Immediately after trading Damian Lillard and drafting Scoot Henderson with the third overall pick, the 2023-24 season became all about player development for the Portland Trail Blazers. Head coach Chauncey Billups was tasked with growing a group of largely inexperienced but talented players and laying the foundation for the franchise's rebuild.
In many areas, Billups has succeeded. He's helped Scoot steadily improve after a miserable start to his rookie season. Shaedon Sharpe was having a breakout sophomore campaign before injuries cut it short. Anfernee Simons has gotten better as a playmaker and defender. Jabari Walker, Toumani Camara and Duop Reath have become NBA-level role players.
As of March 7, Billups is 77-148 as Portland's head coach. He's faced legitimate roadblocks to winning - significant injuries to key players, end-of-season tanking and young rosters. The Trail Blazers have been competitive and scrappy and have played with real effort for Billups. They just haven't won games, which may necessitate a change.
4 Dream coaching hires the Trail Blazers could make to replace Chauncey Billups
It might be time for a new voice, one with more NBA coaching experience and a track record for developing young players. Here are four current assistants who would be ideal fits to mold Portland's youthful roster into a contender.
Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez
Jordi Fernandez has had numerous interviews over the past few offseasons and was a finalist in Phoenix before the Suns hired Frank Vogel.
He was voted as the best assistant coach in the NBA by the league's GMs.
The 41-year-old took over the Canadian Men's National Team just weeks before last year's FIBA World Cup and led a group of young players headlined by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks and RJ Barrett to a bronze medal. Fernandez has a PhD in sports psychology and has had academic papers published about offensive basketball.
He's been a high-level assistant coach in Spain, and before joining Mike Brown's staff in Sacramento, was an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets and head coach of the G League's Canton Charge. Fernandez would be a perfect fit for the Blazers as a coach and a program builder.
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.
Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell
It's a mystery why Sam Cassell still hasn't gotten the chance to lead an NBA team. The former point guard won three titles during his 15-year playing career and then hooked up with Doc Rivers with the LA Clippers and followed him to Philadelphia, where he worked closely with breakout star Tyrese Maxey.
Cassell has also been credited with helping develop John Wall, Bradley Beal and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He was added to Joe Mazzula's staff in Boston this year not just to be an assistant coach, but to be a veteran coach with a real voice on the bench. Part of the Celtics' downfall last postseason was Mazzula's inexperience; Cassell was brought on board to rectify that.
Boston has been the best team in the league this year - by a wide margin - and is a title favorite.
The 54-year-old described his blunt yet understanding coaching style in an interview with Heavy's Steve Bulpett after joining the Celtics:
"I think I have a way that I can be 100% honest with a player without them taking it personally. And that’s a trait that I know I have. I’m a great listener to players; I’m a former player, so I understand what they’re going through. Like I tell them all the time, I’ve been each player on a team, from the top guy to the 15th player. I’ve been all those guys. I understand what those guys are going through mentally."Sam Cassell, Celtics assistant coach
Cassell's time as a player and his proven ability to develop young guards would be ideal for a Trail Blazers team currently building around the backcourt trio of Henderson, Sharpe and Simons.
Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn
It would cause more social media bloodshed between Blazers fans and Heat fans, but poaching Chris Quinn from Erik Spoelstra's staff in Miami would be another home-run hire for Portland.
Since ending his playing career, Quinn has taken a Spoelstra-esque route up the Miami coaching ladder. He started in player development in 2014 and got to coach his first NBA games during the 2021-22 season when Spo was in health and safety protocols.
ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz wrote a piece detailing the next wave of NBA head coaches, and here's what he had to say about Quinn (subscription required):
"Quinn is a point guard's point guard who has excelled at every task en route to the lead assistant's chair in Miami. Ask Heat insiders who most embodies the team's culture, and Quinn is commonly the answer (one league source affectionately referred to Quinn as Spoelstra's "mini-me" for his temperament and organizational skills). He's an emotionally stable leader who inspires confidence in players, as revealed when he filled in for Spoelstra as head coach for a stint in March and April."ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz
That story ran in 2022.
The now 40-year-old is still honing his craft under perhaps the best coach in the NBA. He's in his 10th season with Spoelstra (and Pat Riley), all of which have come in some form of player development role.
Considering Miami's unmatched ability to find and develop undervalued players like Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson, Quinn's expertise in that area would do wonders for a young, talented, ascending Blazers roster.