Tiago Splitter makes first comments after Chauncey Billups’ arrest
Tiago Splitter was elevated to the position of interim head coach Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday after the first head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested for his alleged involvement in an illegal poker scandal. With the team set to take on the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, Splitter shared his first comments since Billups’ arrest.
The 40-year-old former NBA center admitted that the team’s morale he is not in a good place right nowaccording to ESPN’s Anthony Slater. Even so, Splitter has made it clear he’s ready for an interim role, and it’s business as usual without Billups.
“Tiago Splitter steps into his interim role as Blazers head coach in place of Chauncey Billups: ‘We’ve got work to do,'” Slater wrote. “On the mood in (the) institution yesterday: ‘Not great.’ Could he be in contact with Billups? “No.” Splitter: ‘I have to be ready. I was ready. I’m ready.’”
He will make his NBA head coaching debut against a Warriors team that is already 2-0 to start the season. Meanwhile, the Blazers are still looking for their first win of the 2025-26 campaign. Prior to coaching, Splitter played seven years in the NBA and was part of the 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs championship team.
The Trail Blazers named Splitter their interim head coach despite his lack of head coaching experience. Splitter just entered the coaching circuit in the 2019 season when he became an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets. Since then, he has also been an assistant for the Houston Rockets. Splitter was the head coach of the Paris Saint-Germain basketball team in 2024-2025 before accepting an assistant role with Portland in the 2025 offseason.
Tiago Splitter’s assistants in the Blazers consist of Nate Bjorkgren, Patrick St. Andrews, Quinton Crawford, Ronnie Burrell and James Posey. We’ll see what this group can do this season Chauncey Billups is out of the picture.
2025-10-25 00:53:00
