Vagabond Bill Drifts To New Job: Portland

After abruptly quitting at South Alabama, vagabond coach Bill Musselman appears to be headed back to the NBA as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers.

South Alabama sports information director John Nicholson said the Trail Blazers had confirmed that Musselman would be hired onto new coach Mike Dunleavy’s staff today, just two days after resigning at South Alabama.

It will add yet another entry on the 57-year-old coach’s lengthy resume, which has included 13 head coaching jobs in high school, college, the CBA and NBA over 35 years.

His latest move left South Alabama, which finished 23-7 and made the NCAA Tournament last year, deflated just 10 days before practice begins.

The Vancouver Grizzlies waived center Eric Mobley and forward Mark Hendrickson, the team said.

Mobley, a former first-round pick, spent two seasons in Vancouver after being acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 6-foot-9 Hendrickson signed with the Grizzlies on Oct. 1 after spending last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him in the second round of the 1996 draft out of Washington State.