Report: Blazers Set Second Interviews With Becky Hammon, Chauncey Billups
Less than three weeks after parting ways with longtime head coach Terry Stotts, the Trail Blazers are inching closer and closer toward hiring his replacement.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that Portland will conduct follow-up interviews with Chauncey Billups and Becky Hammon, among other coaching candidates, this week.
Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic also reported on Monday that Hammon has emerged as a "finalist" in the Blazers' coaching search, the first time in ever a woman has reached the latter stages of that process league-wide.
Portland interviewed Billups, Hammon, Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni, South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley and San Antonio Spurs president of basketball operations Brent Barry last week, according to The Athletic, the group previously mentioned as "initial candidates" to be Stotts' successor.
Long anointed as the woman most likely to break the league's gender barrier as a head coach, Hammon was hired by the Spurs as an assistant coach in 2014, just more than a year after her Hall-of-Fame playing career came to a close. She's interviewed for several other coaching vacancies in previous offseasons, as well as the Milwaukee Bucks' head front office position in 2017.
Hammon has already been interviewed by the Orlando Magic, who cut ties with Steve Clifford earlier this month as the franchise undergoes another rebuild.
Billups has been a favorite to take the reins in Portland since before Stotts' departure. Not only does he have the pre-approval of Damian Lillard, but Billups also possesses an existing relationship with Neil Olshey dating back to their time with the LA Clippers in 2011-12.
The Hall-of-Fame point left the broadcasting booth this season to be a rookie assistant under Ty Lue in LA, where he's been lauded for helping Paul George develop as a playmaker. Billups was accused of rape in 1997, later settling a civil lawsuit filed against him by his alleged victim.
A five-time All-Star and the 2004 NBA Finals MVP with the Detroit Pistons, Billups is also a finalist for the Boston Celtics' job.
[Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN] [Shams Charania and Sam Amick, The Athletic]