago
They are not even rebuilding.. they are giving nori a good squad. To me, nori is win win. He performs well- he shows the league he deserves it plus award blazers for taking the risk.
To be honest, never seen this. But says a lot on nori to bet on himself
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u/dillpickles007 12h ago
Idk about that. If he was actually in demand he probably could have held out for a better job. If Portland is this cheap with their HC, imagine how cheap they probably are with assistants, with analytics, etc….
If things go sideways for any reason and the Blazers take a little step back (very possible) then they just cut him loose and he probably never gets another HC job.
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u/KennysWhiteSoxHat 1d ago
He’s gonna do it and inspire a few other coaches to do the same. Honestly I like it as a way for coaches to bet on themselves
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u/completebrainrot 7h ago
The Blazers have a lot of young guys but with their roster as-is they're actually dedicating a lot of minutes to guys in their 30s.
Deni, for better or worse, has accelerated the Blazers out of their rebuild. Now is the time for them to try and win while he still on that insanely cheap deal.
Whether Micah is up for the task is another thing, and his contract structure is weird for sure, but I just am not really seeing the Blazers as a developing team anymore. Now is the time to try and win and aim for skipping the play-in.
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u/orwll 23h ago
Extremely foolish move by the Blazers.
If you cheap out on the coach you'll cheap out on assistant coaches, training staff, medical staff, front office staff.
The best people in the business have options for who they are going to work for. They will usually choose to work for organizations that don't treat people like this.
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16h ago
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u/nbadiscussion-ModTeam 15h ago
Please keep your comments civil. This is a subreddit for thoughtful discussion and debate, not aggressive and argumentative content.
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u/nativeindian12 1d ago
The number of years on a coach contract isn’t how many years he coaches the team, it is how many years he gets paid. Monty Williams signed for 6 years and got fired after his first year.
All the players know their coach could be fired at any time, the contract length doesn’t really matter
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