Buck Williams is returning to the Trail Blazers. And Portland coach Nate McMillan has three new assistants to help him guide the team through the upcoming 2010-11 season.
Williams, Bernie Bickerstaff and Bob Ociepka were officially added Monday to McMillan’s staff, filling in the holes left by four departures after the end of the 2009-10 campaign. The trio will join assistants Bill Bayno and Kaleb Canales.
“After many interviews, I’m excited to bring a new balance and chemistry to the team,” McMillan said in a prepared statement. “The Bs — Bernie, Bob and Buck — will be a great addition to the Blazers family and to our community. I’ve added a lot of experience to my bench, and I feel they will help the team continue to grow and take the next step.”
Bickerstaff, 66, spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with Chicago. He served as the head coach in Seattle (1985-90), directing McMillan during his first four seasons as a player in the league.
Ociepka (pronounced o-SEEP-ka) also traded the Bulls for the Blazers. The 61-year-old was an assistant in Chicago for two seasons, and has 20 years of NBA experience.
Williams played power forward for Portland from 1989-96, helping lead the Blazers to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992.
Williams, 50, is the team’s all-time leader in field goal percentage (55.0), ranks fourth in rebounds (4,861), seventh in games played (557) and ninth in minutes played (17,130).
As one of only nine players in NBA history to accumulate 16,000 career points and 13,000 rebounds, the three-time All-Star and 1982 rookie of the year also played for New Jersey and New York during his 17-year NBA career.
Elsewhere, Blazers president Larry Miller said Monday that new general manager Rich Cho’s first two days of the job went very well. Cho met Sunday with key personnel, and has begun the process of evaluating Portland’s roster.
Miller would not comment about the future of guards Rudy Fernandez, Patty Mills and Armon Johnson.
But he did acknowledge that Cho has compiled a short list of names to fill the team’s vacant assistant GM position.
“I think he’s moving down the line in pursuing getting those roles filled as quickly as we can,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, hype and rumors surrounding New Orleans guard Chris Paul possibly being traded to the Blazers died down Monday.
Paul said in a Twitter posting that he has been a Hornet his entire career, and plans to represent the city for “many years to come.”
Paul’s statement followed a meeting with team officials, including New Orleans coach Monty Williams, who was formerly as assistant to McMillan.
The three-time All-Star’s name had been linked during recent days in trade discussions with several teams, including Portland.
A Blazers source said Monday that the team is “definitely” interested in Paul if the Hornets make him available.
