Chauncey Billups Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Wood, Henson, Maker, Holiday, Billups

October 19th, 2020 at 7:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The odds of several free agent bigs returning to the Pistons appear to be diminishing, according to James Edwards of The Athletic. The most prominent of the group, unrestricted free agent Christian Wood, seems like a 50-50 proposition to come back. Wood has positioned himself to be one of the most intriguing players on the market, Edwards notes. Another UFA, John Henson, doesn’t appear to have a future on a young, rebuilding squad while Thon Maker didn’t shine in the team’s minicamp. It’s unlikely the club will extend a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, Edwards adds.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Pacers have reached out to Justin Holiday and they’re hoping to re-sign the unrestricted free agent, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star reports. Indiana anticipates a strong market for the 3-and-D wing, who played on a $4.8MM contract this past season. Holiday averaged 8.3 PPG on 40.5% shooting from deep in 25.0 MPG in his walk year. The Pacers will likely have to offer a multiyear deal to retain him, Michael adds.
Chauncey Billups remains a head coaching candidate for the Pacers, J. Michael reports in a separate story. Billups has already tentatively accepted an assistant coaching position with the Clippers, but the door is open for him to take a head coaching job. The 2004 Finals MVP is currently an ESPN analyst. Indiana is expected to pick three finalists and conduct final interviews before the end of the month, Michael adds.
Cavaliers guard Darius Garland didn’t have smooth sailing as a rookie but he looked like a different player in minicamp. Get the details here.

Latest On Pacers’ Head Coaching Search

October 15th, 2020 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

After conducting initial interviews with a lengthy list of head coaching candidates, the Pacers are expected to bring back three finalists to meet with team ownership before the end of the month, reports J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

It’s not clear yet which three candidates will be part of that group of finalists. However, Michael hears that Mike D’Antoni thinks he’ll be one of the three. Michael also believes that – despite reports he’ll join Tyronn Lue‘s staff in Los Angeles – Chauncey Billups remains in the running for Indiana’s top job and could be a finalist.

Pelicans assistant Chris Finch and former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger look like other contenders to be finalists for the Pacers’ coaching vacancy. A report earlier this week indicated that Finch may be Indiana’s frontrunner, while Joerger was identified earlier this month as a strong contender for the position.

[UPDATE: Dave Joerger joining Sixers’ staff as assistant]

Heat assistants Dan Craig and Chris Quinn were reportedly scheduled to meet with the Pacers this week and may also still be in the mix.

For what it’s worth, Scott Agness of VigilantSports tweeted 12 days ago that the six names he continued to hear connected to the Pacers’ head coaching opening were D’Antoni, Billups, Finch, Joerger, Craig, and Quinn. It sounds likely that Indiana’s three finalists will come from that group, though the team has considered no shortage of other candidates, as our tracker shows.

Dave Joerger A Strong Contender For Pacers’ Coaching Job

October 2nd, 2020 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers are meeting with head coaching candidates this week and next, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that former Grizzlies and Kings coach Dave Joerger has met with the team and is considered a “strong contender” for the position.

Wojnarowski says that Pelicans assistant Chris Finch is among the candidates to meet with Indiana, and adds that Chauncey Billups will also get an interview.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst previously reported that the Pacers had talked to over 20 candidates about their head coaching job, but it’s possible those conversations were informal in nature, and that the team is now narrowing down the field as it conducts more in-depth interviews.

While we don’t know the full list of the 20+ candidates who have talked to the Pacers, Finch’s name is the 19th we’ve heard linked to the job, as our head coaching search tracker shows. Indiana’s interest in Joerger and Billups had been previously reported.

After parting ways with Nate McMillan, Pacers management talked about wanting to hire a head coach who takes a “modern approach” to the game and has the ability to connect with younger players.

More On Clippers-Doc Rivers Breakup

September 28th, 2020 at 8:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers’ decision to part ways with Doc Rivers could be the riskiest coaching change in NBA history, Kevin Pelton of ESPN opines. The team is rolling the dice with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George potentially opting out and becoming unrestricted free agents after next season. L.A.’s collapse against the Nuggets can be attributed to poor shooting, Pelton adds, as the Clippers took higher percentage shots than the Nuggets but made substantially fewer of them.

