Report: Trail Blazers are eyeing Brent Barry as a candidate for Portland’s next head coach

According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic, Brent Barry, the San Antonio Spurs Vice President of Basketball Operations, is among a handful of candidates on the Trail Blazer’s radar to fill their potential head coaching vacancy this offseason.

Among the potential coaching candidates for the Trail Blazers, sources say: Lakers assistant Jason Kidd, Hawks interim coach Nate McMillan, 76ers assistant Dave Joerger, Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Spurs vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry.

Incumbent playcaller Terry Stotts is on the verge of guiding Portland to their eighth consecutive playoff appearance in his ninth season at the helm. However, management is reportedly ready to move on from Stotts in favor of someone who better aligns with Damian Lillard’s timeline.

If Stotts can’t “pull a rabbit out of his hat” with a playoff miracle of sorts, as one source put it, the Blazers are expected to opt for a new coaching voice. And the Damian Lillard timeline, it seems, is playing a big part here.

Barry suited up in 261 games for San Antonio from 2004 to 2008, playing an integral role off the bench as a second unit sharpshooter and winning two NBA championships with the Silver and Black in 2005 and 2007.

After retiring from the league, Barry took a position with NBA TV and TNT as a host and color commentator before rejoining the Spurs family in 2018 and replacing Monty Williams as Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Brent Barry doesn’t have any coaching experience, so it should be fascinating to see how much Portland values the time the 49-year-old spent working in San Antonio’s front office and whether competing under the tutelage of Gregg Popovich factors into their decision.