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Hollins, if not retained by the Grizzlies, would be a nice fit for the Nets |
Still without a coach as the NBA Playoffs–of which they aren't a part of–the Brooklyn Nets are clearly going to take the process of hiring one slow and make a thorough investigation into every possible candidate that either currently doesn't have a job or is likely to not have one soon. But someone whose team is still alive in the postseason could be added as another potential choice for Brooklyn: Lionel Hollins, head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Even though Hollins' squad is winning 2-1 in its 2nd-round series with the Thunder right now, and may even advance further into the playoffs, it's certainly possible that he will not be brought back next season in Memphis, as an ownership change, front office turnover, and an increased analytical approach –headlined by the recent hiring of John Hollinger, formerly of ESPN.com, who developed the popular Player Efficiency Rating (PER) statistics–may predicate a new voice in the locker room.
Hollins' contract with Memphis expires after this season, and his no-frills, no-nonsense style of coaching would suit the sometimes-undiscliplined Nets extremely well, as guys like Andray Blatche, MarShon Brooks, and Reggie Evans need a stricter voice than P.J. Carlesimo or Avery Johnson to keep them in line. Additionally, as we have seen throughout this postseason, Hollins knows how to manage a rotation extremely well. Brooklyn was crushed this year by head-coach substitution patterns that made no sense and were ineffective. Hollins would clean that issue right up, but the problem is that he may want to stay in Memphis, with a team that he's been with for a number of seasons.
The factor in the Nets' favor regarding pushing Hollins towards Brooklyn is the fact that with the unlimited coiffers of Mikhail Prokohorov, he can be made one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA, as Prokhorov's motto of winning over everything extends to the checkbook as well. However, noone knows what is going through Hollins' head right now, since he has to balance leading his team through the daunted Western Conference playoffs with worrying about his future with the Grizz in addition to comptemplating a more lucrative deal from a different team, like the Nets.
Like all coaching searches, the Hollins-to-Nets one is developing, far from being seriously considered, and is very fluid. We'll keep you updated on all things Nets this offseason, especially the coaching search, as they change and come about. But for now, I would be pretty happy with Brian Shaw and Lionel Hollins at two of the top candidates.
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