The Blazers have an assistant coach in Jay Triano with 38 years of head-coaching experience and familiarity with Damian Lillard. He'll be a great backup for Micah Nori in Portland.
Jay Triano is one of the most outstanding assistant coaches in the league, and he's now on Micah Nori's staff. Recent highlights include a playoff run with the Sacramento Kings in the Mike Brown era, and last year he coached under Jason Kidd in Dallas.
The appointment of Triano is a reunion with Damian Lillard. Triano was an assistant under Terry Stotts in Portland from 2012 to 2016. Right when Lillard arrived and was developing his future Hall of Fame skill-set.
While Triano has almost always been the assistant coach (but never the coach), he does have experience as the man in charge for a few organizations. From 2008-2011, he was the head coach in Toronto after initially earning the interim tag. With stars like Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani, Triano got his first taste of NBA leadership here. He became the first Canadian national to be an NBA coach when he was chosen. He also coached the 2017-2018 Phoenix Suns after head coach Earl Watson was let go.
On an international level, Triano has been exceeding expectations for a long time. Starting out a full 38 years ago in 1988, he coached hoops at Simon Fraser University where he went to school himself. He was at this role until 1995. He then led the Canadian Men's Team through 1998-2004 and again from 2012-2019. The highlight was the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where he led his team to a surprise 7th place finish with an assist from Steve Nash. Nash was coming into his own in the NBA at that time as point guard for the Dallas Mavericks and starred on the Olympic team. Nash later became another Canadian head coach when he took over the Brooklyn Nets in their Big Three era.
If you want proof of what an accomplished assistant can do for a team, look no further than Blazers' coach Nori's impact in Minnesota. He became a prominent and coveted figure and proved himself by taking over playoff games when Chris Finch went down with a freak injury. The shorthand he has surely developed with Lillard will also be beneficial, although so many years have passed. Being able to delegate to a coach like this will hopefully take pressure off of first-time head man Nori. In Phoenix, Sacramento, and Charlotte, Triano rose to the role of associate head coach. His experience and knowledge of outstanding guards will be useful in navigating a season full of expectations in Portland.
