Blazers hire Wolves assistant Micah Nori as head coach, a year after Chauncey Billups' sudden exit

The Portland Trail Blazers picked Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori as their next head coach on Tuesday, after making the playoffs for the first time in five years under the direction of interim coach Tiago Splitter.

Nori, who spent the past five seasons with the Timberwolves, has interviewed for multiple head coach vacancies including the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, the New York Knicks last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.

Nori, 52, was the lead assistant under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch while the club made the playoffs each season, won five series, and reached the Western Conference finals in 2023 and 2024.

During the Timberwolves; 2024 playoff run, Nori took on a greater role during games while Finch recovered from a knee injury.

Nori, who began his NBA career in 1998 as a scout with the Toronto Raptors, has also been an assistant for the Raptors, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons. His son, Dante, is a minor league baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

"After an extensive search process, it became clear that Micah embodies the qualities we are looking for in the leader of this franchise,” Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said in a statement. “He has been a key contributor to successful organizations and brings a wealth of expertise, a proven ability to develop players and an authenticity that aligns with the culture we are building. We are excited about the future under his direction and look forward to what we can accomplish together.”

Splitter, who was hired last week as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was promoted from assistant to interim coach when then-head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

The Blazers went 42-40 with a five-game loss to NBA finalist San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs, the first postseason appearance and first time they finished with a winning record in five years.

It is the first major hire for the team under the Blazers' new ownership group led by Tom Dundon. The group bought the NBA franchise from the estate of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who died in 2018. The NBA’s Board of Governors approved the sale, worth a reported $4.25 billion, in April.

“From my conversations with Tom and Joe, it was evident that there is a strong commitment to building a culture that values accountability, development and team success," Nori said. "This is a team with tremendous talent, and I’m excited to begin working with our players and staff.”

AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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FILE - Micah Nori, the lead assistant coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, directs play during the first half in Game 3 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks, May 26, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that six people have been arrested for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, as the iconic Washington, D.C. site increasingly becomes a flashpoint over the president’s $14-million-plus rehabilitation project gone awry.

In a social media post, Trump claimed without supporting evidence that there had been a “350 foot gash” in the paint as the administration faces a self-imposed deadline to fix the botched renovation before the nation's 250th anniversary celebration next week.

Trump said another seven people were cited for damaging the pool. “It was purposefully and criminally done, and somebody had to work very hard, probably in the dark of night, to create such a condition,” Trump wrote.

The Park Police and Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump's assertion.

The Associated Press verified that one man was arrested after touching the already-peeling paint as federal workers try to deal with an algae bloom in the water. The liner was installed as part of the project to repair the century-old pool, which included a new layer to its bottom in a color Trump has dubbed “American flag blue.”

Trump said that “some of the water” will be drained from the pool “either immediately before or after the Fourth of July, to do the permanent repair.”

It was unclear from his post what the scale, scope or cost of the permanent repair would be.

National Guard members and U.S. Park Police have been patrolling the deck around the pool after Trump insisted vandals were responsible for damage to the liner.

Trump pitched the original improvements as intended to clean, beautify and reinforce an iconic site that he said had become dilapidated and dirty because of previous presidents’ neglect. Algae has plagued the pool for a century, and Trump insisted that the newly installed “American flag blue” coating, which he selected himself, would turn the pool into a gleaming expanse along the National Mall.

Yet within weeks of Trump declaring the rehabilitation completed in time for Independence Day, the water was plagued by a vivid green algae bloom that clouded the pool’s coating. A piece of liner, about 4 square feet, was observed Friday partially floating in the pool. The Associated Press saw additional pieces in the water Monday.

A National Park Service employee works to clean the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick

A piece of the blue coating floats among algae at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool Sunday, June 21, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick

National Guard members look at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Monday, June 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)