Recapping the State of Portland's Coaching Search

Chauncey Billups and Becky Hammon likely lead the pack, but Mike D'Antoni seems to be closing fast.

It was still less than three weeks ago, incredibly, that the Trail Blazers parted ways with Terry Stotts. Five additional coaching jobs became available in the interim, incessant whispers of mutual interest, scheduled interviews, internal powers struggle and more filling the void as a whopping seven teams—including Portland—underwent the process of finding a new head coach.

Here's where Portland's coaching search stands as the league's official offseason draws closer and closer—and vacant coaching jobs begin to get filled.

The Co-Favorites

One of the most significant turns of the league's coaching carousel yet only indirectly involved the Blazers. Chauncey Billups was one of three candidates to get a second interview with the Boston Celtics, who on Wednesday hired Ime Udoka to succeed Brad Stevens on the sidelines. 

Where does that leave Billups? The Celtics' vacancy was universally considered the best job available, and Billups is arguably the most well-regarded candidate on the market who doesn't own previous head-coaching experience. The New Orleans Pelicans are rumored to have interest in Billups, but his likely price tag combined with the team's increasing state of disarray amid reports of Zion Williamson's frustration could prevent both parties from engaging in meaningful discussions. 

Coaching Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks would be similarly appealing in a vacuum, though Mark Cuban's organization is dealing with its own bout of instability. Dallas will reportedly hire a new president of basketball operations before bringing in Rick Carlisle's replacement, too.

Becky Hammon is just as high-profile a candidate as Billups, with six additional years of experience as an NBA assistant. She's at least as qualified to be a head coach as any other candidate garnering interest league-wide who hasn't spent time in the first chair. 

Hammon didn't seriously factor into Boston's search, and has otherwise been granted one interview outside Portland—with the Orlando Magic, an organization that finally cut bait on one doomed rebuild at March's trade deadline for another. Maybe Hammon emerges as a contender elsewhere in the future, but all the recent smoke suggests she has the most momentum in Rip City.

It's no secret where the powers that be stand with regard to Billups and Hammon. Every indication points to Billups being Olshey's preference, while Blazers owner Jody Allen reportedly hopes to hire Hammon. Damian Lillard's approval of Billups has been on the record ever since Stotts' departure, but he's also had kind words for Hammon in the past.

Whose voice is loudest? Given the inevitably fraught nature of a new coach coming in with the knowledge that Olshey—even before that incendiary end-of-season presser—could soon be on the chopping block, here's hoping it's Allen and her team of advisors at Vulcan Inc. Any notion of a possible change at the head of the front office makes the Blazers' job less enticing.

Either way, expect this decision to be a collaborative one. If Lillard gets on board with Hammon and she really is Allen's clear favorite, don't be surprised when she makes history with the Blazers. But if Hammon proves unable to further separate herself during this week's second round of interviews, Portland's job seems Billups' to lose.

Closing Fast

Mike D'Antoni doesn't fit the mold of the defensive-minded coach Olshey stressed the Blazers needed, but has obviously managed to impress Portland's brain trust regardless en route to a follow-up interview of his own. If the Blazers really do mostly stand pat with the roster heading into 2021-22, D'Antoni's offensive genius and wealth of experience as a head coach could make him Portland's best chance to reach a higher plane of contention as soon as possible.

It's a common misconception that his teams don't play defense, either. The ever-popular all-switch defensive scheme was pushed past its original limit by the 2017-18 Houston Rockets, an elite postseason defense, and only one of his "Seven Seconds or Less Phoenix Suns" squads finished in the bottom-third of defensive efficiency. Defense may not be D'Antoni's personal area of expertise, but he's routinely fielded average to above-average outfits on that side of the with the help of defensive-oriented lead assistants like Jeff Bzdelik.

D'Antoni, in his first season as an assistant under Steve Nash with the Brooklyn Nets, was an early candidate for both the Celtics and Magic, but recent whispers have connected him solely to the Blazers. Barring both Billups and Hammon taking other jobs instead of Portland's, though, it's hard to imagine the 70-year-old vaulting ahead of them in the Blazers' prospective pecking order.

Then again, as noted by team beat reporter Casey Holdahl, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski singled out D'Antoni along with Billups on Wednesday as Portland begins to trim its list of candidates.

“I think among (the teams still looking for a coach) Portland is the furthest along… Chauncey Billups, Mike D’Antoni certainly are very formidable in that field so i think they’ll start to whittle that down and come to a conclusion sooner rather than later.” — @wojespn

— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) June 23, 2021

Don't dismiss D'Antoni's candidacy. By now, it's obvious there's more to it than name recognition and his personal desire for the job.

Still a Chance?

All reports about Portland conducting second interviews with Billups, Hammon and D'Antoni included the disclaimer that the team is still considering other candidates.

It's safe to say Dawn Staley is among them, especially after the South Carolina women's coach recently confirmed reports about her (and others) receiving an interview with the Blazers.

"I've talked to the Portland Trail Blazers, and that's the extent of it," Staley said on Monday, per USA TODAY's Chris Bumbaca. "I've talked to them."

Spurs president of basketball operations Brent Barry also talked with Portland's brass last week, per reports. Like Staley, however, there's been no ensuing scuttle about his specific place in the Blazers' list of candidates beyond indirect generalities.

Both Staley and Barry seem like future NBA head coaches—just not in Portland

No Smoke

Rick Carlisle is the most accomplished coach on the market, and would hold the Blazers accountable defensively with his old-school style. Still, there's been nothing but rank speculation that his stunning exit from Dallas could be followed by continuing his career in Portland.

A similar dynamic, unfortunately, applies to Erik Spoelstra, as least ever since last week's murmurs that the Blazers discussed the mere possibility of poaching him from the Miami HEAT. Thirty-six hours of local mayhem about the prospect of Spoelstra coming home quickly quieted after no subsequent reporting surfaced.

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