PORTLAND, Ore. — With new head coach Chauncey Billups in place, it appears the Portland Trail Blazers are looking for a specific kind of candidate to fill the role of lead assistant: former NBA guards who went on to become head coaches in the league.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Wednesday night that the candidates for lead assistant to Billups include Scott Brooks, Vinny Del Negro and Lionel Hollins.
Here's a look at the three candidates:
Lionel Hollins
Hollins was a member of the Blazers' 1976-77 championship team and his No. 14 jersey was retired by the team in 2007. He played for five teams over a 10-year NBA career, averaging 11.6 points and 4.5 assists per game.
Hollins has coached for 26 seasons in the NBA, both as an assistant and as a head coach. He was an interim coach twice for the Grizzlies before becoming Memphis' head coach from 2008 to 2013. His record with the Grizzlies during those five seasons was 196-155 (.558) during the regular season and 18-17 (.514) in the playoffs. The Grizzlies opted to not renew his contract after the 2013 season.
He was hired as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in 2014. He was fired 37 games into his second season with the team. His coaching record in Brooklyn was 48-71 (.403) and 2-4 (.333) in the playoffs.
Hollins' overall coaching record is 262-272 (.491) in the regular season and 20-21 (.488) in the playoffs.
Hollins is currently an assistant coach with the Lakers.
Scott Brooks
Brooks played point guard for six different NBA teams over 10 seasons, averaging 4.9 points during a career that spanned from 1988 to 1998.
Brooks was an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets, Seattle Supersonics and Oklahoma City Thunder from 2003 to 2008. During the 2008-09 season, Brooks was promoted to interim head coach with the Thunder in 2008 and then hired as the Thunder's head coach in 2009.
With the Thunder, Brooks had a 338-207 record (.620) in the regular season and a 39-34 record (.534) in the playoffs over six-plus seasons. He was named NBA Coach of the Year after the 2009-10 season and he led the Thunder to the NBA finals in 2012, where they lost to the Miami Heat. Brooks was fired by the Thunder after the 2015 season.
Brooks was hired by the Washington Wizards in 2016. He had a losing record of 183-207 (.469) over five seasons with the Wizards. Washington decided not to renew his contract after this past season.
Brooks' overall coaching record is 521-414 (.557) and 49-48 (.505) in the playoffs.
Vinny Del Negro
Del Negro played 12 seasons in the NBA as a point guard and shooting guard, averaging 9.1 points per game with four different teams during a career that lasted from 1998 to 2002.
Del Negro was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2010 and the Los Angeles Clippers from 2010 to 2013. Del Negro's time as head coach of the Clippers coincided with Neil Olshey's tenure as general manager of the Clippers from 2010 to 2012. Olshey is currently the president of basketball operations for the Blazers.
Del Negro has a career record of 210-184 (.533) as a head coach and a career 10-19 record (.345) in the playoffs. The Clippers went 96-52 (.649) in his final two seasons in Los Angeles, but after the team lost in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, the Clippers decided not to renew his contract.
Del Negro hasn't coached in the NBA since.
