I can't really think of anyone good to coach this team, unless it would be 72-year-old Larry Brown, who almost coached the Celtics instead of Rick Pitino. Brown is one of the best coaches in NBA history, and particularly adept at getting young teams to overachieve.
Barring that, maybe Danny will go with the Bill Walton's former teammate, Lionel Hollins, who is no spring chicken himself. He's 59. You can read a summary of his coaching career after the jump. My guess is Danny will instead hire Vinny Del Negro, whom I believe Danny has some prior connections with.
Prior to his head coaching career, Hollins served as an assistant coach at Arizona State in the 1985–86 season and again in the 1987–88 season.[1] He then served as an assistant for the Phoenix Suns under head coaches Cotton Fitzsimmons and Paul Westphal from 1988 to 1995.
Hollins compiled a record of 18–42 as the interim coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies during the 1999–2000 NBA season.[3] He served another stint as interim coach of the Grizzlies in 2004, after the team had moved to Memphis.
On May 14, 2008, Hollins was hired as one of Milwaukee Bucks head coach Scott Skiles' assistants.[4]
On January 25, 2009, Hollins was named the Grizzlies' head coach for the third time in the franchise's history.[5]
On February 11, 2011, Hollins won his 100th career victory, as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, in an 89–86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.[6] That season, he led his team to a 46-36 record, earning the eighth seed in the playoffs. The Grizzlies defeated the number-one seed San Antonio Spurs before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals.
In the lockout-shortened 2011–12 NBA season, Hollins' Grizzlies finished the season with a 41-25 record and the best winning percentage in franchise history (.621). After guiding the Grizzlies to a 13-3 record during the month of April, Hollins was named April's Coach of the Month. [7] This streak helped the Grizzlies earn the four seed in the Western Conference, with home court advantage for the first time in franchise history. They lost in the first round to the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games. In 2012-2013, Hollins led Memphis to a franchise record 56-win season. Memphis lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals in a four game sweep. Differing views between Hollins and management seemed to be pointing to an eventual change despite Hollins' success.
On June 10, 2013, Hollins was fired as the Memphis Grizzlies' head coach. His contract was not renewed by Memphis management.[8]
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAN | 1999–00 | 60 | 18 | 42 | .300 | 7th in Midwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| MEM | 2004–05 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MEM | 2008–09 | 39 | 13 | 26 | .333 | 5th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| MEM | 2009–10 | 82 | 40 | 42 | .488 | 4th in Southwest | — | — | — | — | Missed Playoffs |
| MEM | 2010–11 | 82 | 46 | 36 | .561 | 4th in Southwest | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 | Lost in Conf. Semifinals |
| MEM | 2011–12 | 66 | 41 | 25 | .621 | 2nd in Southwest | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost in First Round |
| MEM | 2012–13 | 82 | 56 | 26 | .683 | 2nd in Southwest | 15 | 8 | 7 | .533 | Lost in Conf. Finals |
| Career | 415 | 214 | 201 | .516 | 35 | 18 | 17 | .514 |
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