Report: Lionel Hollins spends more time complaining than explaining
Lionel Hollins is currently in his second year coaching the Nets, and so far, it hasn't been going according to plan. Hollins' Nets won 38 games last year, good enough to sneak into the playoffs at the No. 8 seed, but far off from where the organization would like to be.
This year, the winning percentage is even worse, though Brooklyn has performed better of late, posting a 10-23 win-loss record through the first 33 games of the season. Some of the blame is on Hollins. Some is on general manager Billy King. Some is on the players. And the season-ending ACL tear Jarrett Jack sustained over the weekend won't make anyone's life easier.
That said, there was some drama around Hollins and his no-nonsense attitude in the locker room a season ago. Now, it appears there's some more resurfacing.
From Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders:
From what I’ve heard, there have been more than a few instances where his frustration has boiled over with his players in practice, with one of Hollins’ former players telling me that he felt that Hollins spent more time complaining about the things that were going wrong than explaining what he actually wanted from his players.
Hollins is a stickler, a philosopher, probably an existentialist above all. Purely from the way he handles press conferences, fans or media can get an idea into one of his main mentalities: If you don't make an effort to understand his point the first time around, make sure you think of an intelligent way to ask your question a second time.
Hollins is certainly charming, funny even when he becomes passionate about a topic. But during his time as head coach in Memphis, he was never actually in this situation. He was either building or already with a contender. There was no rebuilding. That's where the Nets are now, and you have to imagine that would frustrate anyone.
