Portland Trail Blazers part ways with coach Terry Stotts after nine seasons

After nine seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers and eight playoff appearances, Terry Stotts is out as head coach, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the news was announced by the team.

The Blazers, who were 42-30 this season and the No. 6 seed, were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in six games in their Western Conference first-round series.

Stotts was 402-318 with the Blazers and 22-40 in the playoffs. The Blazers made it to the conference finals once and the conference semifinals twice. Portland also lost in the first round five times.

Stotts often made the most of his roster in the regular season but had trouble breaking through in the playoffs in a deep Western Conference. Nine seasons with one team is a lifetime in the NBA, and the Blazers' front-office is searching for improvement while star guard Damian Lillard is still in his prime.

Stotts had one year remaining on his contract. He had the second-most wins behind Jack Ramsay and the fourth-highest winning percentage in franchise history.

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