New on SI: Chauncey Billups Agrees to Five-Year Deal to Become Trail Blazers Head Coach
The Trail Blazers signed Chauncey Billups to a five-year deal to become the franchise's next head coach.
The Trail Blazers have come to an agreement with Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups to become the franchise's new head coach, the team announced Sunday evening. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the contract is a five-year deal with a team option in the fifth year. A news conference is scheduled in Portland for Tuesday to make the official announcement, per ESPN.
The Athletic's Shams Charania was the first to report the hire on Friday.
Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported earlier on Sunday that star point guard Damian Lillard may be on the way out of Portland because of the backlash the team faced for the reported hire.
Lillard was reportedly not involved in the coaching search and has grown frustrated with the team's inability to build a championship-contending team, according to Yahoo Sports. None of the finalists involved in the search were recommendations of Lillard's and he was unaware of Billups's sexual assault allegations from 1997 even though the two have a relationship, per the report.
However, that report directly contradicts what Lillard told The Athletic's Jason Quick and Charania when he told them he likes Billups as a candidate.
Before the Trail Blazers made an offer on Friday night, they investigated the allegations that were brought forward during Billups's rookie year in the NBA. He had been vetted multiple times in the past when being considered for previous high-level NBA leadership jobs.
Although no criminal charges were brought forward, he did settle in a civil case.
Billups, 44, encouraged the investigation and the Trail Blazers ultimately found nothing that would disqualify him from being the franchise's new coach.
Billups is in the midst of his first season as an NBA assistant with the Clippers and has never held a head coaching position. His season may be over as soon as Monday with it being an elimination game, however. The Clippers are down 3–1 against the Suns in the Western Conference Finals.
Billups was a point guard in the NBA for 17 years where he was a five-time All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004 and was named Finals MVP.
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