Jody Allen Reportedly Wants Becky Hammon as Blazers Coach

Blazers owner Jody Allen reportedly has eyes on making Becky Hammon the team's next head coach.

Becky Hammon has reportedly been granted a second interview regarding the Trail Blazers' coaching vacancy. And if ownership gets its way, she could very well leave that meeting as the first female head coach in NBA history.

Brian Berger of Sports Business Radio reported on Monday that should the final decision ultimately rest with Portland owner Jody Allen, Hammon will replace Terry Stotts on the sidelines in Rip City.

Reliable sources have told me that if Jody Allen has her way, Becky Hammon will be the next Head Coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Allen would very much like to be a "trail blazer" by hiring the first woman Head Coach in @NBA history (as well as @NFL, @MLB, @NHL). #NBA

— SportsBusinessRadio (@SBRadio) June 21, 2021

The notion that Allen, who assumed principal ownership of the Blazers after the 2018 death of her brother, Paul, hopes to break barriers by hiring a woman as Portland's next head coach isn't new.

Last week, Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA TODAY reported Allen insisted that Portland's brain trust interview female candidates for the team's opening on the sidelines. Hammon first met with Blazers officials last week, as did University of South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reportedly on Monday that Hammon and Chauncey Billups—long perceived a frontrunner due to possessing Damian Lillard's pre-approval and his existing relationship with Neil Olshey—are among a group of final candidates who will receive follow-up interviews this week. In addition to Staley, the Blazers have already interviewed Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni and Spurs president of basketball operations Brent Barry.

Jason Kidd took himself out of the running for Portland's job shortly after Stotts' departure on June 3, amid local outcries about his past history of domestic violence. In 1997, Billups was accused of rape, later settling a civil lawsuit filed against him by his alleged victim.

Hammon, an assistant in San Antonio since 2014, is among the most well-respected and qualified coaching candidates on the market. Though Olshey's affinity for Billups is no secret and Lillard's is public record, at least the latter has praised Hammon in the past. 

Like Billups and Kidd, Lillard's initial picks for Portland's job, she's a highly-decorated former point guard, too. Hammon was named one of the WNBA's top-20 players of all-time in 2016, two years after the end of a legendary playing career that included six All-Star appearances, four All-WNBA selections and an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 2008. 

The powers that be in Portland seem to have their personal favorites. But if Allen's whims loom largest, Hammon certainly seems like a choice as the Blazers' next coach that Olshey, Lillard and anyone else should be able to get behind.

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