Report: Damian Lillard ‘may push’ to get ‘out of Portland’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Damian Lillard may push to leave the Portland Trail Blazers in the wake of the team’s recent search for a new head coach, according to a report Sunday from Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.
Reports surfaced Friday that the Portland Trail Blazers are set to hire Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups as their next head coach.
“I like J. Kidd and Chauncey,” Lillard told The Athletic earlier this month. And that’s when the backlash started.
When Billups was a rookie with the Celtics, a woman accused him and Ron Mercer of rape at the home of Antoine Walker. Billups and Mercer settled the suit with the unidentified woman, paying her an undisclosed amount out of court.
Haynes wrote, “Lillard has remained loyal to Portland in large part due to the tremendous fan base. But over the last few days, he’s seen some of those same fans attacking him on social media for a pending coaching hire he played no part in consummating…
“The coaching search was conducted by Neil Olshey, the team’s president of basketball operations. None of the candidates who were interviewed were from suggestions from Lillard, sources said.”
Haynes also said that even though Lillard had a prior relationship with Billups, the Blazers point guard “had no prior knowledge of the past sexual assault allegations against him from 1997.”
It was reported four days ago that Lillard sat in on the Blazers’ interview with Billups.
Now all eyes continue to stay locked on Portland.
The team announced Sunday that it will hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce the new head coach.