“I think it’s long overdue,” shared legendary point guard Isiah Thomas on the hire of former Boston Celtics guard Chauncey Billups as an assistant head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers.
We are of course referring to the Thomas who was a rival of the Celtics in the 1980s, not the King of the Fourth, who spoke with Heavy.com’s Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson in a recent episode of the “Heavy Live with Scoop B” show about the hire.
The Hall of Fame floor general related his support for the Celtics draftee as an assistant head coach, who will serve under fellow Boston alumni Ty Lue, who landed the role of head coach of the Clippers last week.
Thomas made it clear he believes Billups is ready for the responsibility.
“Just because it’s long overdue doesn’t mean that he hasn’t been studying,” he suggested.
“So, what Chauncey has had the benefit of because it’s long overdue is that he’s had more classroom work. He’s had more time to study and hone his craft to get it right and to make sure that’s able to give the right information to the players when they need it.”
As more and more Celtics alumni enter the contemporary coaching ranks, it seems Billups has support as an assistant despite the lack of formal coaching experience.
Not that this is stopping similar hires to even higher positions, such as Steve Nash in the role of head coach for the Brooklyn Nets last week as well.
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