The Portland Trail Blazers will not renew the contracts for assistant coaches Scott Brooks and Rodney Billups, per Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian.
The change comes on the heels of assistant Steve Hetzel departing the Blazers on April 22 to join the Brooklyn Nets’ coaching staff following three seasons in Portland.
Brooks spent three seasons as Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups' top assistant. Rodney Billups, Chauncey's younger brother, was a development and defensive coach.
The decision could be viewed a couple of different ways. The Blazers could be committing to another rebuilding year by opting to let the experienced Brooks walk away.
Or the moves could be viewed as a shot across the bow toward Billups, whose teams have struggled immensely in his three seasons in charge of the Blazers.
Billups received a strong endorsement from general manager Joe Cronin at the Blazers’ April 15 exit interviews, when he committed to bringing Billups back for a fourth season.
“Chauncey is an incredible leader in this organization,” Cronin said. “He goes above and beyond what a standard coach does. He helps me with staff. He's a part of all of our high-end staffing interviews. We spend a lot of time talking about our different departments throughout this organization. He's really active with feedback and ideas and looking at ways we can improve.”
Hetzel exited for Brooklyn last month after working with the Blazers for the last three seasons. Prior to his stint in Portland, he had stops as an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic. He broke into the NBA in player development with the Detroit Pistons from 2009-13.
All three positions will be filled in this offseason. The Blazers hold a fifth-year option on Billups' contract for the 2025-26 season that has yet to be picked up.
Blazers struggles lead to key offseason
The Blazers struggled their way to a 21-61 record this last season. They now face a critical offseason where they will (likely) have two lottery picks, as well as a pair of second-round picks in next month's NBA Draft.
The challenge is that Portland already features 14 players under contract for next season if they keep everyone. They have a $2.2 million team option on Dalano Banton for next season that, if they pick it up, becomes a partial guarantee.
Jabari Walker and Toumani Camara both have partial guarantees that are all but assured to be picked up.
That means that the Blazers cannot use both of their first-round picks without clearing a roster spot before the start of the season. Not to mention, the team is already projecting to be well into the luxury tax and just a hair below the first apron.
All of that points to a roster that will likely look different next October. Whether that's trading Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, or others remains to be seen.
But the Blazers have their work cut out for them this summer.
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