The Portland Trail Blazers hired a new general manager in Neil Olshey this summer and recently lost team president Larry Miller back to the shoe business, so it seems safe to say that the team has had a bit of an upheaval this offseason.
The world will find out if that upheaval will also extend to the coaching staff next week, as the Blazers plan to interview candidates for the head coaching position currently being held down by interim coach Kaleb Canales. Canales is still in the running to keep his job, but The Oregonian's Jason Quick reports that Olshey plans to interview candidates in Vegas at the NBA Summer League.
"We have vetted all the candidates, and we have our list," Olshey said. "I will have some clarity at the end of the week in terms of names that will be on the interview list. Right now, I plan on conducting interviews in Vegas. It's the atmosphere most conducive to a search. we can see almost all the guys, who are on staffs, so we can bang through it pretty quickly and efficiently."
Quick expects the candidates to include all of the usual assistants -- Indiana's Brian Shaw, Golden State's Mike Malone, Miami's David Fizdale, Oklahoma City's Rex Kalamian, San Antonio's Mike Budenholzer and Memphis' Dave Joerger -- but it remains to be seen if other candidates will emerge.
For now, Canales will serve as the team's head coach in Vegas with former NBA players Dan Dickau and Hersey Hawkins serving as his assistants.
For more on the Blazers, head to Blazers Edge.