After a successful 2025-26 season, the Portland Trail Blazers are now looking for a new head coach who fits in with new owner Tom Dundon’s plans. Tiago Splitter’s system worked in his first season, which could lead to a return, but he is only one of the three Blazers’ coaching candidates.
Gauging The Top Three Trail Blazers’ Coaching Candidates
With Chauncey Billups not set to return, the Trail Blazers are finally looking for a full-time head coach. Splitter did well implementing his system over 81 regular-season games and a five-game postseason run despite initially being hired as an assistant coach, but his spot is not assured.
He did a wonderful job leading the Blazers to their first postseason berth in five years. Unfortunately for Splitter, Dundon, and the front office want to be thorough, so they are looking into multiple candidates. Now, they have narrowed it down to three coaches: Splitter, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Micah Nori, and the Boston Celtics’ Tyler Lashbrook.
Familiarity with Splitter’s System Could See Him Return
During the 2025-26 season, Splitter did a great job of implementing a combination of Billups’ system and his own. It was still mostly Billups’ handiwork, since they went through a full training camp with him in charge, but it lasted only a game due to his off-court controversies.
As the season progressed, Splitter started implementing many of his coaching philosophies, like a faster-paced offense. Despite that, Billups’ philosophies were still there, including the full-court press and the focus on offensive rebounding.
Matisse Thybulle on the job Tiago Splitter did this season:
"There's a term where, if its late in the shot clock and someone throws you the ball because they don't have a good look and you have to shoot it with no time left, they call it a grenade. In a sense that's kind of what… pic.twitter.com/xCtnZgFKJU
— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) April 30, 2026
If Splitter does get chosen as the full-time coach, the familiarity will be good. Every player on the Blazers roster will be familiar with Splitter because of how he coached them in the 2025-26 season. At the same time, he is also the only former NBA player amongst the candidates, which will be a factor for leaders like Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday.
If he gets hired, Splitter will finally have a full training camp with him in charge. He will already command the respect of his players, but he will probably have a more in-depth playbook. Splitter’s system will be in full force rather than being part of a hybrid with the previous coach’s tactics. The only obstacle in Splitter’s way is Dundon’s apparent dislike of him.
Nori Is A Great Fit With The Current Blazers Team
When it comes to Nori, he comes into this candidacy with almost two decades of experience as an assistant coach. He has been Chris Finch’s lead assistant on the Timberwolves since 2021, which has been a successful run that has involved two Western Conference Finals runs.
Nori is also an offensive whiz, as he has been partnered up with Finch since 2015. They worked together back in Denver until 2018, but then reconnected when Finch got the job with the Timberwolves in 2021. Now, Nori has become one of the most important figures in Minnesota basketball.
Chris Finch on the possibility of losing Micah Nori this offseason as other teams are looking at him to become their head coach:
“I hope so, he deserves this chance and I know the last couple years he’s been pretty close”
Sounds like Nori really could be gone 😢 pic.twitter.com/Dofjig3d8W
— SleeperTimberwolves (@SleeperTWolves) June 3, 2026
Nori has stepped in for Finch multiple times, as he has taken over whenever Finch is unavailable. With that kind of experience, he has picked up steam as one of the leading candidates for multiple vacancies around the league. With his expertise as an offensive coordinator, he could help the Blazers, a team that has struggled on that end for a long time.
However, it seems he is among the Blazers’ coaching candidates who could feasibly take over. He is a player’s coach, which means NBA players love working with him. This has been true throughout his career, and anyone who has worked with him has said the same thing: he empowers players to be at their best, which could be quite useful for this Trail Blazers team.
Lashbrook Might Be The Best Long-Term Fit For Dundon’s Plans
Compared to the other two players, Lashbrook is a dark horse. At only 34, he could be one of the NBA’s youngest coaches. He has been in the NBA world since 2018, when he worked as a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.
He then made the move to Boston in 2023 to fulfill the same role for the Celtics until 2024. Lashbrook then moved to the G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, as the head coach for one season before moving to Joe Mazzulla’s coaching staff.
According to people around the Celtics, Lashbrook is one of the leading voices in their offense. He also brings his player development background to the forefront, which would be great for players like Donovan Clingan, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe.
If Dundon’s plans and supposed penny-pinching involve long-term success, Lashbrook might be the best pick because he can grow alongside the team in a long-term project.
That looks unlikely, but he has convinced them enough to be part of the final three candidates. It will be an interesting situation to follow because the Blazers will be a must-watch team moving forward.
Featured Image: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images
