LOS ANGELES — Chauncey Billups, who won the 2004 NBA title with the Detroit Pistons and was named Finals most valuable player, is finalizing a contract to join Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue's staff. Veteran NBA coach Larry Drew also will have a spot on Lue's bench.
Billups has been one of the hottest names whenever a job has come open since he retired in 2014. Rumored to be a top choice of Lue's since he was announced as Doc Rivers' replacement, Billups had to decide whether this was the best entry point into a post-playing career.
He has been on teams' radars for coaching and front-office positions, including a chance to run the Cleveland Cavaliers. He spent last season as a color commentator on Clippers television broadcasts while also working as a commentator for ESPN.
Billups and Lue are close friends and have been rumored as a sort of package deal since the summer.
The plan is for Billups, former Miami Heat assistant Dan Craig and former Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson to join Lue on his staff.
Drew has been an NBA coach, either head or assistant, for nearly 30 years, a career that will stretch into its fourth decade next season. He was an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers when Lue first entered the league and an assistant in Cleveland with the Clippers' new coach.
The Clippers made sweeping changes to their coaching staff after a disappointing performance in the NBA's bubble, with the team losing the final three games to the Denver Nuggets in the second round despite having double-digit leads in each game.
