I’ve had a lot of Jazz fans ask me about the appearance of former Portland coach Terry Stotts at the Jazz’s last home game against the Clippers. He sat next to Jazz GM Justin Zanik, assistant coach Mike Wells, and French legend Boris Diaw. Here’s picture proof, if you’d like it:
He’s also in New York with the team.
Here’s the deal, according to team PR: Stotts is here as guest of the organization. The situation, they say, is similar to that of Tom Thibodeau, Tom Crean, or Frank Vogel visiting the team in recent years. Those guys, and Stotts, all were let go by their teams and then have some extra time in their careers. They basically hang around Jazz practice, watch how the Jazz operate, and sometimes have conversations with the coaching staff about various basketball ideas that may or may not be helpful to Snyder.
I remember talking to Snyder about Thibodeau when he was a visiting coach in 2015, and he called Thibs the “Dean of All Defense” then. He said Thibs was providing the Jazz “some ideas, some thoughts, and some coaching,” but mostly, it was about doing right by a guy well-thought of in the organization. I don’t think, with Stotts, it’s a job interview for an actual role with the team, I think it’s just casually visiting.
It was cool seeing Stotts around some of his former Blazers players during the Clippers game (remember the big trade between the two teams at the deadline). He’s clearly well liked and respected, and even in my interactions with him, I’ve always had a positive impression.
