Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter made his case to become permanent after taking the Blazers to the postseason after a scandal-rocked start to the season. To have done this in his first-ever gig in the position is a massive feat on its own, but new team owner Tom Dundon has done him dirty.

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Portland had offered Splitter a head coaching salary that was “far below” the norm in the NBA, during talks about extending his stay. According to The Oregonian, Dundon is looking to set the head coaching salary at $1 million. The talks have since been abandoned and will resume after the season. In today’s NBA, $1 million will barely move the needle for any coach.

Dundon’s offer is much lower than the last paycheck Chauncey Billups pocketed (2024-2025 season), which is reportedly worth $4.7 million. The lowest-paid coach in the league right now is Sacramento Kings’ Doug Christie, who is reportedly earning $2 million. It looks like Splitter has become an expendable option for Dundon, even though this is the first time the Blazers have made the playoffs since 2021. Since Dundon took control of the Blazers, things have become chaotic outside of the court.

The new owner’s plans to run this team “efficiently” involves cost-cutting measures that are extremely hard on personnel. For example, the team did not bring any of their two-way players for the away games in the playoffs. The Athletic also reported that the non-playing staff had to leave their hotel by 12:30 pm to prevent late checkout fees. As a result, team masseuse could not get a room to prep Deni Avdija before the clash against the Phoenix Suns.

This attitude is not new from Tom Dundon, who also runs the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Team broadcaster John Forslund was forced to leave the team because the owner wanted to move him from a full-time role to an independent contract, and would be paid based on team attendance. According to Sean Shapiro, the staff was being paid 10-20% less than the market rate.

It is just tough luck that Tiago Slipper’s commendable run as head coach has come against such a backdrop. His record isn’t all that impressive. But a 42-39 with a No. 7 seed in the playoffs, in only his first ever season at the role, are enough reasons for him to be offered a little more than $1 million. One source told the Athletic that the fact that Dundon has been looking for his replacement is a “disrespect.”

But Tiago Splitter, despite it all, is putting on a brave face.

Tiago Splitter is focused on the road ahead amid uncertainty about his future

Following a gritty 106-103 Game 2 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to even their first-round series, Splitter addressed reports that new owner Tom Dundon has begun interviewing outside candidates. “Just trying to be a pro,” Splitter said. “[I] try to focus on my locker room and my staff to stay and think about basketball. Same way when I got the job and all the stuff that was going on.”

Splitter held the fort down at an extremely tough time for the team. For him to be repaid like this is a massive shock to fans. Deni Avdija, who is a finalist for the Most Improved Player this season, was all praise about his head coach.

“It wasn’t easy for him to just all of a sudden take the head job,” Avdija said. “But I think he’s done phenomenal. He’s getting the best out of everybody. He’s believing in each and single one of his players, and we love playing for him… He’s passionate, and he got all the tools to be a great coach, and that’s what he’s doing.”

Regardless of how this season ends for Tiago Splitter, he’s proven that he’s capable of handling head coaching responsibilities. If it doesn’t happen at Portland, other teams will not hesitate to pick him up and eventually bag that role some time in the future.