Unless you're Patrick Star living under a rock, by now you should know that the NBA has placed Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier on immediate leave from their respective teams amid federal indictments, with charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. ESPN's Shams Charania mentioned on "Inside the NBA" that both Billups and Rozier will fight these charges, which is expected to be "at least a six to 12-month process."
Basketball is secondary to this situation, but it is unfortunate timing considering it comes just one game into the season. Portland will be forced to pivot on the fly, which makes Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard's veteran roles even more essential for this young Blazers roster in need of leadership and organizational consistency.
While it's fair to wonder what coaching additions Portland could potentially make externally, we must also wait to see how this situation plays out. In the meantime, the Blazers will be filling the head coaching vacancy by promoting Tiago Splitter.
Why did Portland promote Tiago Splitter?
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the internal candidates came down between Splitter and former Indiana Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren, but "there was ultimately just more momentum for Tiago Splitter."
Considering how poorly Bjorkgren's stint in Indiana went, this seems like the right decision. Besides, Splitter has legitimate coaching experience of his own and could be a great fit for Portland's roster that's loaded in the frontcourt.
"Splitter has real head coaching experience of late, and he won a championship with Paris basketball," Fischer added. "He also is, of course, a big man with a lot of influence and teaching ability for Portland's major stable of big men right now, highlighted by Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen in addition to other players down the roster."
Splitter now makes history, becoming the first Brazilian coach in the NBA. He has assistant coaching experience with the Brooklyn Nets (2019-23), Houston Rockets (2023-24), and with the Brazil national team in 2024. And, as Fischer notes, Splitter recently won Paris' first LNB Élite championship as head coach.
Former Paris coach Tuomas Iisalo is now the current head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. Alex Valdes of The Athletic recently broke down Splitter's coaching experience and style, noting that Splitter "built upon the high-octane defensive principles" that Iisalo established.
"Splitter also helped solidify one of Europe's best effective pick-and-roll offenses and coached Brazil's U23 national team to the GLOBL JAM championship in 2022, defeating the U.S. team in the final," Valdes added.
Now, the Blazers desperately need Splitter to do the same thing in Portland.
The Blazers should have a top ten defense this season, following Joe Cronin's offseason moves and the identity established under Billups. Hopefully, Splitter can continue building off Billups' foundation -- one that we were finally coming around to after Portland's promising opening night loss to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
There's even a chance Splitter is able to unlock Portland's offense in ways that Billups failed to do. The Blazers' offense has been entirely too stagnant over the past few seasons and could benefit from a more pick-and-roll-heavy style of play, creating easier opportunities to generate offense.
Clingan has already looked much improved in his first game as a sophomore, while Hansen has fans excited about his potential after showcasing a unique skillset throughout the offseason. Perhaps Splitter is just the big man perspective Portland needs to play to its roster strengths and get back into playoff relevancy.