Trail Blazers Shaking Up Chauncey Billups' Coaching Staff

Two assistant coaches did not have their contracts renewed, according to a league source.

📸: John Rivera, Getty Images

At the end of the season, the Trail Blazers confirmed that Chauncey Billups will return for his fourth season as head coach. However, his bench will look very different.

According to a league source, the Blazers did not renew the contracts of Billups’ lead assistant Scott Brooks, or his brother, Rodney Billups, who was also serving as an assistant on his staff. The Oregonian first reported the news.

The Blazers now have three total vacancies on Billups’ coaching staff with the departures of Brooks and Rodney Billups, and assistant coach Steve Hetzel leaving last month to become Jordi Fernandez’s lead assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.

All three positions will be filled in the coming weeks and months as the organization looks to revamp the staff around Chauncey Billups, who is going into the final guaranteed year of his contract as head coach. The Blazers hold a fifth-year option for the 2025-26 season that, as of now, has not been picked up.

Entering a Contract Year, Chauncey Billups Faces His Biggest Challenge Yet

Despite his uncertain long-term contract status, Billups received a strong endorsement from general manager Joe Cronin at the Blazers’ April 15 exit interviews.

“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. He's an incredible teacher, not just with our players and their development and teaching them how to navigate this league, but also our staff. He's a valuable scout. He's got a great eye and a great feel for the game. His personality is thoroughly felt throughout this building.”

Now, entering year two of the post-Damian Lillard rebuild, with the predraft process about to ramp up with next week’s lottery and combine in Chicago, Billups’ staff is getting a shakeup.