Trail Blazers Revamp Coaching Staff for 2026-27 Season
PORTLAND – The Trail Blazers didn’t just tweak the back of the bench for 2026-27. They rewired it.
With Micah Nori preparing for his first full season in charge, Portland has loaded up on experience, player development pedigree, and data-driven edge, announcing a sweeping set of additions and promotions across basketball operations.
At the center of it all: the return of a familiar voice with serious gravitas.
Triano returns, this time as Hall of Famer
Jay Triano is back in Portland, and he returns with an even heavier résumé than when he left.
A 2026 Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Triano brings roughly two decades of NBA coaching experience, including head coaching runs with the Toronto Raptors (2008-11) and Phoenix Suns (2017-18). The first Canadian-born head coach in league history, he also steered the Canadian National Team across two separate stints (1999-04 and 2012-19) and represented his country in three Olympic Games as a player.
He knows Portland. He knows the league. He knows the grind. Triano previously served as a Trail Blazers assistant from 2012-16 and arrives fresh off a season on Jason Kidd’s staff with the Dallas Mavericks (2025-26).
For a young roster searching for an identity, that kind of institutional memory matters.
Williams comes full circle
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mike Williams represents the rising generation of coaches.
Williams joins Nori’s staff after three seasons as an assistant with the Utah Jazz (2023-26). Before that, he was one of the youngest head coaches in the G League, leading the Washington Wizards’ affiliate, Capital City Go-Go, to a 19-13 record and a postseason semifinal run in 2022-23.
The twist: his career started in Portland.
Williams began as a player development intern with the Trail Blazers before moving to Washington as a player development assistant from 2018-19 through 2020-21. Now he returns with head-coaching experience, playoff reps in the G League, and a reputation for connecting with young guards.
Crawford stays, with a champion’s edge
Quinton Crawford remains on staff, entering his second season as a Blazers assistant, and his track record reads like a blueprint for modern coaching success.
Before Portland, Crawford took the Stockton Kings to the 2025 NBA G League Championship in his first year as head coach. Before that, he bounced through some of the league’s most competitive environments, serving as an assistant with the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Los Angeles Lakers, including a spot on the Lakers’ 2020 NBA Championship coaching staff.
He’s seen title habits up close. Portland clearly wants those habits embedded in its daily work.
Abraham and Black rise inside the system
Gilbert Abraham continues as an assistant coach while entering his third season as the team’s Director of Player Development, a dual role that underscores how seriously the Blazers treat growth from within.
Abraham arrived from the Austin Spurs, the San Antonio Spurs’ G League affiliate, where he worked as an assistant in 2022-23. Before that, he served as Director of Performance at Tandem Sports and Entertainment from 2021-23, blending on-court teaching with performance science and individualized planning.
Leron Black is the latest internal promotion. After working last season as a player development coach, he moves up to assistant coach.
Black’s path has been steady and deliberate: two seasons with the Blazers’ G League affiliate, Rip City Remix, as an assistant coach, two years in college coaching as a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton (2021-23), and a professional playing career in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico from 2018-21. He’s walked the road many fringe and overseas players know well, and that perspective tends to land in an NBA locker room.
Jeter and Luhnow: development lifers
Player development remains a clear pillar of the organization.
Pooh Jeter enters his fourth season as a Player Development Coach. Before stepping into this role, he spent two seasons (2021-23) with G League Ignite, where he provided veteran leadership to elite prospects preparing for the NBA. His playing career stretched across continents, including a stint with the Sacramento Kings in 2010-11 and stops in Spain, Israel, China, France, Turkey, and Ukraine.
In 2024, the University of Portland inducted Jeter into its Athletic Hall of Fame. Now he continues to shape the next wave of Blazers talent in the same city where his own legend took root.
Jason Luhnow, also entering his fourth season with the organization, transitions into a full-time player development coach under Nori after splitting duties last year as video coordinator and player development coach.
Luhnow’s story is pure local: Lake Oswego High School standout, then a star at Lewis and Clark College, then a pro stint with the Woodville Warriors in Australia’s NBL1. He joined the Blazers in 2022 as a video intern, worked his way up, and previously coached at Lake Oswego High School as both junior varsity and varsity assistant while helping train collegiate and professional players.
That blend of local roots, video-room detail, and hands-on development fits exactly where the modern NBA is headed.
Support staff stays intact
Continuity still matters, and Portland is keeping key pieces in place.
Ikenna Smart continues as video coordinator and player development coach. Ty Vitko returns for his second season as assistant video coordinator. John Townsend remains in his long-held role as shooting coach, a steady specialist presence in a league obsessed with efficiency from deep.
Bjorkgren shifts, Brocato arrives with the data
The changes stretch beyond the bench.
Nate Bjorkgren, entering his fourth season with the Blazers, moves into a new role as Special Assistant to the Coaching Staff and Basketball Operations. His résumé includes multiple stints as a Toronto Raptors assistant (2018-20, 2021-23) and a season as head coach of the Indiana Pacers in 2020-21. Now, instead of patrolling the sideline, he’ll operate as a bridge between coaching, scouting, and strategy.
On the analytics front, Portland has made a significant hire.
James Brocato joins as Director of Basketball Innovation after 12 years with the Dallas Mavericks, where he most recently served as Director of Basketball Analytics. His mandate in Portland is clear: use data to drive decision-making across basketball operations and carve out competitive advantages wherever possible.
Brocato’s academic background mirrors his hybrid role. He holds a Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washington State University, an uncommon pairing that suits a job sitting at the intersection of numbers, behavior, and rules.
Put it all together, and the picture is obvious: the Trail Blazers are betting that the climb back to relevance won’t be driven by one star or one splashy move, but by a deep, layered staff built to teach, adapt, and squeeze every ounce of growth from a young roster.
Now the question shifts to the floor: with this much experience and innovation behind them, how quickly can Portland’s players catch up?
