JB Bickerstaff takes issue with Micah Nori’s Blazers contract

The Portland Trail Blazers finally reached a decision on a new head coach, hiring Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori after a long search. But as the details of Micah Nori’s new contract as Blazers head coach became public, it drew quite a bit of criticism and reaction, with Detroit Pistons’ head coach JB Bickerstaff among those not in favor, as per Tim McMahon of ESPN.

“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.

JB Bickerstaff is the president of the NBA coaches association, and so his thoughts are likely a general sense of what the rest of the league’s head coaches may feel about Micah Nori’s contract with the Blazers. The cause for some of the initial reactions are that his contract is essentially only a one-year deal, with the first year being guaranteed and the other two years as team options.

Nori’s hiring and unusual deal comes on the heels of reports that the Blazers, and new ownership led by Tom Dundon, were lowballing their candidates for the head coach job. Interim head coach Tiago Splitter was recently hired by the Chicago Bulls to lead their team, after guiding the Blazers to the playoffs.

Regardless of the contract, Nori was one of the more popular names that have come in recent years when talking about NBA assistant coaches that were primed to become a head coach. He began his NBA career as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors in 2009. He’s also had stints with the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons before joining the Timberwolves in 2021.

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