Now that we know who the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers will be, Chauncey Billups will need some assistants on his bench. But who?
Here are some intriguing possibilities that, Billups could go with to fill out his coaching staff.
Steve Clifford
Every head coach should have an associate/lead assistant coach on their bench. Steve Clifford, the one-time head coach of the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic could fill this role nicely. He’d be able to guide and advise the first-time head coach in Billups as a mentor on the bench.
Jay Larranaga
Jay Larranaga, the longtime Celtics assistant, the top assistant on Brad Stevens’ bench reportedly is not expected to join new Boston coach Ime Udoka‘s coaching staff.
Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace is the big man’s coach that, I wrote about last week and Portland’s need for one. Jusuf Nurkic if he sticks around, as well as his backup and the forwards could learn a thing or two from Wallace, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, four-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA Defensive First Team, two-time rebounding leader, and the block leader in 2002. Not to mention, the Pistons retired his number and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. Perhaps he’d be interested in a position like this, after telling NBC Sports Northwest’s Dwight Jaynes on Wallace’s former teammate Billups,
Ben Wallace, former Chauncey Billups teammate: ‘If I was a little bit younger, I’d go try out for the Portland Trail Blazers. https://t.co/UfksTS0Bbp
— Dwight Jaynes (@dwightjaynes) June 29, 2021
Here’s your chance Ben, you can work for your former teammate and help the Blazers centers and forwards more so.
Asjha Jones
The former WNBA All-Star and Washington Mystics assistant, Asjha Jones left her position as an assistant with the team in April to join the Trail Blazers as their Director of Basketball Strategy, and on President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey’s operations staff. She would make a good assistant for Portland, on Billups bench.
Anyone on the Clippers bench
Billups was an assistant on Tyronn Lue‘s bench with the Clippers prior to being named head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He could request permission to speak with any of the other assistants on his former team, about a position on his staff. One of the assistants is, former Brooklyn head coach, Kenny Atkinson, who helped turn the Nets around and replaced by Steve Nash this past off-season.
Billups could bring back a former coach off of Terry Stott’s bench, but most likely that won’t happen.