The Portland Trail Blazers have a new head coach this upcoming NBA season in Micah Nori. Nori is taking an interesting approach to building a rapport with his new coaching staff. He had the staff read the famous book “The Old Man and the Sea,” by Ernest Hemingway.

Nori explained why that book was given as homework to his team.

“In this day and age, everything the players digest is Instagram … Snapchat … TikTok … Twitter … everything is 10 seconds,” Nori said, per The Athletic. “The attention span of this generation is very quick. … So, I wanted to get across to our coaches that you can tell your story, get your point across with not so many words. Keep the main thing the main thing.”

That Hemingway book is considered one of the greatest works of American literature. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. It tells the story of an elderly fisherman trying to reel in a gigantic fish.

“(Hemingway) didn’t use a lot of words. Everything was essentially headlines and cut to the chase,” Nori said. “So I figure as a team, we are together for seven months. I don’t want my voice to become like that Charlie Brown teacher (wah-wah-wah). You can hit these guys with your point, then get out.”

This is Nori's first job as a head coach in the NBA. He has spent many years as an assistant, working with several teams. He spent time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.

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Portland is hoping to become a power in the Western Conference this upcoming season. The Blazers made the NBA Playoffs in 2026, before losing a series to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Blazers have one NBA title, which the franchise won way back in 1977.