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• Updated Jun 15, 2026 at 12:00pm

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PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 24: Acting head coach Tiago Splitter of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Moda Center on February 24, 2026 in Portland, Oregon. The Minnesota Timberwolves won 124-121. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The Portland Trail Blazers’ coaching search just lost one of its most obvious options.

Tiago Splitter, who stepped in as Portland’s acting head coach last season and helped guide the Trail Blazers back to the playoffs, is finalizing a deal to become the Chicago Bulls’ next head coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on June 15. Splitter is set to succeed Billy Donovan in Chicago.

For Portland, this is more than a former interim coach getting a promotion elsewhere. Splitter had been one of the cleaner internal answers for a franchise already moving through major change under new owner Tom Dundon. Now, the Blazers’ next coach will almost certainly come from outside the person who held the locker room together through a turbulent season.

Tiago Splitter’s Exit Removes a Popular Blazers Head Coaching Option

Splitter’s case in Portland was simple: the team responded to him.

Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report wrote in May that Splitter wanted to keep the job and had “widespread support” from Blazers players after a 42-40 season and Portland’s first playoff appearance in five years. Highkin also reported that general manager Joe Cronin confirmed Dundon wanted to conduct a full search, with Splitter still considered a candidate at the time.