Trail Blazers' Tiago Splitter 'just trying to be a pro' with reports about Tom Dundon, coaching search swirling
As interim head coach, Splitter has guided Portland back to the playoffs and now has the Blazers tied in a first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs.
Tom Dundon’s first month as Portland Trail Blazers owner hasn’t been subtle, to say the least. Reports have been rampant, some concerning the eyebrow-raising cost-cutting measures the 54-year-old Texas billionaire has taken to frugally run the Blazers — tactics reminiscent of how he slashed expenses after buying the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes in 2017 — and some have centered around his not-so-secret search for a new head coach. It’s not often an NBA team is actively looking for a new head coach amid a run to the playoffs, but that’s reportedly the situation Dundon thrust his new franchise in.
NBA reporter Jake Fischer reported this week, according to ESPN , that Dundon had started speaking to 15-20 prospective candidates. That list reportedly included college coaches and NBA assistant coaches. Meanwhile, the Blazers’ current head coach, interim Tiago Splitter, has Portland on the rise.
Splitter, a former NBA center who stepped in for Chauncey Billups after the Basketball Hall of Famer was arrested in an FBI gambling probe , piloted the Blazers to a 42-40 record. Then he oversaw a play-in tournament win that clinched the No. 7 seed in a Western Conference crowded with contenders.
Most recently, on Tuesday night, he watched as his group rallied for a 106-103 Game 2 victory over the team that drafted him in 2007. With a statement-making fourth quarter, Portland surged past a Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs squad to tie the teams’ first-round playoff series 1-1. "Just trying to be a pro," Splitter told reporters pregame, per ESPN, regarding the outside noise surrounding his position.
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