Bickerstaff: Nori's contract with Portland a 'slap in the face' - ESPN

National Basketball Coaches Association president J.B. Bickerstaff called the unconventional structure of new Portland Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori's contract a «slap in the face to our value,» an opinion echoed by several coaches throughout the league.

According to league sources, Nori's contract with the Trail Blazers includes only one guaranteed year, with team options on the second and third years of the deal. The deal has a below-market base salary and includes incentives based on team success, sources told ESPN.

Nori, 52, is a first-time head coach who spent the past five seasons as the Minnesota Timberwolves' lead assistant coach and is well liked and highly regarded throughout the league. He interviewed for several head coach openings in recent years before being offered the job by new Portland governor Tom Dundon and general manager Joe Cronin, who conducted a search that included dozens of candidates and began informally during the regular season while interim coach Tiago Splitter was in the midst of leading the Trail Blazers to the playoffs.

Bickerstaff, the Detroit Pistons' coach, emphasized that he is excited for Nori to get a head coaching opportunity but concerned about the precedent his contract could set.

«I understand his story and his journey to get to the spot where he was able to get this opportunity, and I don't want to take away from what should be a special moment for him, for his family, and a job that's well deserved and earned,» Bickerstaff told ESPN. «That's first and foremost.

»But I feel like he was put in a situation that he shouldn't be put in with having to make a choice of this nature because of the structure of what the contract is. It's unfortunate that you have a dream, and from our