New Portland Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori isn’t concerned about the criticism surrounding his contract. After questions were raised about the structure of his three-year deal, Nori explained that the opportunity to become an NBA head coach outweighed concerns about guaranteed money or long-term security.
“The way I look at this is, opportunity,” Nori said in an interview with Sean Highkin. “For 28 years, the first 25 years I never had an agent. I never look at money or years. I know that if I’m successful, the rest of these things will take care of themselves.”
Nori’s comments come after The Athletic reported that only the first season of his three-year contract is guaranteed, with the final two years structured as team options. The arrangement has drawn criticism from around the league because it effectively leaves Nori coaching without long-term job security despite agreeing to a multi-year deal.
Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who serves as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, questioned the precedent the contract could set for future coaching negotiations.
“He shouldn’t have to be in that position to make a decision like that because of all the work that coaches before us have put in,” Bickerstaff told The Athletic. “(You’re) trying to set a precedent that devalues the job of what coaches have done to help grow the NBA and these teams into billion-dollar businesses. (That’s) a serious concern for us as coaches.”
Despite those concerns, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin made it clear the organization has complete confidence in its new coach.
“Micah and I and Tom, we agreed to take a chance on each other. He believes in us and I believe in him,” Cronin said. “The terms of the contract, it doesn’t really matter. We’re all in this together. We’re going to support Micah with resources and players.”
The post Micah Nori gets brutally honest on why he left Timberwolves to accept bizarre contract appeared first on ClutchPoints.
