UPDATE: Marc Stein reports that the Nets are wrapping up a deal with Lionel Hollins to be their next head coach:
ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that the Nets are "closing in" on hiring former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins.
Stein is also adding that the Nets and Hollins are hammering out a multi-year contract that will pay him at least $4-million annually.
In the 2012-13 season, his final with the Grizzlies, Hollins led the team to 56 wins and to the Western Conference Finals. His Grizzlies saw the playoffs in each of last three years with the team. He was let go due to "philosophical differences" between him and ownership.
In the ESPN New York article, Stein says:
Sources say the Nets wanted to move quickly in the wake of the Kidd saga and lasered in on Hollins immediately, meeting with him Monday and Tuesday.
Hollins has been a favorite of Nets officials for some time and was pursued by Brooklyn to serve as an assistant to Kidd after the in-season departure of Lawrence Frank, but the former Grizzlies coach was determined to wait for a head-coaching opportunity. Hollins was also chased hard this spring by the Houston to serve as the top aide to Rockets coach Kevin McHale in the event that he didn't land a top position.
Nets general manager Billy King, during an appearance Wednesday on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike," said experience would be key when making the team's next head-coaching hire.
"One, I think we're looking for experience, someone we'll build with for a long time," King said. "Someone who can develop young players, develop veterans and have a tough mindset. But someone also who has the experience who can take us to where we want to go."
On Tuesday, King praised Hollins' work in Memphis.
"If you look at track record and what he did in Memphis, they consistently got better every year," he said.
A deal with Hollins would cap a tumultuous week for the Nets.
Stay tuned.
