NBA Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups will become the new head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. ESPN also confirmed that Billups and the Trail Blazers are "progressing in contract talks."

The Trail Blazers parted ways with Terry Stotts after they were knocked out again in the first-round of the Western Conference playoffs. Rip City has been searching for new commander. They met Becky Hammon, assistant coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Mike D'Antoni, assistant of the Brooklyn Nets, and of course, Billups, who is assistant to Tyronn Lue in the Los Angeles Clippers.

44-year-old Billups was five-year All-Star as a player. Though he was a No. 3 selection in the 1997 NBA Draft, he had a very rough start of his career being tossed among four teams. That period of time cost Billups his youth, but also carved him into a calm, resilient and wise point guard.

Things changed for Billups after he joined the Detroit Pistons in 2002. Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace became his teammates, making one of the toughest defensive teams in NBA history. The Pistons never missed the Eastern Finals between 2003 and 2007. In 2004, they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the NBA Finals, winning their third title in franchise history. Billups was named the Finals MVP of the series.

Billups left the Pistons for his home team, the Denver Nuggets, in 2008. His stats continued to drop in the following years but Billups showed more valuable qualities as a leader by influencing his teammates both on and off the court. He convinced Carmelo Anthony to work harder on defense; he talked J.R. Smith out of night club; he showed his teammates the right way to play games and the correct attitude toward training and practice. It did not take long for the young, talented Nuggets to become a silent, competitive squad.

Billups has a long-standing relationship with Portland's ace Damian Lillard, according to ESPN. The two also "talked frequently" during the team's coach search. According to Athletic, Lillard mentioned the names of Billups and Jason Kidd when asked who he preferred as the new boss of Rip City. Since Kidd already became the new head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, it makes sense for the team to choose Billups.