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Detroit Pistons great Chauncey Billups hired as Portland Trail Blazers new head coach

Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press
·4 min read
2

Chauncey Billups finally has his dream job.

Dame Time, meet Mr. Big Shot.

Billups, the NBA Finals MVP on the 2004 Detroit Pistons' championship team, has agreed to become the Portland Trail Blazers' next head coach, the team announced Sunday.

“Chauncey is a proven leader with an elite basketball IQ that has won everywhere he has been,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said in a statement. “He is prepared for the challenge of developing the Championship habits and strategic approach we need to achieve the expectations and goals for our franchise.”

In Portland, he'll coach one of basketball's most clutch scorers and shotmakers in point guard Damian Lillard.

"Billups has a long-standing relationship" with Lillard, and the "two have talked frequently throughout Portland's search process," ESPN reported Friday night.

The deal was done on Sunday, with Billups receiving a five year deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

“Portland is a special place and a unique franchise,” Billups said in a statement Sunday night. “As a player I always loved playing here because the passion and knowledge of the fans brought out the very best in me as a competitor. Now I’m looking forward to being on the other side of that energy and engaging with the Portland community on a whole other level.”

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Billups, 44, is an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers under head coach Tyronn Lue; the Clippers are down 3-1 in the Western Conference finals against Phoenix after falling, 84-80, in Game 4 on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Game 5 is Monday night in Phoenix (9 p.m., ESPN).

L.A. Clippers assistant coach Chauncey Billups, center, talks with the coaching staff during a timeout in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on April 14, 2021.
L.A. Clippers assistant coach Chauncey Billups, center, talks with the coaching staff during a timeout in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on April 14, 2021.

Billups quickly transformed from journeyman lottery pick to All-Star point guard when he signed in Detroit as a free agent in 2002. He immediately became the leader on the floor and guided the Pistons to six straight East finals, highlighted by the 2004 title over the heavily favored Lakers and a Game 7 loss to San Antonio in the Finals the following year.

He was traded to Denver in a deal for Allen Iverson one week into the 2008-09 season, and the Pistons haven't won a playoff game since, owning an NBA record 14-game postseason losing streak.

Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups drives past the defense of Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant during the third quarter in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Sunday, June 13, 2004, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups drives past the defense of Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant during the third quarter in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Sunday, June 13, 2004, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The five-time All-Star returned to Detroit for 19 games in 2013-14, his final NBA season, and had his No. 1 jersey retired by the Pistons in 2016.

Billups, who had his own reputation for hitting big shots during his 17-year career in the league, will look to help the Blazers make a leap into the elite tier of the NBA behind Lillard. The six-time All-Star averaged 34.3 points and 10.2 assists on 44.9% shooting from 3-point range in a 4-2 series defeat to the injury riddled Denver Nuggets this season, after a 42-30 regular season to earn the West's No. 6 seed.

Portland has made the postseason in eight consecutive seasons, the longest active streak in the NBA, but has been knocked out in the first round five times, and advanced to the conference finals once — in 2019. The Blazers have suffered first-round losses in four of the past five seasons.

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Damian Lillard scored 55 points in Game 5 of the first round against the Nuggets, a 147-140 loss in double overtime June 1 in Denver, which put the Nuggets up 3-2 in the series.
Damian Lillard scored 55 points in Game 5 of the first round against the Nuggets, a 147-140 loss in double overtime June 1 in Denver, which put the Nuggets up 3-2 in the series.

The Blazers have long struggled on defense despite a strong secondary scoring attack with CJ McCollum and the inside presence of oft-injured Jusuf Nurkic. This season, Portland ranked No. 2 in offensive rating at 119.1 and No. 29 in defense at 116.7, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Their big midseason acquisition, Norman Powell, will likely opt out to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Lillard, who turns 31 in July, is seemingly antsy, putting the pressure on Olshey and Billups to make a big move and/or improve the team from within.

The team recently parted with former coach Terry Stotts, who compiled a 402-318 record in the regular season over nine years in Portland — the second-winningest coach in franchise history — but went 22-40 in the playoffs.

Billups got the job over Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni and San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Chauncey Billups hired to be Portland Trail Blazers coach