Jack McCloskey – Coach for the Trail Blazers before Greg Oden
The second coach the Portland Trail Blazers had was Jack McCloskey. He served the team between 1972-1974. As well as being a coach, he was also a player for the NBA and an executive. During his time there, the team’s win-loss record was not something to be so proud of, at 48-116. Perhaps if it would have had Greg Oden playing (who only joined the Trail Blazers in 2007), things would have looked somewhat different. But as it was, McCloskey thus left in 1974.
When he did leave the Trail Blazers, McCloskey joined the Los Angeles Lakers, under Jerry West, as assistant coach. He hoped to have been promoted to head coach when West left but Paul Westhead was hired over him. In 1979, he became the general manager for the Detroit Pistons. This was probably where he was most well known since just two years ago, his name was honored in Detroit with a banner raised at The Palace of Auburn Hills.