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After he led the Grizzlies to a sweep at the hands of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Hollins will probably be looking for a new job this summer. But, as opposed to what many thought a few weeks ago, that job may not be in Brooklyn |
Earlier in May, after the Brooklyn Nets were eliminated from the playoffs and said that P.J. Carlesimo wouldn't return for the 2013-14 season to coach the team, there was varied speculation over whom Billy King would tab to be the new head coach. Doc Rivers was mentioned and then quickly eliminated as a candidate, the Van Gundy brothers were brought up as possibilities, and even Phil Jackson was rumored to be interested.
Also, current Memphis Grizzlies coach, whose team was recently swept in the Western Conference Finals by the San Antonio Spurs, Lionel Hollins was labeled as a candidate, obviously granted that Memphis chose to not renew his contract after the postseason. Now that the Grizzlies are done, and the annual free-agent coaching carousel is in full swing, Hollins is ready to sign on the dotted line with Brooklyn, right?
Wrong. NBA reporter extraordinaire for Yahoo! Sports, Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter @WojYahooNBA) reports that Hollins' contract talks with Memphis has fizzled and that the coach will probably not be leading the Grizz for the 2013-14 season. But he also notes that the Nets have made no overtures towards Hollins yet regarding possible discussions about him coming to Brooklyn.
Wojnarowski says that Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, whose team fell in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Heat last night, is still very high on Brooklyn's "candidate list" and may even be #1.
Now, the early rumors being reported that point to Hollins going elsewhere to coach next season don't necessarily mean that he is out-of-the-running for the Nets job or that he's a certain lock. All that it means is that it's too early in the process to take any concrete conclusions from, but it's not too early to take hints about where the Brooklyn coaching search is headed. And right now, Brian Shaw is higher on the list for Billy King and the Nets than Hollins. But the Nets don't play any games in June, and won't play any until at least next October, and November at the latest.
By then, nobody knows who will be at the helm of the Nets. Hell, it could even be Larry Brown (Note: I hope it's not Larry Brown).
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