{"id":196260,"date":"2026-05-20T21:29:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T01:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=196260"},"modified":"2026-05-20T21:29:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T01:29:35","slug":"blazers-owner-not-a-big-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/20\/blazers-owner-not-a-big-fan\/","title":{"rendered":"Trail Blazers Owner Not A “Big Fan” Of One Coaching Candidate, Has A Favorite Emerged?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> ended a four-year playoff drought this past season and finished with their best regular-season campaign this decade. But it doesn’t appear that interim coach Tiago Splitter<\/a> will get the full-time gig.<\/p>\n

Trail Blazers Owner Not A “Big Fan” Of One Coaching Candidate<\/h2>\n

Splitter took over the reins of the Trail Blazers following Chauncey Billups’ arrest on gambling charges<\/a>, and did a fantastic job managing the ship. The Trail Blazers went 42-39 under Spliter, finishing eighth in the Western Conference. The Blazers defeated the Phoenix Suns in the 7th-8th place Play-In Game and then took a game from the San Antonio Spurs in their first-round series.<\/p>\n

Portland’s 42 wins were the most since winning the same amount in the Covid-shortened 2020-21 campaign, which was the last time the Trail Blazers made the playoffs, and most for a full season since winning 53 games in 2018-19. The Trail Blazers had several key players miss time due to injury, including Damian Lillard<\/a>, who was out\u00a0all season, while Matisse Thybulle<\/a> and Scoot Henderson<\/a> played in only 30 contests.\u00a0 All totaled, only four Blazers played in at least 60 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe [Splitter] commanded real respect from various counterparts on opposing coaching staffs for how he handled such a challenging season,\u201d NBA Insider Jake Fischer wrote<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, Portland was only 20th in offensive efficiency, as it was one of the worst shooting teams in the league. The Trail Blazers finished 29th in field goal percentage (45.3%), 28th in 3-point percentage (34.3%), and 24th in free throw percentage (76.5). While they also committed the most turnovers in the league (17.3 a game), they did an excellent job of hitting the offensive glass.<\/p>\n

Defensively, Portland was in the middle of the pack. The Trail Blazers finished 14th in defensive rating and 16th in field goal percentage. While the Blazers did a pretty good job defending the 3-point line, they were 15th in 3-point percentage. They also did a good job not fouling and protecting the rim.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, Deni Avdija<\/a> developed into an All-Star. Shaedon Sharpe<\/a> continued his growth, and Donovan Clingan<\/a>, who led the NBA in offensive rebounds, finished with a double-double. Meanwhile,\u00a0 Jeremi Grant<\/a> and Jrue Holiday<\/a> bounced back from a disappointing 2024-25 campaign<\/p>\n

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Tiago Splitter Still Candidate For Job, Not Favorite<\/h3>\n

Splitter is a candidate for the Trail Blazers ‘ full-time gig. Splitter played seven years in the NBA, spending five seasons in San Antonio<\/a>. He joined the Brooklyn Nets staff in 2020, focusing on player development, and spent three seasons there. He then moved on to Ime Udoka’s staff in Houston for one campaign (2023-24) before being named head coach of French club Paris Basketball for the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n