76ers Land Hollins

February 11, 1980

It was no secret that the Philadelphia 76ers were shopping around for a big guard to replace the injured Doug Collins, but it took only 24 shoddy minutes of basketball to prod club officials into immediate action.

Just two days after the Sixers' deficiency at guard was drastically exposed by the Celtics last Wednesday, they obtained 6-foot-4 guard Lionel Hollins from the Portland Trail Blazers for a No. 1 draft choice in 1981 and cash. General manager Pat Williams admitted that talks concerning Hollins intensified after the Celtics harassed the Sixer guards into 14 turnovers in an 82-51 second-half blowout Wednesday night that ended in a 129-110 romp over Philadelphia.

"Also, the trading deadline was a week away," Williams said. "We've been talking with clubs since November about any number of  guards. I think what happened Wednesday definitely created a sense of urgency. We need the help for the stretch run." Williams added that Hollins, who planned to become a free agent at the end of the season, had agreed verbally to a three-year contract with the club.

Sixer coach Billy Cunningham said that as soon as Hollins "knows the plays and knows what to do, he's going to start" alongside  Maurice Cheeks. "We got a quality guard who certainly won't hurt us in the backcourt," Cunningham said Friday night following the Sixers' 109-94 loss to Seattle. "I'm excited. He was the one (guard) I wanted."

Although he wasn't expected to play in yesterday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Spectrum, Hollins not only got into the game, but wound up scoring 13 points, including a clutch, last-quarter three-pointer. Hollins, 26, who has been bothered by a knee injury and assorted other ailments this season, played in only 20 games for Portland, shooting 38.5 percent from the field and averaging 10 points per game.

But Williams said assistant coach Jack McMahon scouted Hollins on Tuesday night in Kansas City and reported the player was showing little, if any, effects from his injuries. He also said the Sixers' doctors talked with doctors in Portland and "were assured he was all right." The Sixers remember Hollins as one of the key figures in Portland's defeat of Philadelphia for the 1977 NBA championship. He averaged 17 points a game for 19 games in post-season play that year.

Hollins, a first-round 1975 Portland pick out of Arizona State, has averaged in double figures every year in the league. His top year was the 1977-78 season, when he averaged nearly 16 points per game. Julius Erving, the Sixers' leading scorer and captain, said his team had been looking forward to Hollins' arrival since the trade. I think when Lionel gets healthy and used to playing here, he can be a very valuable player for us," Erving said. "He's a first-rate player and a first-class guy."

Collins suffered a stress fracture of the left foot early in the season and hasn't played since Dec. 8. Cunningham has used rookie Clint Richardson in his place, but Richardson has suffered lately from neophyte inconsistency.