Reports: Spurs Asst. Becky Hammon a Finalist for Trail Blazers Head Coaching Job
The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to have second interviews with coaching candidates this week, according the ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. However, others report the Blazers have already narrowed their focus even further.
First, LA Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon are “among candidates who’ll get second interviews” for Portland’s head coaching vacancy, per Woj.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick are going a step further and their sources say Hammon is already a finalist.
San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon is a finalist for the Portland Trail Blazers’ head-coaching job, marking the first time a woman has gone into the final stages of an NBA coaching search, sources tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Sam Amick.
Also, Sports Business Radio reports Hammon is who Portland’s owner, Jody Allen, wants at the helm.
Reliable sources have told me that if Jody Allen has her way, Becky Hammon will be the next Head Coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Allen would very much like to be a “trail blazer” by hiring the first woman Head Coach in @NBA history (as well as @NFL, @MLB, @NHL). #NBA
— SportsBusinessRadio (@SBRadio) June 21, 2021
Of the other candidates interviewed so far — including South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni, Spurs vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry and Billups — Charania and Amick report multiple of those names will be among the “final stage of interviews for the Trail Blazers.”
Dawn Staley’s full answer when asked about the head coaching position with the Portland Trail Blazers:
“I’ve talked to the Portland Trail Blazers… and that’s the extent of it. I’ve talked to them.”@wachfox @MitchBTV_ @GamecockWBB pic.twitter.com/hMfp8EnbRy
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) June 21, 2021
