Billups and Drew will assist Tyronn Lue, who is replacing Doc Rivers for upcoming season; Clippers went 49-23 this season to finish second in Western Conference, but team's championship hopes ended as they lost in seven games against the Denver Nuggets in conference semi-finals
Monday 9 November 2020 06:51, UK
Chauncey Billups and Larry Drew are finalising deals to join the Los Angeles Clippers' coaching staff, according to ESPN.
The duo would provide experience on the bench for incoming head coach Tyronn Lue.
Billups is a 17-year NBA veteran who retired at the end of the 2013-14 campaign, and Drew has served as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 44-year-old Billups has been long-time friends with Lue, who replaced Doc Rivers earlier this offseason as the Clippers' head coach. Drew has a 162-226 record in five seasons as an NBA coach.
Los Angeles went 49-23 this season to finish second in the Western Conference, but the Clippers' championship hopes ended as they lost in seven games against the Denver Nuggets in the conference semi-finals.
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) says it has tentatively approved December 22 as the start date for the 2020/21 season with a reduced 72-game schedule.
The 2019/20 season was only completed in October after a four-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with teams competing in a bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
The start date announcement followed a formal vote of player representatives, NPBA said.
"Additional details remain to be negotiated and the NBPA is confident that the parties will reach agreement on these remaining issues relevant to the upcoming season," the NBPA said in a statement.
The NBA Draft is scheduled for November 18, with training camps likely to begin in early December.
