The Portland Trail Blazers haven't had a smooth offseason. They offered Roy Hibbert a max contract only to have it matched by the Indiana Pacers, the Minnesota Timberwolves essentially forced them to pay $46 million for Nicolas Batum — after signing former franchise darling Brandon Roy away from them — and on top of everything else, they still don't have a coach.
Trail Blazers Rejected By Jerry Sloan
New GM Neil Olshey, the one acquisition that's gone right for the Blazers this offseason, experienced some of this hardship personally. According to The Oregonian's Jason Quick, he flew all the way to Salt Lake City to offer Jerry Sloan the Blazers' vacant head coaching spot, only to have the 70-year-old former Jazz coach call him on his way back to Portland to tell him no dice.
All is not lost for the Blazers, however. Though Sloan was No. 1 with a bullet on their list of candidates, Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, whom has been pegged as a future head coach for years now, has been given permission to interview with Olshey, according to The Sports Xchange. Shaw has previously interviewed for the Lakers and Bobcats coaching vacancies, and is reported to be a candidate in Orlando.
Other candidates for the Blazers job, according to Quick, are some of the league's top assistant coaches, including the Warriors' Michael Malone, the Spurs' Mike Budenholzer and interim head coach Kaleb Canales. Canales is coaching the Blazers' summer league team in Las Vegas.
For more on the Blazers, head to Blazers Edge.
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