Trail Blazers Hire Dunleavy

Mike Dunleavy was named coach of the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, succeeding P.J. Carlesimo, who was fired last week.

“The reason I’m here is that I want to win a championship,” said Dunleavy, who led the Lakers to the NBA finals in 1991.

Dunleavy’s record is 208-284 in six seasons as an NBA coach. Two successful seasons with the Lakers were followed by four losing seasons at Milwaukee, where he also was general manager. He quit that job April 26.

Dunleavy said he liked the players at Portland, which has the youngest team overall in the league.

“My feeling on the young players, basically, is this: If you’re going to pick them [in the draft], your responsibility is definitely to take them under your wing and teach them,” Dunleavy said.

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The Boston Celtics had no comment on a report that new Coach Rick Pitino has offered the general manager’s job to Carlesimo. The New York Post reported that Pitino made the offer shortly after Carlesimo was fired by the Trail Blazers on May 8. The two are friends and former Big East rivals. . . . Chicago Bull backup center Brian Williams was fined $5,000 by the NBA for making an obscene gesture after fouling out of Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.