We have more on Rivers and the Clippers:

The Clippers’ front office concluded that issues that had cropped up during the season surfaced under the stress of the playoffs, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports. That led to the assessment that Rivers had to be held accountable for the team’s collapse.
By severing ties with Rivers, the Clippers indeed are blaming him for their playoff flop, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated opines. Could Phil Jackson be the answer? Jackson is 75 but he’s had time to recharge his batteries and this wouldn’t be a long-term job anyway, Mannix notes.
Tyronn Lue and Jeff Van Gundy are reportedly two of the former head coaches the Clippers will consider. Dan Loumena of the Los Angeles Times speculates that the Clippers might also consider assistant coach Sam Cassell, Chauncey Billups, Mark Jackson, Stan Van Gundy, Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan, Kenny Atkinson, Alvin Gentry, Jason Kidd and Becky Hammon.
Lue is the 3-2 favorite to get the job, according to Bet Online, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. Van Gundy is the second choice at 3-1 with Billups surprisingly listed as the third choice at 4-1.
Add the Rockets to the list of teams interested in Rivers, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The Pelicans and 76ers have already made contact.

Windhorst’s Latest: Coaching Rumors

September 25th, 2020 at 6:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have interviewed more than 20 candidates for their head coaching opening and are now scheduling second interviews, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Appearing on The Jump (video link) on Friday, Windhorst said that former Kings coach Dave Joerger, Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and 76ers assistant Ime Udoka are among the candidates expected to receive second interviews with the Pacers. ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups is also in the mix.

Windhorst doled out a number of other tidbits regarding coaching vacancies:

The Sixers have focused in on two high-profile candidates, Mike D’Antoni and Tyronn Lue, and that could impact what the Pelicans will do. New Orleans is “very interested” in Clippers assistant Lue, who won a championship in Cleveland with current Pelicans executive David Griffin. However, the Pelicans may have to wait until Philadelphia decides what it wants to do before pursuing Lue in earnest.
The Thunder appear to be going into rebuild mode and that increases the chances it will hire a first-time head coach. Timberwolves associate head coach David Vanterpool, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and perhaps Spurs assistant Will Hardy have emerged as contenders for the job.
As previously reported, the Rockets are looking seriously at Clippers assistant and former Houston player Sam Cassell and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy.

Coaching Rumors: Donovan, Billups, Bjorkgren, Walton

September 23rd, 2020 at 11:04am CST by Arthur Hill

Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas made a personal connection with Billy Donovan that helped him land his new coach, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this morning on “Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin” (video link). After Donovan left the Thunder two weeks ago, Karnisovas wanted to set up a meeting right away, according to Woj. The Bulls executive flew to Donovan’s Florida home a few days later and was able to sell him on the job.

Wojnarowski notes that Chicago has a recent history of taking chances on college coaches and veteran assistants, but has rarely hired someone with previous NBA head coaching experience. He adds that the Bulls have the talent to compete for a playoff spot in the East and Donovan could turn them into a desirable market for free agents.

Donovan said he didn’t want to be part of a rebuilding job in OKC, but Wojnarowski believes that will be less of a concern in Chicago. He said the Thunder are “cycling down” with a lot of veteran players and draft picks and may bottom out for a while before becoming good again. The Bulls have “players on the uptick” and could become contenders with the right coach.

There’s more on the NBA’s coaching carousel:

Wojnarowski passed along a few other rumors today (video link). The Sixers are ready to start bringing in coaching candidates and have already started conversations with Mike D’Antoni and Tyronn Lue. Chauncey Billups is a name to watch for the Pacers, who have shown a willingness to hire former players with no coaching experience and surround them with a veteran staff. The Pelicans have been doing a “ton of background” and haven’t started formal interviews yet. The Rockets like interviewing a lot of people whenever they have an opening and will consider various combinations of head coaches and lead assistants. Woj expects the interview process to be lengthy in both Houston and Oklahoma City.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse told Sirius XM Radio that assistant Nate Bjorkgren has interviewed for the opening with the Pacers (Twitter link).
The Kings‘ front office shakeup shouldn’t affect the job security of coach Luke Walton, Sam Amick of The Athletic said on a recent HoopsHype podcast. Amick believes new head of basketball operations Monte McNair was told before he was hired that the organization is “pretty invested both financially and kind of spiritually in Luke.”

Chauncey Billups Among Pacers’ Coaching Candidates

September 9th, 2020 at 10:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers‘ initial list of candidates for their head coaching vacancy featured 14 names, but apparently it was still unfinished. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds another name to that list, reporting that former NBA point guard Chauncey Billups has emerged as a candidate for the Indiana job.

