Blazers name Tiago Splitter as interim HC, replacing Jail Bird Billups

[DusterBuster]

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[Speedlot]

jailblazers era

[zimpy27]

Tiago "pot" Splitter seems like a fair guy.

[BadWolf]

2 league championships in one year is impressive.

[BlazersBroncos]

Not a big coaching body of work but what he has done when leading a team has been about as impressive as it gets -

On July 16, 2024, Splitter was named the head coach for Paris Basketball in the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague.[32] They ended up winning the French championship and the French Cup in 2025, and qualified for the play-offs through play-in in EuroLeague. He left the team after one season.

In 2022, Splitter was named head coach of the Brazilian U23 national team at the GLOBL Jam Tournament in Toronto, Canada, where the team won the gold medal.[34]

Excited for this. Most Blazers fans have wanted Billups gone for years. Tiago will be interesting.

[HMFFL]

Coach Splitter!
Congratulations

[God Squad]

The Billups era for the Blazers was terrible; good riddance. I don't expect he'll ever be an NBA HC again.

[God Squad]

The Popovich coaching tree continues to yield fruit, impressive.

[kwajo]

Time to add him to the Popovich tree of coaches diagram I guess.

[DusterBuster]

If Billups would have been let go by Dundon under normal circumstances, Splitter would have been at the top of my list for the Blazers HC, so I'm actually low-key stoked on this change. Not the way I would have preferred to get to this point, but here we are.

Unlike when Billups got the job with next to no previous coaching experience, Splitter has some proven work under his belt. He also is a really respected ex player, always loved him with the Spurs. This feels more like a proper first-time HC hire than what happened when Olshey hired Billups.

Here's hoping he has success and is retained!

[DusterBuster]

The Billups era for the Blazers was terrible; good riddance. I don't expect he'll ever be an NBA HC again.

Man, I don't expect he'll ever be in the NBA again period.

Maybe there will be bigger fish they want to fry and Billups and plead / coop his way out of a sentence, but yeah, he's gonna need to be head down out of the league for a goooooooood long while.

[DusterBuster]

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[NWGunner]

jailblazers era

Might want to hold up there until all the details are in sport.


9. Teams that were bet on during the sports gambling scheme include the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Toronto Raptors.

[Bucks4005]

jailblazers era

Might want to hold up there until all the details are in sport.


9. Teams that were bet on during the sports gambling scheme include the Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Toronto Raptors.

This would be interesting. Let’s say something happens with Toronto. FBI doesn’t have jurisdiction there, it’s a different country, so what could they really do there if that’s the case? I’m assuming the Raptors would cooperate, etc, but how would that work? Since it’s an American League, have the Raptors given rights to the FBI to investigate, etc?

[DusterBuster]

What we're hearing early - obviously all fluid as so much is happening - is that this might not be an interim tag. Apparently it was known when Splitter was hired this summer that he wanted a path to becoming a HC, so it was known that if the Blazers decided to make a move with Billups because the season went sideways, Splitter would be getting the job.

Again, weird way to get there, but this likely isn't going to be an interim tag for Tiago as long as he is doing well.

[lambchop]

I said this in the gambling thread, props to Paris basketball for creating two (interim) NBA head coaches and getting multiple guys paid. They played and still play super guard dominant basketball, but for a Euro team to have two head coaches become NBA head coaches two consecutive years in a row is surely unprecedented.

[UcanUwill]

What we're hearing early - obviously all fluid as so much is happening - is that this might not be an interim tag. Apparently it was known when Splitter was hired this summer that he wanted a path to becoming a HC, so it was known that if the Blazers decided to make a move with Billups because the season went sideways, Splitter would be getting the job.

Again, weird way to get there, but this likely isn't going to be an interim tag for Tiago as long as he is doing well.

He was already top assistant in the NBA who left for Paris HC job. It was a bit surprising he returned to the NBA after very good season in France, he must have known that career opportunity in Portland is huge.

[KGtabake]

Splitter did an A+ job in Paris.
Paris is not one of Europe's heavyweights.
Their showing in EuroLeague was amazing.
In the end, they didn't make the Final Four because they lacked the experience and the depth but they played the best basketball.

Splitter deserves a chance, best of luck.

[HMFFL]

I will have to smoke one of his Luciano Cigars.

Tiago Splitter and Dominique Wilkins co-founded the cigar company

[tcheco]

Again, first Brazillian HC in the NBA, good for him. Hope he makes us proud