The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Golden State Warriors, 103-86, in a snoozer Friday — the first leg of a two-game homestand to close out the regular season. Considering Portland’s nonexistent stakes at this stage of the season, these last two games feel like a tedious sideshow to a more significant guessing game going on behind the scenes:
Are the Blazers going to bring back head coach Chauncey Billups or let him walk?
The Blazers have been eliminated from postseason contention. General manager Joe Cronin signed his multi-year extension on Monday. Besides some slight variance in Portland’s NBA Draft Lottery positioning, Billups’ future with the franchise is the last meaningful thing to sort out.