Lionel Hollins hired his own coaching staff with the Nets – Paul Westphal, John Welch, Tony Brown, Joe Wolf and Jay Humphries as assistant coaches and Jim Sann.
That left a former Jason Kidd assistant, Roy Rogers, on the open market.
And with Sam Cassell headed to the Clippers, the Wizards were shopping.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Washington finalizing a deal to hire Roy Rogers as an assistant coach, league sources tell Yahoo. He spent past season with Brooklyn.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 6, 2014
Cassell distinguished himself for his work with guards John Wall and Bradley Beal. Rogers, on the other hand, has been a big-men coach.
Washington’s top bigs, Marcin Gortat and Nene, are established veterans with fairly well-rounded games. Of course everyone can using coaching, but those two don’t require especially close attention.
Maybe the Wizards believe Rogers can handle more diverse responsibilities. If so, this is the type of job that could eventually propel Rogers into a head-coaching position.