4 Brilliant coaches the Trail Blazers could hire to replace Chauncey Billups

Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson

Kenny Atkinson may be the best player development coach in the NBA, which makes him a dream fit for Portland.

The 56-year-old took over as the Brooklyn Nets Head Coach in 2016 when the franchise was still reeling from the Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce trade. With a barren roster and no draft picks on the horizon, Atkinson took on the ultimate rebuilding project.

By his third season, he had the Nets in the playoffs with a roster led by Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Caris LeVert, a 20-year-old Jarrett Allen and a 22-year-old D'Angelo Russell. He was run out of Brooklyn the next season after starting the year 28-34 (and after the Nets traded for Kyrie Irving, which meant Kevin Durant was on his way) and has spent the past three seasons learning from Steve Kerr in Golden State.

Atkinson was also the lead assistant under Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks and worked under offensive guru Mike D'Antoni.

Most importantly for the Trail Blazers, though, Atkinson turned Russell into an all-star. He helped LeVert, Dinwiddie, Harris and Allen become the core of a playoff team.

Atkinson's first NBA coaching job was as an assistant with the New York Knicks. One of his main focuses? Player development. One of the players he worked with the most?

Jeremy Lin, who he helped go from complete unknown to causing Linsanity in 2011-12.