Lionel

Hollins

Hollins’ contract recently expired and, with the two sides not coming to an agreement on a new contract, he will be moving on. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel now has another vacancy to fill on his staff, as David Fizdale was hired to replace Jason Kidd (now Mavericks head coach).

Notably, this wasn’t due to Hollins’ age (66), but because of underlying medical conditions. On the player front, the Lakers already had Avery Bradley opt out of the season re-start, and Dwight Howard remains noncommittal about joining the team.

The Lakers now have three coaches on the roster with head coaching experience, and it’ll be interesting to see how Hollins, Jason Kidd and Vogel mesh. Hollins was the all-time winningest coach in Memphis, and also served as Kidd’s replacement in Brooklyn when Kidd left for Milwaukee.

The Lakers whiffed on Monty Williams and Tyronn Lue and it’s become pretty clear that they didn’t really have any plans following Luke Walton’s dismissal. Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd could also be in the mix, but the desire of the Lakers’ front office to have a hand in the selection of the assistant coaching staff as well could drive away some of the more prominent names out there.

Broussard has been a mouthpiece for the Nets organization and a lot his reports have not been accurate, so take this with a tablespoon of salt. Before this report, Broussard reported the Nets had interest in Doc Rivers if he was let go, but the Celtics have no intention of firing one of the best coaches in basketball. It’s not clear what Brooklyn is looking for in a next head coach, but they’re doing a good job of trying to get in the headlines after a first round playoff exit.

We’re taking this with a grain of salt, but Hollins has been linked to the Clippers job consistently over the last few days. Meanwhile, both Scott and Gentry are known to be candidates as well, so their names aren’t a surprise to see on this list either.

Hollins entered the season on the hot seat and has now been linked to just about every open coaching job in the league, so we’re confident he’ll be employed next season whether it’s in Memphis or elsewhere. The Bucks have not clearly identified what they’re targeting in a new head coach and there is no timetable for a hire.

Hollins’ contract doesn’t expire until June 30, which means he’d have to wait until July 1 to even interview with a club other than the Grizzlies. Of course, the Grizzlies have no reason to grant him permission to interview elsewhere lest those other teams drive up the price for them. Hollins said he would like to remain in Memphis, but ESPN reported that Hollins doesn’t have a great relationship with the team’s new front office. One thing’s for sure, there will definitely be teams interested in Hollins even if he’s on lockdown until July.

Hollins’ name had been rumored as one the Bucks were interested in, but it appears the team is choosing between Kelvin Sampson and Larry Drew to man the bench. We should have our final answer before too long.

Hollins said that he was not expecting the Grizzlies to grant him permission to speak with other teams, so this could get interesting if and when a team comes forth and formally requests to interview Hollins. Until that time, Hollins’ status with the Grizzlies is status quo as he’s signed through the end of June.