Becky Hammon found herself in the conversation for multiple head coaching jobs this offseason thanks to her continued success as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs.
The 44-year-old, former WNBA star even reportedly made it to the final round of interviews with the Portland Trail Blazers, but ultimately left the hiring period empty-handed when the franchise went ahead with Chauncey Billups.
Although Hammon didn’t walk away with a new gig, she did speak with Jabari Young of CNBC to react to the events of the offseason.
The Spurs assistant took a practical approach to the matter by recognizing that any team that really wanted to hire her would’ve found a reason to do so. She also called the process with the Blazers “authentic,” despite rumors that might’ve suggested otherwise.
“I’m not mad,” Hammon said. “This is the business, and it’s a very competitive business. But, at the end of the day, throw everything out the window — if you want to hire me, you’ll find a reason to hire me. And if you don’t want to hire me, you’ll find that reason, too. And that’s just that.”
I got a call from Becky Hammon on Saturday, and we discussed a few things.
“If you want to hire me, you’ll find a reason to hire me. And if you don’t want to hire me, you’ll find that reason, too.”#Spurs #NBA #Blazers #SportsBiz https://t.co/CVjtmSKsRD
— Jabari Young (@JabariJYoung) July 11, 2021
The Blazers faced significant backlash for their hiring process after allegations of sexual assault made against Billups in 1997 resurfaced. Fans and media member questioned if the organization’s interest in Hammon was simply a way to save face for not being transparent about the search and the internal investigation into the situation involving Billups.
Hammon said that she didn’t read the tabloids when asked about the rumors swirling around why the Blazers expressed interest in her. She also didn’t comment on the Billups situation. Instead, she explained that she saw this hiring period as another opportunity to learn and grow from.
“I take each experience, and I try to grow from it, and learn from it, and get better for the next time,” Hammon told Young. “If people need to justify a reason to why they did or didn’t hire me, it’s a little out of my realm of control. I just try to do the best I can in the moment I’m given.”
Hammon has proven, without a shadow of a doubt, that she’s one of the top assistants at the NBA level. She’ll return to the Spurs to start the 2021-22 season, but it won’t be long until her name appears as a head coaching candidate once again.
The post Becky Hammon Reacts To Being Passed Over For Blazers Job appeared first on The Spun.
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