Former Brooklyn Nets forward Jared Dudley had a solid career during his 14 years in the league as a player, long before he came to the Nets to be a veteran presence, among other things. Once Dudley’s playing career ended after the 2020-21 season, he transitioned into coaching and by the looks of it, it seems that his coaching acumen is being taken seriously.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reported earlier this month that Dudley interviewed with the Portland Trail Blazers for their open head-coach position that became open after head coach Chauncey Billups was indefinitely suspended by the NBA for his role in an illegal gambling scheme. Once Billups was suspended, former NBA player and assistant coach Tiago Splitter was appointed to be the interim head coach, but he will have to contend with people like Dudley to remain in the role.
Dudley became an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks beginning with the 2021-22 season, meaning that he has been learning under former Nets legend Jason Kidd for the first few years of his coaching career. Heading into the 2025-26 campaign, Dudley became one of the assistant coaches for the Denver Nuggets under head coach David Adelman.
Dudley has seen his fair share of winning while being one of the coaches on the sideline as he was part of two 50-win seasons for the Mavericks, including the 2023-24 season when Dallas made it to the NBA Finals behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The Nuggets finished the 2025-26 season with a 54-28 record in the regular season before losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
Dudley interviewing for Portland’s head-coaching job this early in his career is a good sign that he’ll be a head coach someday, especially as teams are looking for any edge they can get in this competitive league. As a player, Dudley averaged 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 39.3% from behind the three-point line in over 900 games played in the NBA.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Former Nets F Jared Dudley interviews for Trail Blazers head coach
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
