Feb 15, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Former player Chauncey Billups speaks during a ceremony honoring former Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders prior to a game against Los Angeles Lakers at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
It may be time for Detroit Pistons fans to pop in the 2004 championship DVD once again.
Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer reported Friday that various Pistons staffers are preparing for head coach Dwane Casey to no longer hold the position next season. The report notes that Casey, who has one year left on his contract after this season, could potentially transition into a front office role, either with the Pistons or with another NBA team.
Two possible head coach candidates mentioned by Fischer for the Detroit job (should Casey vacate it) are Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee and Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin.
However, the report also names a much more intriguing potential option — Pistons great Chauncey Billups (who is currently head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers). Fischer adds that Billups was on Detroit’s radar as a head coaching candidate in 2021 before Billups took the Portland job.
Nicknamed “Mr. Big Shot,” Billups was a beloved player over his eight total seasons with the Pistons (from 2002-08 and again from 2013-14). He was a multi-time All-Star and All-NBA selection in Detroit but is best remembered for helping lead the team to the 2004 NBA title as the Finals MVP. Billups then had his No. 1 jersey retired by the Pistons in 2016.
Now 46, Billups has not been especially successful as an NBA head coach, going 60-102 (.370) over two seasons with Portland. But the Pistons have been even less successful than that under Casey with fewer than 25 wins in each of the last four seasons, including an NBA-worst record of 16-64 (.200) this year.
If he ends up parting with the Blazers (which still seems like a big “if” at this point), Billups may foreseeably do better with a younger roster on a familiar franchise like the Pistons. There are plenty of respected NBA figures who believe in Billups’ ability as a head coach too.
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