Portland Trail Blazers coaching search, all 5 candidates identified

The Athletic’s Senior NBA Insider, Shams Charania, is reporting, according to sources, that the Portland Trail Blazers top head-coaching candidates are Chauncey Billups, Becky Hammon, Dawn Staley, Mike D’Antoni, and Brent Barry. The link below is behind the paywall.

Here is some information on each of the candidates who could become the next coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Chauncey Billups:
Chauncey Billups is a 5 time NBA All-Star, NBA Finals MVP, a champion with the Detroit Pistons (2004). He played on 7 NBA teams in 17 seasons. Currently, Billups is an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers. Damian Lillard told The Athletic that he likes Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and Billups as potential replacements for coach Terry Stotts. However, Kidd has since removed himself as a candidate. Billups was also endorsed by his former teammate, Richard Hamilton, and is known to be interested in the Trail Blazers position.

Becky Hammon:

Becky Hammon played for Colorado State University before going undrafted in the 1999 WNBA Draft. She was a point guard for the New York Liberty from 1999-2006 and the San Antonio Stars (2007-2014). She played for 6 teams overseas as well. She is a 6 time WNBA All-Star, 2-time All-WNBA first and second team, and was the WNBA assists leader (2007). Hammon has her number 25 retired by the Stars. Currently, she is an assistant on Greg Popovich’s Spurs bench and has been since 2014.

Dawn Staley:

Dawn Staley played 4 years at the University of Virginia and was drafted 9th overall in the first round of the 1999 WNBA Draft by the Charlotte Sting. Staley is a 6-time WNBA All-Star and was named one of the WNBA’s top 15 players of all time in 2011. Staley coached at Temple from 2000-2008 and is currently the head coach at the University of South Carolina and USA Basketball.

Mike D’Antoni:

Mike D’Antoni has a resume full of coaching experience, including an assistant coach on Mike Dunleavy’s bench with Portland from 2000-2001. Head coach of Denver (1998-1999), Phoenix (2003-2008), New York (2008-2012), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-2014), and the Houston Rockets (2016-2020). D’Antoni is a 2 time NBA coach of the year, 2-time NBA-All-Star head coach. Currently, he an assistant with Brooklyn. We broke down his candidacy in full here. 

Brent Barry:

Brent Barry played his college ball at Oregon State (1991-1995), played for 6 NBA teams from 1995-2009, including the Seattle SuperSonics. He is a two-time NBA champion (2005, 2007, San Antonio), NBA Slam Dunk Champion, and is currently the vice president of basketball operations for San Antonio. He is the son of NBA legend Rick Barry.

Who the Blazers hire to be their next coach is anyone’s guess. The interviews could start next week. In my opinion, the Blazers should consider either Hammon or Staley as the next coach. Both candidates have impressive resumes, and it’s time the NBA hires its first female head coach, and Portland could and should be the team to do so.