Matt Johnson
The Portland Trail Blazers coaching search this offseason made immediate headlines with new owner Tom Dundon seemingly wanting to hire the cheapest head coach in the NBA. While it remains unclear what salary the organization is willing to pay, targets are emerging in the search.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, assistant NBA coaches Jared Dudley, Micah Nori and Steve Hetzel are among the coaching candidates that Portland is interested in. Portland-based reporter Sean Highkin also recently disclosed that assistant Greg St. Jean is another target.
Related: Trail Blazers Owner Tom Dundon’s Examples of Cheapness
Dudley is certainly the most familiar name for NBA fans. The 40-year-old former NBA champion played from 2007-2021 with seven different franchises before becoming an assistant coach following his retirement. After a few years on the Dallas Mavericks coaching staff (2021-25), he joined the Denver Nuggets coaching staff this past season to work under David Adelman.
Nori, age 52, has long been viewed as one of the top up-and-coming NBA coaching candidates. He started his coaching career with the Toronto Raptors (2009-13) and has had stops with the Sacramento Kings (2013-15), Denver Nuggets (2015-18), and Detroit Pistons (2018-21), and he’s been with the Minnesota Timberwolves since 2021 as a lead assistant.
Hetzel has been in the coaching ranks for more than a decade. He joined the Detroit Pistons in 2009 as a player development coach and has stints as an assistant on NBA staffs with the Charlotte Hornets (2014-18), Orlando Magic (2018-21), Portland (2021-24), and he’s served with the Brooklyn Nets since 2024.
St. Jean started his career as a video coordinator with the Kings, working his way up to assistant for player development (2014-15), followed by stints at St. John’s and then with the Los Angeles Lakers (2019-21, 2024-present), Mavericks (2021-23), and Suns (2023-24).
Notably, none of these targets in the Trail Blazers coaching search have head-coaching experience in the NBA. While their salaries aren’t disclosed, the range Portland was reportedly looking to set for its next head coach ($1-2 million) might only be a slight raise. Plus, if there are other teams with interest, there’s a high chance that other clubs will be willing to offer more money.
