Among Blazer fans, there were a lot of mixed emotions about the franchise’s decision to give Head Coach Chauncey Billups a multi-year contract extension.
Among Blazer players, there was only one emotion: excitement.
Portland gave Billups his new contract the morning of the team’s end-of-season interviews. Reporters asked each player for their thoughts about Billups’ extension, and each player responded with resounding enthusiasm and support.
“They made the right decision,” Deandre Ayton said. “Chauncey deserves it.”
“I was just excited,” said Shaedon Sharpe with a slight smirk (which is as much emotion as one can expect to see from him). “Me and [Chauncey] have built a relationship and kind of have a connection… I’m really excited to continue the journey with him.”
Fan Reactions
After hearing news of the extension, some Blazer fans were beside themselves.
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With recently fired, proven coaches on the market like Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins, some felt this spring was a prime time to move on from Billups, who carries a 117-211 record as head coach.
The Blazer players do not feel that way.
“He deserves it,” said Jerami Grant, assertively, nodding his head as he spoke. “Us coming into the season, not really projected to do the things that we did, and him rallying this team and [giving us] a chance to fight for the Play-In is huge, so he definitely deserves it.”
“It’s exciting,” said Deni Avdija without hesitation. “I had a lot of fun playing for Chauncey. He’s a competitor, he wants to win. I like that about him because I grew up playing like that…Chauncey is our leader now. Going forward, he knows everybody, he knows what we need, and we have stability to improve for next year.”
Billups Finding His Stride
Billups undoubtedly coached his best season this past year. The Blazers finished 14.5 games above their projected win total. They were 23-18 over the final 41 games of the season, and finished third in the league in defensive rating in that time frame.
The first three years of Billups’ tenure were bad, but they were also riddled with injuries and unfairly lofty expectations.
“I’m very happy about that,” said Anfernee Simons confidently, with a smile. “The opportunity for him to show what he could do this year, that was really exciting. Guys [were finally] healthy. He’s able to implement his philosophies on a lot of the young guys. So I was pretty happy about [the extension], seeing how far he’s come as a coach.”
“I was very excited for him, man,” began Toumani Camara, before the reporter could finish the question. “His attention to detail and how much he helps us make mistakes and let us learn through that, he has a lot of faith in and respect for all of us.”
Can Chauncey Reach the Top
Whether Chauncey Billups has the chops to bring Portland to the pinnacle of the NBA is a very fair question to ask. When looking at his full body of work over the past four years, the answer would be a resounding “no”.
But just like many of the players on the Trail Blazers roster, the previous three years are not indicative of Billups’ abilities as a coach right now.
What happens over the next few seasons will determine whether or not this decision to extend Billups was the right one. If Portland tops out as a low-tier playoff team and is unable to get over the hump, there will be a swarm of angry fans ready to hurl their “I-told-you-so’s” at the organization.
But the players don’t care about all of that. They feel that they already have the right man to take them to war.
“I was really excited,” said Donovan Clingan, snapping back to the microphone from a leaned-away position. “Chauncey has put a lot of time and a lot of work into getting this organization to where it is and getting this team to where it finished off playing. I love playing for him and I’m really excited for the future.”
“Congratulations, congratulations,” said Scoot Henderson. “I’m just happy for him.”
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