Notice Chauncey Billups new Portland Trail Blazers head coach

His contract is firm for four years.

 

I changed my mind back to being against this hire. It really feels like the PR blowback to this entire episode has caused Dame to reevaluate his relationship with the city. It's just been a shit show.

I was trying to explain to my wife everything. She doesn't really care about the Blazers, but when I mentioned the new coach had a rape allegation from 20 years ago, she just lost it. I was stunned at how quickly she suddenly became passionate about the Blazers. She was livid. It took about 5 minutes of me arguing with her to just hear the entire thing.

I finally just talked over her and said, "Yeah, and now Dame is talking about leaving the team."

She got quiet for a minute and was suddenly willing to listen a bit, because she knows what a fan I am of him. "But can't Dame just apologize for defending this guy?" she asked.

I just shook my head. "This is a guy with the balls to make the 0.9 second shot--he has a level of certitude most don't have, and part of that probably means he's not willing to explain himself every damned time somebody takes him out of context. And really, he doesn't have anything to apologize for. He was just supporting his new coach. A coach who was never charged. But like any player with $200m, he probably feels a little entitled. He's been loyal to Portland and now he feels like some of that city are being disloyal to him by not listening. We were already on thin ice with him the way the team collapsed on him in the playoffs. Superstar players leave mediocre teams all the time in the modern NBA. It's very realistic he could force a trade."

"I still feel like he should get over himself and apologize," she said. To which I just...kind of gave up. This is a hobby. It's supposed to be fun--not a reason to have my biggest argument of 2021.

I bet there have been countless arguments just like this over the poisoned well that has become the Billups hiring.

Fuck Neil Olshey. This is a goddamned clusterfuck.

 

I'll say it again, if the team did the investigation and they found Chauncey innocent then the easy thing to do would have been to go another way but the ethical thing to do, if the team thinks Chauncey is the best person for the job, is to hire the guy. Fuck some extra PR work and Dame will understand that.

 

You can ask your wife, if it wouldn't be cool to hire Becky, as first ever woman to coach NBA team.
It would be fuckin parades on the streets for her. And then, if she failed, it would be national shitstorm if someone try to touch her

That's the thing, you see. Stotts was the guy, that your wife, and people in general, got nothing against. Blazers are basketball team, not doctors without borders. We can play basketball or be charity found, but not both.
Again and again. Being nice not gone give you trophy. There is basically no place for being nice in sport. "Culture" thing put Blazers into soft laughingstock.
Stop with the bullshit and play basketball.

 

As much as I dislike Neil and question Jody and the Vulcans for keeping Olshey around, I don't think any of these things factored into their decision. If they would have thought that Becky Hammon was the best coach for the job, they would have taken the possible shitstorm of firing her in the case that she couldn't do the job, just like they're taking the shitstorm of hiring a guy with a rape accusation in his past. I think the team was dead set on hiring the best person for the job without concern for the blow back.

 

Well, I don't think their way of thinking was "let's hire a rapist and see some shitstorm". This was the last chance for Neil to hire professional. If anything, it was too late.
If Dame wanted out now, it would be an absolute joke. After all, Stotts should be fired after Pelicans series and long gone and Dame was the main reason Stotts was with him for another x years, sitting, wasting his years and slowly pushing him out of town.

So if Dame needs to apologize about defending some coach, it should be for defending Stotts. And he should apologize himself, not Mook's wife.
And if there should be some shitshtorm and public pressure it should be after Pelicans series, not after hiring someone, that I belive can finally coach this team somewhere.

Jesus, we should hire Nelson Mandela. We would be best known and most respected team in the universe.

 

Isn’t Stotts’ contract “firm” for two more years?

 

I’ve heard this a lot, but it makes no sense to me. Billups has zero experience as a head coach. He may be great. He may suck. We don’t know. Magic Johnson, a great player who was popular with other players, like Billups, was a terrible coach. The Billups hiring by the Blazers proves one thing to me: this is a players’ league. The stars get what they want. In this case, the Blazers gave Damian Lillard the coach he wanted.

 

Olshey has a longer history with Billups than Dame does. Maybe they both wanted him? Crazy concept I know.

 

As a team, Blazers had 3 things that needed to be addressed, 3 things, that next coach be good at.
1. Stotts was soft and therefore his team was soft.
2. Stotts couldn't keep his players accountable.
3. Blazers played zero defence.

If you got Billups, Becky and D'Antoni the choice is very easy.

Assuming Becky is good bb coach, timing wasn't on her side in this case. No matter how socially rite you'd like to be, if you need tougher coach, bc your players are spoiled as shit, you can't replace Stotts with women. There are strong arguments against it. Our players, unfortunately, aren't smart enough to be coached by woman. Maybe Becky is ready, but CJ is not.

Would D'Antoni make Blazers better at defense? Would he?

It seems like all those SJ warriors not event don't know much about bb, but they don't know nothing about current team problems.

 

I believe Dame got his coach - no worries. I’m afraid that OLSHEY just won’t part with CJ but Nurkic and Collins may be replaced. Note that Chauncey did chat with CJ. He never mentions Powell. And our new uniform sponsor mock-ups use #3.

Maybe Powell doesn’t get re-signed and we try for Grant?

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing how Nurk does under Billups. Honeymoon time is just about over. Time to hit gym and work on game. Be more like Jokic, not Drummond.

 

That’s the style nowadays. Slim fit fitted. The days of baggy suits is over

 

Lmao it’s not that deep

 

Thank you! Soft ass franchise

 

Whats wrong with that? And Neil does go way back with Chauncey and other players from his training days.
I remember Ed Davis said he was well liked around the league by players.

 

...did you win a never-ending supply of tin foil recently or what?!

 

I find it funny to the person who said he changed his mind the most of the reason it seems is how Dame now feels and let's be honest he has been radio silent pretty much and most of what we THINK we know comes from the media / twitter. We have YET to hear him come out and say much of anything since the hire was official so just chill out and let's wait and see what he really says NOT what twitter or some so called experts who want to TRY and get into Dame's head.

 

Oh well if someone heard it, must be true.