PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers are adding Ronnie Burrell to the team's coaching staff, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Burrell is the third new assistant coach to join the team this offseason.
Portland didn't renew the contracts of lead assistant Scott Brooks and assistant Rodney Billups, the younger brother of Chauncey Billups, this offseason, and assistant Steve Hetzel left the Blazers to join the Brooklyn Nets' coaching staff in April.
Burrell joins former Indiana Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren and 10-year NBA coaching veteran Chris Fleming as new additions to head coach Chauncey Billups' staff.
After four seasons at UNC Greensboro, Burrell played professional basketball overseas for a number of teams from 2005 until his retirement in 2016.
Burrell was hired as a player development and video assistant with the Brooklyn Nets in 2018, then was hired in 2019 as an assistant coach for the Long Island Nets, the Nets' G League affiliate. A year later, he was hired as a player development coach with the Chicago Bulls, and then in 2022, he returned to the Long Island Nets, this time as head coach.
He was named NBA G League Coach of the Year for the 2022-2023 season after he led Long Island to a 23-9 record, including a franchise-record 16-game winning streak. He was hired as an assistant coach with the Nets in 2023.
