The Portland Trail Blazers have re-signed assistant coaches Nate Bjorkgren and Ronnie Burrell, as well as analytics coach Jacob Mooallem, a league source confirmed to Blazer’s Edge. Terms of the deals haven’t been disclosed.
HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto first reported the news.
Bjorkgren served as the lead assistant under Portland head coach Chauncey Billups this past season after spending the 2023-24 season as a special assistant to the Blazers coaching staff. He was a visible presence during games this season, moving up and down the sideline often, feeding intel into Billups’ ear.
Bjorkgren also served as the Blazers interim head coach for two games in December when Billups stepped away from the team due to the death of a family member. The Blazers went 2-0 during Bjorkgren’s interim tenure, defeating the Utah Jazz 122-120 on Dec. 26 and the Dallas Mavericks 126-122 on Dec. 28.
Prior to his time in Portland, Bjorkgren served as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors from 2021-23, as well as 2018-2020. He was the head coach of the Indiana Pacers for the 2020-2021 season.
Burrell joined the Trail Blazers coaching staff last summer. Previously, Burrell spent five seasons with the Brooklyn Nets organization, including the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach with the NBA franchise. He served as the head coach of the Nets’ NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, during the 2022-23 season, winning NBA G League Coach of the Year honors.
This past season was Mooallem’s third as the Blazers analytics coach. Previously, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Breakers of Australia’s National Basketball League. He also previously worked as a video scout at DraftExpress, the comprehensive scouting service where Blazers assistant general manager Mike Schmitz used to work.
In late April, it was reported the Blazers will not renew the contracts of three assistant coaches: Roy Rogers, Chris Fleming and Ryan Gomes.