According to Wojnarowski, Billups and Pacers officials recently engaged in talks about the position and plan to discuss it further. Woj points out that Billups fits the profile of some past Pacers coaching hires, such as Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas — Bird and Thomas were former Finals MVPs – like Billups – who were hired without any previous coaching experience in large part due to their leadership abilities as players.

A report last week indicated that Billups was interested in pursuing an NBA head coaching job and that teams had begun doing their homework on the former Piston, researching his candidacy.

Although Billups lacks coaching experience, NBA teams have a history of hiring former point guards who don’t have any past experience as assistants. Steve Nash is the latest example, but Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr, Mark Jackson, Jason Kidd, and Thomas are others who fit the bill.

The Pacers’ management team wants to get to know Billups, evaluate his preparedness for the job, and explore how they’d work together to build a coaching staff, writes Wojnarowski. According to Woj, people around the league have long believed that Billups would land a significant role with an NBA organization due to his leadership style and “basketball savvy.” It remains to be seen if he and the Pacers will be the right fit for one another.

Chauncey Billups Interested In Pursuing Head Coaching Job

September 3rd, 2020 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Tyronn Lue, Chauncey Billups May Be Package Deal

August 15th, 2020 at 4:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyronn Lue is rumored to be in the running for several head coaching jobs, and whoever hires him should be prepared to have Chauncey Billups as an assistant, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Sources tell Woj that teams know Lue has been talking to Billups about joining his staff as associate head coach. They are longtime friends, share the same agent, and both currently work for the Clippers, Lue as an assistant coach and Billups as a broadcaster.

Billups has been considered for several front office openings around the league and turned down an offer from the Cavaliers in 2017. Sources say his interest has changed from being an executive to being a coach, and he believes working with Lue will help him eventually land a head coaching position.

Lue is reportedly being considered for the new opening with the Pelicans, as well as the Nets, who plan to launch their search once they are eliminated from the playoffs. Wojnarowski states that he could be a candidate for the Rockets and Sixers as well if those teams decide to make coaching changes.

Lue turned down an offer from the Lakers last summer because L.A. wasn’t willing to give him more than three years of guaranteed salary. He landed a job with their cross-town rivals and has earned respect for challenging head coach Doc Rivers when he believes it’s necessary and for pushing the Clippers’ star players, according to Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski also reports that Lakers assistant Jason Kidd has seen his stock rise this year while serving as an assistant to Frank Vogel, and he could emerge as a strong candidate for one of the high-profile openings. According to Woj, Kidd impressed the Knicks in his interview for their head coaching spot and was willing to admit mistakes that he made during his time with the Nets and Bucks.

Pistons Notes: Summer League, Billups, GM Search, Roster, Grades

June 8th, 2020 at 7:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

As one of the eight teams that won’t head to Orlando to resume the season, the Pistons have made proposals to the league for a revised summer league and earlier training camp, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press reports.

The Pistons would like to hold a “mini-summer league” in July featuring structured workouts and games against other lottery-bound teams for their younger players. They also requested to hold a team training camp in mid-September for all players under contract for next season, Sankofa adds. That wouldn’t include free agent signings and draft picks, since that would occur in October. The start of the 2020/21 season has been pushed to December.

We have more Pistons-related news:

In the same story, Sankofa indicated that Chauncey Billups is a front office candidate but not for the position he covets. The Pistons are seeking a GM and assistant GM. Billups is only interested in the GM job but the front office would rather bring him in as assistant GM and groom their 2004 NBA Finals MVP for a higher-level executive position.
The GM search signals that senior adviser Ed Stefanski will eventually move into a background role, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic notes. The franchise prefers an experienced candidate for the GM job who can make an immediate impact and oversee player evaluations and the draft, Edwards continues. It’s also possible that the Pistons will hire multiple assistant GMs and leave the GM spot vacant for next season, he adds.
Blake Griffin, Sekou Doumbouya and Bruce Brown are the players under contract most likely to remain on the roster entering next season, Keith Langlois of the team’s website opines. Derrick Rose will also likely be back, though he’d be a prime trade candidate in his walk year if the team fortifies the point guard spot, Langlois adds.
A couple of players earned A-minuses from Detroit News beat writer Rod Beard. See all his evaluations and final grades here.