Former NBA guard Chauncey Billups is interested in pursuing an NBA head coaching job, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, teams have begun to do their homework on Billups, researching his candidacy.
Billups, who last played in 2014, has “toyed with the idea” of coaching since his retirement, according to Haynes, who hears from sources that the 2004 Finals MVP is now fully invested in making the idea a reality. It’s not clear if any of the teams that currently have coaching vacancies – the Sixers, Bulls, Pelicans, and Pacers – will pursue Billups.
Although Billups doesn’t have any coaching experience, his decorated résumé as a player should help bolster his candidacy — he made five All-Star teams and won an NBA title during his days as a player. He also received serious consideration from the Cavaliers during their general manager search in 2017.
It’s worth noting too that NBA teams have a history of taking a shot on heady point guards for coaching jobs. The Nets’ hiring of Steve Nash today represents the timeliest example of this phenomenon, but as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski observed this morning (via Twitter), there are many other former point guards who were hired as head coaches without experience as assistants, including Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr, Mark Jackson, Isiah Thomas, and Jason Kidd.
If Billups isn’t hired as a head coach this year, it’s possible he’ll become an assistant coach for good friend Tyronn Lue. A previous report suggested that Lue – who is considered a top candidate in Philadelphia and New Orleans – has interest in making Billups his associate head coach if he’s hired by a team this fall. That report also said that Billups believed working with Lue could increase his appeal as a head coaching candidate.
If Steve Nash can, anyone can.
The rest of 4 jobs are tough
Pelicans want playoffs
Pacers want playoffs success
76ers want championships
Bulls want to win
If I were a owner I can only give one year contract
Part ways if a coach wants only money
How is billups any different than Nash? Brooklyn wants to with with Durant and Irving. If the Nets are willing to role the dice just like GS did with Kerr then Billups should be considered
I would roll the dice with much more confidence with Nash than Billups! What is different? IDK… but it is, at least for me!
Nash worked directly with Durant in Golden State. He’s clearly who Durant wanted. That’s the only difference.
Well Chauncey won a championship as a player, that’s one stark difference.
Kerr had lots of coaching and front office experience though.
He would be an interesting and perhaps fruitful choice for Bulls…they have some promising players who need to know how to become complete two-way players and Billups could help in that regard.
The original announcement is Not very convincing and may have been fed or assigned, and is likely intended to respond to the Nash news, I would say cynically. I’m not even sure Billups is behind it— no quote in the original from usaToday, and no attributing beyond “league sources”, right. Last we heard, he was attached to Lue.
I prefer the idea of Billups starting out as an AC and would have preferred that for Nash also. Nets GM Marks thought differently. Irving did want a famous-type named as coach and I suspect someone who would not get authoritative with him as I suspect Nash will not. Billups would have definite ideas. Anyway Nash can bring Durant into it, and benefits from the GSW legacy would likely loom large in Irving’s mind.