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Woj: Hollins allowed to talk to other teams; Shaw may be favorite for Nets

Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday that Lionel Hollins, head coach of the Grizzlies will be permitted to talk to other teams. He also mentioned that Brian Shaw, assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers, will be targeted by the Nets.

By Reed Wallach
Andy Lyons

Adrian Wojnarowski, of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Grizzlies have given permission to head coach Lionel Hollins to begin talking to other teams about their interest in the 57-year-old coach ... and it looks like the Grizzlies are wishing him well, apparently getting read to hire Dave Joerger, his top assistant.

Later, Woj suggested that while the Nets have some interest, it's uncertain how much.

Earlier in the week, Hollins stated that he didn’t believe the Grizzlies would allow him to talk to other ball clubs and that they would try to extend his contract. That news and word that Hollins wasn't the front-runner to be the next Nets coach lessened speculation that about his chances. Moreover, the Nets made preliminary contact with ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy. But will the Nets now turn their attention back towards Hollins?

Since new ownership took control last year, Hollins has been critical of their judgment and philosophy. Tensions seemed to come to a head during the postseason, Wojnarowski reported. "During the Grizzlies' playoff run, tensions turned to a confrontation when Hollins exploded during a practice session upon finding (former ESPN writer and now Grizzlies VP of basketball operations) John Hollinger had walked onto the practice court and engaged forward Austin Daye during a shooting drill."

Wojnarowski added that it wasn’t a financial issue that let talks stall Saturday night, but "major philosophical differences" that led to the Grizzlies decision.

Hollins is a defensive-minded coach with a reputation of getting the best out of his players. His ideology helped get Marc Gasol named Defensive Player of the Year, and assisted in the Grizzlies leading the league in one defensive category, points allowed at 89 per game. Hollins coached the club to 56 wins and a Western Conference Finals berth, the teams first in their history. It has been reported that the Clippers will pursue Hollins as well.

In another tweet, Wojnarowski stated that Hollins and Brian Shaw, assistant coach of the Indiana Pacers, are the primary focus for the Nets in their coaching pursuit. Wojnarowski also said that Shaw could be the one most heavily pursued.

A number of other teams are interested in Shaw, including the Pistons, but Detroit News columnist Vince Goodwill reports, "Shaw is holding out for the Clippers’ job." Shaw’s current team, the Pacers, are still in the playoffs, and the organization has stated that he will not be talking to any team until the playoffs has ended. At that point, however, Donnie Walsh has promised to make Shaw available. If Indiana wins Monday, that means no interviews for another week, at least.

In 2011, after retiring from coaching, Phil Jackson said that Shaw should be his successor as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the team signed Mike Brown. Shaw is one of the hottest names available in regard to coaching with the Pistons, 76ers, and again the Clippers all possibly interested. However, the Pistons seem to be leaning towards Maurice Cheeks.

Shaw has no head coaching experience, but has won championships as a player and as a coach, and his recommendation by Jackson makes him even more enticing.

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