NBA Next Head Coach Fired: Portland Favorite To Fire Billups

With the 2025 All-Star break about a month away, several NBA head coaches are sitting in the hot seat amid disappointing records, and according to multiple sportsbooks, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups is the betting favorite to become the next head coach to get fired.

Per the BetOnline sportsbook, Billups (+200) leads the list, followed by New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green (+250), Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan (+500), Toronto Raptors’ Darko Rajakovic (+600), and Philadelphia 76ers’ Nick Nurse (+800).

Next NBA Next Head Coach Fired Odds

NBA Head Coach	Odds	Play
Chauncey Billups	+200
Willie Green	+250
Billy Donovan	+500
Darko Rajakovic	+600
Nick Nurse	+800
Brian Keefe	+900
Will Hardy	+1000
Mike Budenholzer	+1200
Charles Lee	+1400
Chris Finch	+2000
Jordi Fernandez	+2000
Doc Rivers	+2500
Michael Malone	+4000
Rick Carlisle	+4000
Quinn Snyder	+4000

Chauncey Billups (+200)

In December, Sean Highkin of “Rose Garden Report” reported that Chauncey Billups is unlikely to return as the head coach of the Trail Blazers at the conclusion of the 2024-25 NBA season. Billups is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, so Portland is expected to part ways with the Denver native in the months ahead.

“At this point, if the Blazers didn’t fire Chauncey Billups after the Memphis and Utah losses by 40-plus in the early part of the season, I think they’re probably going to just ride it out until April before parting ways. … Billups is in the final year of his contract, and the goals he has for his coaching career don’t align with where the organization currently is.”

Through four seasons with the team, including this year, Billups owns a record of 94-190 (.331). Portland hasn’t won more than 33 games and has missed the playoffs each season.

Willie Green (+250)

The 2024-25 Pelicans have several problems. That’s the understatement of the century. While injuries were out of head coach Willie Green’s control, he will still be the scapegoat when the regular season ends.

Not only did injuries to Dejounte Murray (hand), Zion Williamson (hamstring), Herb Jones (shoulder), Jose Alvarado (hamstring), and other players make winning virtually impossible, but Brandon Ingram’s contract situation also stirred up unnecessary drama.

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, the Pelicans have struggled to find a team that’s willing to take on Ingram’s current $36 million salary and meet his future contract demands of a four-year, $200 million extension.

Green has been up against a lot this season, though, these are just excuses. Simply put, New Orleans’ season was over before it could even begin.

The Pelicans have gone 135-151 (.472) through four seasons under Green. New Orleans finished 49-33 (.598) and eighth in the Western Conference last season, but the team was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.

Billy Donovan (+500)

Rumor has it that the Chicago Bulls will show head coach Billy Donovan the door after the season. Two of Chicago’s best players and trade chips, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, are playing terrific basketball. However, the Bulls have missed the playoffs in seven of the past nine seasons.

Chicago failed to qualify for the postseason in three of the past four seasons under Donovan as well. Although the Bulls are 18-21 (.462) right now and sit 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, there will come a time when ownership finally says enough is enough.

Through five seasons, the Bulls have gone 174-183 (.487) under Donovan. In order for Chicago to get back to the Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler years, now could be the best time for the organization to cut the dead weight.

Assuming the team trades LaVine and Vucevic, the next logical step would be to change the culture. For a championship-winning organization, the Bulls lack leadership.