Damian Lillard welcomes former Blazers coach Kaleb Canales to Weber State, marking a full-circle reunion forged in Portland.
Former Portland Trail Blazers coach Kaleb Canales was announced as the new men’s basketball coach at Weber State on Friday. What makes the move especially interesting is that it not only brings in a coach with Portland ties, but also reconnects him with Damian Lillard.
Lillard is Weber State’s general manager and, of course, spent time with Canales during the early days of both of their careers in Portland. Lillard publicly praised the hire, and it is easy to assume the relationship they built more than a decade ago played a meaningful role in Canales emerging as the right fit for the job.
“I’m very excited to welcome K to the Weber State family,” said Lillard. “A major change like this is hard for me as someone so connected to the program through coach Rahe and coach Duft’s tenure. As GM, my goal is to help build the program to a high level, and someone with coaching experience at all levels, like Kaleb, is perfect for that.”
Canales made history in 2012 as the first Mexican-American head coach in NBA history, even though it came on an interim basis. After Nate McMillan was fired at the end of his tenure, Canales took over as Portland’s interim head coach before later remaining on Terry Stotts’ staff. From there, he continued to build an impressive résumé, serving as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic.
In recent years, Canales expanded his experience beyond the NBA. He spent time in the G League with the Texas Legends and most recently was the associate head coach at Troy, where the program reached the NCAA Tournament last month. With experience across the NBA, G League and college basketball, Canales now gets the opportunity to lead a college program of his own, one that means a great deal to Lillard.
It is a cool full-circle moment. A connection that started in Portland has now led Canales to one of the biggest opportunities of his coaching career at Lillard’s alma mater.