Herb Brown, Mark Warkentien Endorse Blazers’ selection of Billups as head coach

Herb Brown was an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons for only one season — but what a season it was.

The older brother of then-Detroit head coach Larry Brown was on hand for the Pistons’ ride to the NBA championship in 2003-04. One of his favorite players to work with on that team was the new head coach of the Trail Blazers, Chauncey Billups.

“I love him,” says Herb, now retired and living in Traveler’s Rest, S.C. “He was terrific when I was with the Pistons. He’s a major reason why we were successful. He was a great leader. He took coaching. He understood coaching. He was truly professional.”

Brown’s pre-game responsibilities included working out guards Billups, Richard Hamilton and Darvin Ham.

Herb Brown

“Extremely hard worker with great leadership abilities,” Herb says of Billups, who averaged 16.9 points and 5.7 assists during the regular season. “Larry leaned on him. If he had to criticize anybody, it would be Chauncey, because he knew he could understand it and accept it.”

Billups, a five-time All-Star during his 17-year NBA career, stepped up his game in the 2004 Finals, averaging 21.0 points and 5.2 assists as the Pistons blew away the L.A. Lakers in five games.

“He was really good through the whole postseason that year,” Brown says.

Brown said he accompanied Billups and Hamilton on a Christmas shopping spree for underprivileged children.

Brown said he got to know Billups’ wife, Piper, who is a realtor. They have three daughters.

“He’ll be a very good coach,” Brown says. “He has great knowledge of the game and he’ll relate well to the players.”

Billups turned down a five-year contract offer to serve as general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017. Part of the reason, it was said then, was that Billups was a close friend of then-Cavs coach Tyron Lue and that he felt being objective in his evaluation wouldn’t be easy.

Mark Warkentien

Mark Warkentien was general manager of the Denver Nuggets from 2006-10. In 2008, Warkentien traded Allen Iverson to Detroit in order to acquire Billups. The Nuggets had lost in the first round of the playoffs five straight seasons. Billups’ first year there, they went 54-28 and reached the Western Conference finals before losing in six games to the Lakers.

“Chauncey changed the whole makeup of our team with his leadership and character,” says Warkentien, now a special assignment evaluator for the Oklahoma City Thunder. “He was just tremendous. He couldn’t have been any better.”

Head coach George Karl was laid up with cancer and stepped away from the job midway through the next season (2009-10). Assistant coach Adrian Dantley took over for the final 25 games. Billups wound up averaging a career-high 19.5 points that season.

“We went to Chauncey and said, ‘You have to lead this thing,’ ” says Warkentien, who lives in Lake Oswego. “He embraced that. He half-coached that team. We won our division (at 53-29, going 13-12 the final 25) and Chauncey’s fingerprints were all over that.”

Billups was a veteran presence with the Nuggets and teammate of Carmelo Anthony for 2 1/2 season (2008-11). Billups won the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2008 and was the first recipient of the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award in 2012-13.

“He was a very positive impact on a young Melo,” Warkentien says. “When Chauncey talked, the younger guys listened. They don’t come with any more character than him. He is going to be a very good head coach.”

Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.

Be sure to sign up for my emails.