Ranking Trail Blazers best 'cheap' coaching options for 2026-27, from Rajon Rondo to Tiago Splitter originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Portland Trail Blazers need a head coach for 2026-27. But their new owner, Tom Dundon, reportedly doesn't have plans to heavily invest in that new coach.
With Chauncey Billups no longer at the helm in Portland following his involvement in the NBA's gambling scandal, Tiago Splitter led the Blazers to a 42-win season and No. 7 seed behind Deni Avdija's emergence, veterans like Jrue Holiday and Jermani Grant, and more young talent. However, with Splitter remaining on the interim tag, NBA insider Jake Fischer previously reported that Dundon doesn't want to pay "more than $1.5 million annually" for a new coach, which is far below the average for an NBA head coach and around the range for other top assistants.
If that is the case, and Portland is only going to spend up to $1.5 million on a coach, the realistic search is expected to be limited. Chances are, no previous NBA head coaches (Tom Thibodeau, Mike Budenholzer), big-name college coaches (Todd Golden, Nate Oats), or even very well-regarded NBA assistants like Sean Sweeney, Chris Quinn, or Micah Nori would be willing to take a pay cut to join the Trail Blazers.
If the Trail Blazers are going to stay "cheap" at head coach, they'll likely need to eye a first-time head coach who isn't already established as a strong voice in the NBA. When Dundon was leading the NHL's Hurricanes, that's exactly what he did by hiring Rod Brind'Amour in 2018, with the coach being paid a league-low $600,000 a year initially, per North Carolina Sports Network. He was later given a raise — still not among the top NHL coaches — as Carolina found consistent success.
On the court, the Trail Blazers' vacancy has the potential to be a good job — there are reasons to be encouraged about Portland's future. But finding the right voice to lead those players will be key.
Here are eight potential "cheap" names the Trail Blazers could target in their head coaching search.
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A former NBA center, now-Rockets assistant Ben Sullivan has plenty of coaching experience under some of the league's biggest names and also has connections to the Portland area.
Sullivan played basketball at the University of Portland from 2004-07, then became the program's director of basketball technology before his coaching career began.
In 2012, he became a video intern with the Spurs alongside assistant Ime Udoka, with whom he has worked heavily in his assistant coaching career. After working his way into player development in San Antonio, Sullivan was an assistant under Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta from 2014-18, an assistant under Budenholzer in Milwaukee from 2018-21, then an assistant under Udoka in both Boston (2021-23) and Houston (2023-present).
Considering all his background around the Gregg Popovich disciples and status as a coach who has heavily worked with players in shooting, he could be a good fit for a Blazers team that ranked fifth in the NBA in 2025-26 three-point attempts per game (35.0) but 15th in 3-point percentage (35.8%).
One of the more notable retired players who has excelled in an assistant coaching role recently is former journeyman forward Jared Dudley, who became a Mavericks assistant in 2021 following his retirement but joined the Nuggets' staff in 2025.
Dudley's NBA experience and locker room experience is what could be valuable for Portland. He was one of the more well-regarded teammates in the league over his 14-year playing career, with the personality to lead a group as a coach as well.
Whether Dudley would be willing to take a likely pay cut to become Portland's head coach is questionable, but the job would give him an early opportunity to fast-track his coaching career a bit, becoming an NBA head coach by his sixth year coaching.
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Plucking assistants from annually elite teams is often a strategy teams will take, no matter the league — and it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea for the Trail Blazers to try to emulate the Boston Celtics, although their roster construction is far different.
Longtime NBA assistant and former point guard Sam Cassell may have a higher asking price to leave Boston, but one Celtics coach who may not be too expensive is Tony Dobbins.
After playing basketball at Virginia Tech and Richmond, Dobbins was named a Defensive Player of the Year multiple times while playing in France — he's followed his playing career by first becoming a member of the Celtics' video room, then being promoted to assistant coach in 2020. Under Joe Mazzulla, Dobbins' responsibilities have only grown, including coaching Boston's summer league squad.
Tony Dobbins had a lengthy message for Jayson Tatum after the third quarter break — would imagine he had some encouraging words for the Celtics star after his big third quarter https://t.co/sXQsnfQibUpic.twitter.com/sxJfTH9odL