Report: With Jason Kidd out, Nets considering Lionel Hollins and Ettore Messina for coaching job
Jason Kidd is officially out as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and the franchise will now look to hire their seventh coach in just six seasons.
Among the top candidates is Lionel Hollins, the former Memphis Grizzlies coach who was reportedly close to replacing Kidd in December when the Nets were struggling (you can read more on that in the storyline below).
Lionel Hollins remains a strong candidate to replace Kidd in Brooklyn, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 30, 2014
Also said to be in the mix is Ettore Messina, the former head coach of CSKA Moscow, the Russian team that Mikhail Prokhorov owned before purchasing the Nets.
Source: 2 of leading candidates for Nets coach - Lionel Hollins and Ettore Messina, former coach of CSKA Moscow
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 30, 2014
Messina is well-respected in basketball circles and was tied to a handful of other coaching vacancies earlier this summer.
Mark Jackson is also said to be a candidate, though reports conflict on to what degree he's being considered. George Karl has expressed interest, too, as he's done with every single vacancy since the end of the 2012-13 season, when he won Coach of the Year honors but was not retained by the Denver Nuggets.
It sounds as if the Nets will move swiftly to find a replacement, who will surely be caught up to speed quickly thanks to the daily reports of the reassigned Lawrence Frank.