WNBA legend and current San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon has recently spoken up about her losing the chance to become the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Hammon was among the finalists for the Blazers coaching gig that eventually landed on the lap of former NBA champion Chauncey Billups, and while she says there's not much disappointment on her part, she certainly has strong feelings about the hiring process, per Jabari Young of CNBC.
“I’m not mad,” Hammon said. “This is the business, and it’s a very competitive business. But, at the end of the day, throw everything out the window — if you want to hire me, you’ll find a reason to hire me. And if you don’t want to hire me, you’ll find that reason, too. And that’s just that.”
The rumor is that Becky Hammon was not able to beat out the other contenders for the position in part because of an unsatisfactory result of a background check by the Blazers. Moreover, Hammon still believes Portland conducted an honest search process for Terry Stott's successor despite the controversies that followed after Billups' hiring.
Hammon said she felt the Blazers were “authentic” in their coaching search. But the team suffered public backlash once Billups’ history of rape allegations in 1997 resurfaced, and suggestions emerged that the team was interviewing Hammon only as a form of damage control.
There are lessons Hammon has learned from this experience. Hopefully one day, she will achieve her goal of becoming a head coach. If anything, she can still feel encouraged by the fact that she's part of Gregg Popovich's rich coaching tree.
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