On Sunday, the Trail Blazers announced that they had finalized a contract with incoming Head Coach Chauncey Billups. According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, Billups was always the favorite to land the position. More importantly, Fischer revealed that Billups’ rise to the head of the field was fueled by support from President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey and star guard Damian Lillard.
Fischer explained that Lillard was “organically involved” in the Blazers coaching search. The report also discussed that Olshey’s previous comments that detailed a wide-ranging search for a new coach might not have been rooted in reality.