The Portland Trail Blazers named Chauncey Billups as the franchise’s next coach late Sunday night.
The team reached an agreement on a five-year deal with the former LA Clippers assistant that includes a team option on the last season, sources told ESPN.
Billups, 44, will be introduced at a Tuesday news conference in Portland, sources said.
Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey and Billups’ agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, finalized the contract terms on Sunday, sources said. The Blazers offered Billups the job on Friday night, and the sides had been progressing on a deal to replace former coach Terry Stotts over the weekend.
The Blazers’ landing of Billups sets the franchise’s direction of trying to maximize the prime years of All-NBA guard Damian Lillard’s career by elevating the team into deeper runs in the Western Conference playoffs. Portland advanced to two conference semifinals and a conference finals in the Lillard-Olshey-Stotts era.
After Blazers chair Jody Allen and Olshey met with Billups in Seattle on Wednesday, they were convinced that he was the right candidate, sources said.
