The Portland Trail Blazers have narrowed their head coaching search to three candidates: Minnesota's Micah Nori, Boston's Tyler Lashbrook, and acting head coach Tiago Splitter.
They've come a long way since initially casting a wide net for options. Still, that progress has been delayed by the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup Finals appearance against the Vegas Golden Knights. Of course, Blazers' new owner Tom Dundon also owns the NHL's Hurricanes, which is both a good and a bad thing for Portland.
The good news is, he's clearly achieved success with the Hurricanes, turning their rebuild around and making winning the new norm. However, that cookie-cutter approach has initially rubbed everyone involved with the Blazers (media, fans, etc.) the wrong way, particularly when it comes to his cost-cutting measures.
Tiago Splitter earned Blazers' head coaching role during his unexpected audition
Dundon began the Blazers' coaching search when Splitter had this team back in the postseason for the first time in five years, an impressive feat considering the circumstances surrounding Chauncey Billups and the fact that Portland was one of the most injury-riddled teams in the league.
That decision even rubbed some potential candidates the wrong way, with veteran coaches like Michael Malone and Tom Thibodeau declining to interview.
Splitter still had this team fighting in the postseason against the San Antonio Spurs. He won the players over during his unexpected audition and has clearly done enough throughout the interview process to advance to the final pool of candidates.
The Blazers are playing with fire
But at some point, we have to question whether Splitter is the one who actually has leverage in this situation.
He's also interviewing with the Chicago Bulls. And if I'm Splitter, I'm making a mental note of how Portland has handled this interview process unprofessionally. If Chicago and Portland both offer Splitter the position, I wouldn't blame him one bit for taking the bigger market for a franchise that made him feel like a priority all along.
The Hurricanes' Finals run just adds another wrinkle to the situation. Other teams around the league have already found their next head coach. If the Bulls deem Splitter the right man for the job, he would be wise to take one of the guaranteed 30 coveted head coaching positions over a Blazers job that may or may not materialize.
At that point, I would prefer Portland to pursue Nori over Lashbrook as the next head coach.
Maybe they prefer Nori all along, and this doesn't even matter in the scheme of things. Regardless, it's been a strange way for them to go about finding their next head coach, from interviewing candidates while they are still in the playoffs to rumored low-ball offers. Now, a hockey team is delaying the process -- potentially getting in the way of the right man for the job, who should've been the long-term decision all along.
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