The Portland Trail Blazers seem to be moving on from Tiago Splitter as their head coach. Splitter took over for Chauncey Billups after he was arrested early in the season for his alleged involvement in a gambling scandal. Since then, Splitter has done a great job.
All Splitter did was take Portland to the playoffs and give a young team some postseason experience. Yet, it seems that new owner Tom Dundon wants someone else to take the job. Rumors of him trying to pay the lowest possible price for a head coach have turned Splitter off.
The Trail Blazers have now reportedly cast a very large net of coaching candidates, as it seems like they are leaving Splitter out of it.
GettyPortland Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter watches his team during a game. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Trail Blazers Have a List of 20 Possible Candidates
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Blazers have a net as wide as 20 possible candidates for the head coaching position.
“As league sources said on Monday, the Trail Blazers have cast a net so wide that the list of candidates could be almost 20 coaches long and, in the end, will consist of names procured by both Dundon and general manager Joe Cronin,” Amick wrote.
What’s worse is that there doesn’t seem to be any clear indication of when a new coach will be hired.
“What’s more, league sources say, there is no clear messaging as of yet about a possible timeline on the hiring. And while Dundon has pushed back on the notion that he’s cutting corners as a matter of what he believes is good business, the proof will be in the paycheck,” Amick noted.
It’s clear that the rumors of Dundon being cheap continue to float around league circles. It’s gotten to the point that established head coaches might avoid the job because of it. That could be a massive detriment to a young team that has a lot of talent.
GettyPortland Trail Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter reacts during a game. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
The Blazers Should Keep Tiago Splitter as Head Coach
Splitter should get an opportunity to keep coaching the Blazers. Not only that, but he deserves a normal coaching salary. He took a Trail Blazers team in turmoil and turned them into one that has started to build something. During the regular season, Portland had the 12th-best defense in the NBA.
That shows that the team is making progress under Splitter. It would be foolish for Portland to throw that away, especially to hire a less expensive coach. The development of Scoot Henderson would likely suffer, and he is the most important player the franchise has at the moment.
As Amick notes, there is no telling when this coaching search will come to a conclusion. With the postseason still going on, this search could drag on until the NBA Finals start, especially if Dundon wants to bring in a young assistant coach who is willing to take a low salary.
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