With the Portland Trail Blazers‘ coaching search underway, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Chauncey Billups, Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Mike D’Antoni and Spurs vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry are among the initial candidates for the job, sources tell The Athletic.
Hammon will also interview for the Orlando Magic‘s head coaching job, sources tell The Athletic. The Magic and coach Steve Clifford parted ways last week.
Portland mutually parted ways with coach Terry Stotts two weeks ago. All-Star Damian Lillard told The Athletic shortly thereafter that he liked Billups and Jason Kidd, a Los Angeles Lakers assistant, as potential replacements. Kidd withdrew his name from consideration last week.
Earlier this week, The Athletic reported D’Antoni is interested in coaching the Blazers. Prior to working with the Nets, D’Antoni, 70, coached the Houston Rockets from 2016-20. The Rockets made the Western Conference semifinals or better every year under D’Antoni. He announced in September that he was leaving the Rockets to enter coaching free agency.
Stotts, 63, coached the Blazers since 2012. In nine seasons, he led the Blazers to a 402-318 regular-season record and made the playoffs the last eight seasons, compiling a 23-44 record. He also coached the Atlanta Hawks from 2002-04, compiling a 52-85 record, and the Milwaukee Bucks from 2005-07, where he was 64-87, including the playoffs.
