Open Season for Close-Mouthed Nets
Shaw, Hollins join ongoing search for Brooklyn's next coach
As soon as the final buzzer sounded on defending NBA champion Miami’s 99-76 Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals rout of Indiana Monday night in South Beach, the Brooklyn Nets had not one, but two new head-coaching candidates available to them.
While Billy King has remained mum on the Nets’ ongoing search for P.J. Carlesimo’s replacement, fending off rumors that the team had contacted former Knicks and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy last week, Brooklyn’s general manager can now add Memphis coach Lionel Hollins and Pacers assistant Brian Shaw to his list of potential hires.
Shaw, the owner of five NBA championship rings — three as a player and two as an assistant — acquired during Phil Jackson’s dynastic reign with the Los Angeles Lakers, became available for interviews the moment LeBron James and the Heat punched their ticket to a third consecutive NBA Finals appearance.