Trail Blazers News: Chauncey Billups Calls Out Portland Player for Halftime Hijinks

Alex Kirschenbaum | Jul 24, 2024

Apr 12, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups watches play during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Why exactly does lame-duck Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups still have a job?

Since being hired by Portland ahead of the 2021-22 season, the Hall of Fame point guard has led the club to an 81-165 overall record. That's not solely his fault, of course, as both of those first two seasons' rosters, ostensibly designed to be win-now, were fairly underwhelming and ill-equipped for Western Conference playoff success. The 2023-24 season was designed for tanking (as opposed to the two prior years functioning as essentially inadvertent rebuilding years).

During an interview on former Denver Nuggets-era teammate Carmelo Anthony's new podcast "7PM in Brooklyn" with Kid Mero, Billups threw one of his young charges under the bus (without naming names), shredding a Portland Trail Blazers player for sharing a clip of himself dunking in the first half — while the team was trailing by double digits at the game's midway point.

"We coming out for the third quarter, this motherf---er done posted his dunk on his joint... At halftime. We down 18," Billups revealed on the podcast. "I said, 'Ay yo bro, get the f--- back there and take that s--- down... What the f--- is wrong with you man?'"

The Trail Blazers finished last year with a miserable 21-61 record, and have only added ex-Washington Wizards small forward Deni Avdija and former University of Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan this summer. Portland looks to miss its fourth straight postseason under Billups, albeit once again deliberately. The 2025 NBA Draft is slated to be one of the most loaded in a while, headlined by future Duke star Cooper Flagg. It behooves the Blazers to be bad. But will they keep Billups, whose contract expires in the summer of 2025, around long-term?

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