The Portland Trail Blazers finally settled on a head coach, hiring Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori after a lengthy search. But once the details of his deal went public, the backlash started fast. And it came from a familiar voice: Detroit Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff, who also runs the NBA Coaches Association.
Bickerstaff didn’t hold back when talking to ESPN’s Tim McMahon.
“From our perspective, it’s like someone’s taking advantage of your dream and devaluing what we feel like coaches have earned over the years,” Bickerstaff said.
The heart of the issue is the structure of Nori’s contract. It’s essentially a one-year guarantee with two team options tacked on. That kind of setup is rare for a head coach, especially one who has been an assistant since 2009 and was widely considered one of the top candidates ready to run his own sideline. It also comes on the heels of reports that Blazers ownership, led by Tom Dundon, was lowballing candidates from the start.
That reputation took hold during the search. The Blazers interviewed a wide range of names, and sources indicated the offers were light on both years and money. The situation got even more awkward when interim coach Tiago Splitter — the guy who actually took Portland to the playoffs — landed a full-time head coaching job with the Chicago Bulls. That move only made the Blazers’ process look stingier by comparison.
But Nori’s credentials are real. He broke into the NBA as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors in 2009. Since then he’s worked for the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons before landing in Minnesota in 2021. His name has been floated in head coach conversations for years, so his hiring itself wasn’t a surprise. The terms, though, caught the league off guard.
Bickerstaff didn’t say it outright, but his comments suggest this isn’t just about one coach. It’s about what the Blazers are willing to pay — and what that might mean for future coaching contracts across the league. If a well-respected assistant like Nori can only get a one-year guarantee, the fear is that other teams might start pushing similar deals.
The Blazers have not commented on the criticism, and Nori has not addressed it publicly. But with Bickerstaff leading the coaches association, you can bet this conversation isn’t over. And the microscope on Portland’s front office just got a little brighter.
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