1 week Ago By Aaron Fentress oregonlive.com
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups sat in his office Sunday morning at the Moda Center preparing for the team’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Suddenly, his phone began buzzing with text messages from players. Soon after, some made their way into his office, excited by the news the franchise had just released.
Billups and the Blazers had agreed to a multi-year contract extension and maybe the only people as pleased with the news as the coach were his players. “I’m very happy about that,” Anfernee Simons said during exit interviews following the team’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday afternoon that left the Blazers at 36-46. Several players expressed the same sentiment.
Not only because they enjoy playing for Billups, but because retaining him means continuing the momentum the franchise gained in the second half of the season when it became clear that the players had bought into their coach’s vision. According to Simons, the only player remaining from Billups’ first season, the fourth-year head coach had the opportunity to show what he could do with a healthy roster on the same page. “He was able to kind of imprint his philosophies on a lot of the young guys,” Simons said.
“I was pretty happy about that, just seeing how far he’s come as a coach ...
Obviously, (Billups returning) was kind of up in the air. But having a big enough of an improvement from last season to this season, I think that helped this out a lot.” Billups ended his fourth season with a career record of 117-211.
In most cases, a coach with such a record over four years would likely not be retained. But he hasn’t experienced normal circumstances with the Blazers. Roster turnover, injuries, trading away Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in pursuit of a youth movement with talented but inexperienced players, and blatant tanking all contributed to the team’s poor records.
But in the second half of this season, Billups’ goal to establish a defensive-minded and unselfish team, began to pay off. Following a 13-28 start, the Blazers won 10 of 11 games to jump into the play-in hunt. They fell short but the team’s 23-18 second-half record has instilled hope for the future.
“We all bought in,” center Deandre Ayton said. Ayton joked that he was glad to see the Blazers take care of Billups after having to “deal with us.” But he added that Billups’ professionalism, tough-love approach and consistency have worked, especially with him during his struggles.
“Everything is authentic,” Ayton said. Third-year guard Shaedon Sharpe, arguably the most gifted player on the team, was removed from the starting lineup by Billups for his lack of defensive effort. The move occurred right before the Blazers won 10 out of 11 games thanks mainly to their improved defense, which was ranked in the top five during the second half of the season.
Sharpe handled the demotion well and had some of his best games off the bench before returning to the starting lineup. Sharpe said he appreciated how Billups has held him accountable for his play, stating that he wants to be coached hard. “Me and him built a relationship and kind of have a connection,” Sharpe said.
“He’s been my coach since I’ve gotten to the league, so he’s taught me a lot. I’m really excited to just continue the journey with him.” Second-year point guard Scoot Henderson, the No.
3 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, has gone through some clear growing pains. This season, he took a major jump that coincided with the team’s second-half rise. He said he was pleased that Billups is returning to continue their working relationship.
Having a coach like Billups, a Hall of Fame point guard, is big for his development as a player and as a leader. “To continue to have Chauncey around will be huge for our relationship,” Henderson said. Rookie center Donovan Clingan, who played for the fiery Dan Hurley at Connecticut, embraces Billups’ hard-nosed style.
“I feel like Chauncey has put a lot of time and a lot of work to get this organization to where it is, and how this team finished off playing,” he said. “I love playing for him. I’m really excited for the future and to see what the next couple of years bring.
” Someone else who has benefited greatly from Billups is forward Deni Avdija. Billups empowered Avdija to explore aspects of his game he hadn’t truly tapped into during his four seasons in Washington. “I had a lot of fun playing for Chauncey, he is a competitor,” Avdija said.
“He wants to win. He’s always trying to win. He’s always trying to compete.
I like that because I grew up playing like that.” After some early struggles, Avdija was arguably the team’s best player in the second half, averaging 20.2 points, 8.
3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. “He trusted me, and he put me in situations to be successful,” Avdija said.
“He understood my potential. He understood what areas of the game I’m good at and he put me in the right spots. And when you put somebody in the right spots and you give them belief, and you really want them to be good, I can see it.
” Retaining Billups, Avdija said, allows the players to build upon the season without having to adjust to a new coach. “Our future is bright in terms of talented players,” Avdija said. “But also, Chauncey is our leader now.
Just going forward, he knows everybody. He knows what we need. We have stability to improve for next year.
” An excited Toumani Camara shared a similar sentiment regarding Billups’ coaching style. “His attention to details and how much he helped us make mistakes and let us learn throughout and he has a lot of faith and respect for all of us for what we’re doing, especially because he was a player and he’s done it before.” Billups, since arriving in Portland, set out to reshape the team’s culture.
That proved difficult to do with so much roster turnover in years two and three. This season, the Blazers returned most of its roster from 2023-24, making Billups’ job easier. “I think the tell-tale of that for any coaches is if at some point your team kind of takes on your personality and how you believe the game should be played, I think that you’ve gotten there,” Billups said, He doesn’t anticipate having to continue to re-establish what’s already taken root.
“I think for the first time since I’ve been here, that’s not something that I’m really going to be concerned with, because I do think that we do have what our culture is now,” he said. “Either that way or you don’t really play. So, I’m happy to be at that point.
You don’t have to re-establish that every year, and it shouldn’t take you 30-40, games to get into it. And we can target people that play that way.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!.
