Brooklyn Nets want UConn’s Kevin Ollie, get turned away
University of Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie coached the best team in the NCAA this past season, the Championship team, so naturally, NBA teams think that he’s ready for bigger things. But Ollie is happy where he is, according to SNY.tv.
Ollie agreed to a five-year, $15 million deal last month, which should serve as an indicator that he wanted to stay. At the time, he was in the running for jobs with the Lakers and Thunder — two locations likely more desirable than Brooklyn, which suddenly looks a bit like the ugly kid at the party.
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You can’t blame the Nets for trying, they’re still at square one in their coaching search. The best thing in this situation is to clean it up quickly.
Mike Mazzeo and Ohm Youngmisuk from ESPN New York drew up a list of potential candidates. Ollie was on it, but the others possible include former Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, European sensation Ettore Messina, former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, former Nuggets coach George Karl and current University of Florida coach Billy Donovan.
Good news is the Nets are already targeting Hollins. He went 355-196 as Memphis head coach and 415-215 overall, as he spent a one-year stint with the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1999-2000 season. He met with team executives Monday and Tuesday.
“Soon. I think we’d like to get someone in here soon,” Nets GM Billy King said Tuesday.
Not soon enough it seems. The GM probably wants all this to be over.