After less than a full season with the Trail Blazers, head coach Tiago Splitter may already be on his way out of Portland. According to Jake Fischer, sources say it’s unlikely that Splitter lands the full-time coaching job with the team this offseason.
The reasons for Portland’s front office souring on Splitter remain to be seen, but it feels like the rookie play-caller is getting an unfair shake here. After all, he just led the Blazers to their first playoff berth in five years.
On top of that, replacing Splitter could cause unnecessary turmoil in the organization, especially after they already underwent an unexpected coaching change in October.
Blazers should be careful about making another coaching change this soon
Portland’s entire trajectory was thrown off a bit when former head coach Chauncey Billups was suspended in October after he was arrested for illegal gambling allegations. Billups, who had been calling shots for the team since 2021, was finally starting to find his footing in his role and had the Blazers on an upswing.
In the face of some chaos, Tiago Splitter did an admirable job steadying the ship and continuing what Billups had started. The Blazers had a winning season, and most of their young guys got better in the process. No matter how you frame it, Splitter deserves some of the credit for all of the success this year returned.
If Splitter isn’t re-signed, the team will have to adjust to the ways of another new leader, their third of the year. Based on Fischer’s report, the replacement would likely come from outside of Portland, meaning everyone within the organization would have to learn about each other for the first time. They’d have an entire offseason to do so, but that would be a lot of gelling and acclamation for everybody involved.
Continuity is key to fostering a contender, and all of that newness could really disrupt what the Blazers have built up to this point. The way players have spoken about Splitter makes this extra true.
Parting ways with Tiago Splitter could upset Portland’s players
From the stars to the role players, every Blazer had high praise for Splitter during their exit interviews.
“I think Tiago did a great job. He got thrown in not an easy situation. He did a great job of connecting this group and getting the best out of all of us,” Deni Avdija said.
“I thought he did well. Being launched into that seat out of nowhere, unexpected, having to be a leader of men in this league is tough,” said Damian Lillard.
“You can ask any player. They love him. They love playing for him,” said Kris Murray.
Clearly, Splitter is popular in the locker room. This squad established real chemistry this season. Playing with that would be a dangerous game if Portland’s front office still expects winning next year.
Like Bill Simmons’ theory of “the secret” suggests, and every top contender in the league today proves, having chemistry and culture is incredibly important to winning games in the NBA. Right now, the Blazers have those things. Parting ways with Tiago Splitter would put them back at square one in that department.
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