Chicago set to hire Portland’s Tiago Splitter as head coach

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Chicago Bulls made their first major NBA offseason coaching move.

After four consecutive missed playoff appearances, Chicago is hoping to tweak its fate in the upcoming 2026-27 season by hiring Tiago Splitter, the Portland Trail Blazers’ interim head coach who replaced Chauncey Billups in the first half of the 2025-26 season.

Despite having only one season of experience as a chief tactician, Splitter helped the Trail Blazers qualify for the postseason, leading the young roster to a 42-40 win-loss record for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.

Splitter will replace Billy Donovan, who officially ended his six-year tenure in Chicago, which was marked by a disappointing 226-256 win-loss record from 2020 to 2026.

Veteran NBA senior insider Shams Charania verified the update, adding that Chicago is finalizing the terms to officially welcome Splitter to the Eastern Conference.

Chicago initially engaged in conversations with Donovan to return for another season, but the former back-to-back NCAA champion decided to step away and explore more options.

Splitter turned heads midway through the 2025-26 season when he guided the inexperienced Portland squad to a string of winning streaks, which eventually helped it qualify for the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Portland entered the first Play-In matchup as a huge underdog against the veteran-laden Phoenix Suns squad, but Deni Avdija erupted for 41 points en route to a 114-110 victory.

Although the Trail Blazers lost in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs, Splitter’s performance as a neophyte mentor earned tons of praise from NBA analysts, highlighting his job as a “blessing” amid the wild situation Billups was in last October.

In retrospect, Splitter’s promotion as Portland’s head coach came after Billups’ arrest on Oct. 23, 2025, after the FBI announced his ties to rigged poker games run by La Cosa Nostra, an Italian mafia family.

The former NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons was fresh off signing a multiyear contract extension with the Trail Blazers and was entering his fifth season as Portland’s head coach.

As a result, Billups was placed on indefinite leave by Portland, leaving Tiago Splitter, its assistant coach, as the acting interim head coach.

In a quick and surprising turn of events, Splitter was able to transform the Trail Blazers into a playoff contender that further boosted his acquisition stock in the offseason.

Can Splitter revamp Chicago’s system and put it back on the NBA pedestal?