Portland Trail Blazers
Headed by their new general manager Olshey, the Trail Blazers front office further made a few changes during July 2012. The Blazers signed their 30th pick from the 2006 draft, Joel Freeland, and their 22nd pick from the 2009 draft, Víctor Claver, as well as re-signing Hickson and Nicolas Batum. They also signed veteran point guard Ronnie Price to back up Lillard, who was selected as co-MVP of the 2012 Las Vegas Summer League. Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Terry Stotts was hired as head coach on August 7, 2012.
2004–05 Portland Trail Blazers season
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 35th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Blazers acquired Nick Van Exel from the Golden State Warriors and signed free agent Joel Przybilla. The Blazers played around .500 for the first two months, but started to struggle losing 11 of their 15 games in January. Head coach Maurice Cheeks was fired midway through the season with a record of 22–33. He was replaced by General Manager Kevin Pritchard, who acted as interim coach for the remainder of the season, in which the team went 5–22. For the second year in a row, the Blazers did not qualify for the playoffs. The team's overall record of 27–55 was their worst since 1973–74, their fourth season of existence.