For the last 17 seasons, with the five most recent with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Micah Nori has been an assistant coach in the NBA. His tireless work ethic and detailed game planning have many believing he is long overdue for a head coaching position.
That wait for Nori may finally come to an end soon. Marc Stein reported that the 52-year-old is a finalist for the Portland Trail Blazers head coach opening, and that's not the only head coaching job that has Nori as a candidate.
Nori is a strong candidate for multiple head coach openings
Nori isn’t assured of landing the Portland job. Tiago Splitter did a wonderful job in an interim role by leading the Trail Blazers to the playoffs after he took over just one game into the season due to off-the-court issues for Chauncey Billups. The team has also requested to interview Los Angeles Clippers assistant Jeff Van Gundy, who was last a head coach in the 2006-07 season with the Houston Rockets.
Nori is also expected to interview with the Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls. The Mavericks recently moved on from Jason Kidd after Masai Ujiri took over as team president, and Billy Donovan will not be returning to the Bulls.
Frankly, considering that Nori is a finalist for one job and in the mix for two others, it's hard to see him return to Minnesota.
These aren’t the first opportunities that Nori has received in the form of an interview for a head coaching role. He interviewed with the New York Knicks last offseason (the Knicks also asked for permission to speak with Chris Finch but were denied), but the position was given to Mike Brown. The previous offseason, Nori was linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, but JJ Redick received the position.
Prior to the Timberwolves, Nori also held assistant coaching positions with the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, and Detroit Pistons. In the 2024 playoffs, Nori took over the head coaching duties for Minnesota.
Chris Finch suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee in Game 4 of the opening round when Mike Conley accidentally crashed into his leg. While Finch remained on the sidelines for the rest of the postseason run to the conference finals, he was unable to complete all his head coaching duties.
It would be a big loss for the Wolves if Nori were to land a head coaching position elsewhere. With that being said, it’s something that he deserves. It is truly starting to feel like this will finally be the year that a team hires Nori to man their ship.
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