/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49918159/usa-today-9106673.0.jpg)
The Orlando Magic hired Frank Vogel as their new head coach in May, but news on his coaching staff had been scarce until Tuesday evening, when Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported the team pursued Chauncey Billups to serve as Vogel's top assistant. According to Wojnarowski, Billups considered the offer, but has elected to turn it down.
Wojnarowski says Orlando made Billups a lucrative offer which would have made the Denver native "one of the NBA’s highest-paid assistant coaches." Billups has no formal head-coaching experience but is well respected throughout the league for his basketball acumen and professionalism. Following the 2008/09 season, he captured the NBA Sportsmanship Award, and in 2013 he earned the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.
But not all of Billups' accolades concern the intangible: Mr. Big Shot has also earned five All-Star selections, three All-NBA selections, and a Finals MVP award. Given his résumé, there's little doubt that Billups would have made a positive impression on the Magic's core of young players. What's especially impressive about Billups is that he had to work harder than most greats do to achieve stability: before landing with the Detroit Pistons, which whom he eventually won an NBA title, Billups had bounced around, playing for four teams in five seasons.
Since retiring in 2014 following a 17-season career, Billups has served as an analyst for ESPN. The Pistons retired his jersey in February.
The Magic will continue to work to fill out Vogel's staff, possibly with David Adelman, currently a Minnesota Timberwolves assistant, according to Wojnarowski.