Report: Damian Lillard 'Not Making Demands' About Coaching Hire
Damian Lillard has already made his personal coaching preferences clear. And even though he plans to have "significant input" in the Trail Blazers' hiring process, don't take Lillard's wants and desires as the be-all, end-all when it comes to the team's final decision.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Lillard hasn't and won't be "making demands" in Portland's search for its next head coach. Instead, he'll simply be in communication with general manager Neil Olshey and franchise chair Jody Allen as the Blazers look for Terry Stotts' successor.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Lillard is not making demands of any kind when it comes to the coaching hire. The front office and ownership will do their jobs while communicating with him along the way.
This intel aligns with Chris Haynes' Saturday report that though Lillard will have a direct line to the front office, the "final call" about Portland's new hire will come from the front office.
On Friday night, less than two hours after the Blazers "mutually" agreed to part ways with Stotts, Lillard went on the record with Yahoo Sports about wanting Jason Kidd in Rip City. He clarified the following morning with The Athletic that Chauncey Billups also has his pre-approval.
Kidd withdrew from consideration for Portland's coaching vacancy on Sunday, ESPN reporting that the Hall-of-Fame point guard wanted to avoid the "awkward circumstance" of pursuing the job in wake of Lillard's endorsement.
More damaging, of course, would have been Portland hiring a man who in 2001 pleaded guilty to spousal abuse – especially in the face of such swift, pointed pushback from fans. Billups also has a troubling history of alleged abuse against women. He was accused of rape in 1997, later settling a civil lawsuit filed against him by his purported victim.
Yahoo Sports reported on Sunday that the Blazers will conduct a "full search" for Stotts' replacement. Billups, who has more than a decade-long relationship with Olshey, is a prospective early candidate for Portland's job, along with Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni, University of Michigan coach Juwan Howard and ABC/ESPN announcer Jeff Van Gundy, per ESPN.