After firing their long-time coach Terry Stotts, the Portland Trail Blazers started on an important and critical coaching search that lasted for weeks.
By the end of it they settled on Hall-of-Fame point guard, Chauncey Billups, even despite a troubling sexual assault allegation from his past.
Among a number of finalists (that included Mike D’Antoni and Becky Hammon), it appears as if the team has settled on their next coach: 5x All-Star and Clippers assistant, Chauncey Billups.
And while public reaction has been mixed so far, there is a sense of optimism that he can lift the team to new heights in the West.
In a recent appearance on Rip City Radio, Billups shed some light on his plans for the upcoming campaign.
“I’m not one of those coaches that wants to shoot all threes and get up 50 threes. I don’t believe in that,” Billups said when asked about what his offense will look like, per Jay Allen of Rip City Radio.
“I like to play with a lot of pace, spacing the floor out so we can have gaps and lanes for penetration, attacking the paint and getting those kick-outs for 3-point shots. Those are beautiful shots and deflate defensive teams.”
Under Stotts, the Blazers leaned heavily on isolation ball and perimeter shooting, which really played into the talents of Dame, CJ McCollum, and Carmelo Anthony.
Unfortunately, it often led to inconsistency and predictable gameplay, essentially creating a team that seemed unable to meet their potential on the offensive end.
While it remains to be seen how Chauncey’s adjustments will impact the performance of the team, it’s got to be refreshing for them to see something different.
Since the Dame era began years ago, Portland has seen minimal success, only reaching the Conference Finals a handful of times and never past it.
If the franchise wants to deviate from that tradition, they’re going to have to shake things up. Swapping Stotts for Chauncey is certainly a good start, but it likely won’t be enough to get them over the edge.
Over the next few weeks, we can expect the Blazers to be very active in their pursuit of talent.
