The Golden State Warriors already have two strikes against them.
The team whiffed on Stan Van Gundy, who opted to join the Detroit Pistons, who gave him freedom to control personnel decisions. The team’s top choice, Steve Kerr, remains the favorite to wind up as the coach of the New York Knicks.
So where does that leave Golden State?
The list of coaching candidates can be narrowed to about three, with Lionel Hollins, Tom Thibodeau and George Karl as the leading men.
Hollins is expected to interview for the job sometime during the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, according to Yahoo! Sports.
Lionel Hollins is expected to interview for Warriors head coach opening during the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago next week, a source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) May 10, 2014
Hollins was mentioned to be on the Warriors’ coaching wish list as soon as Mark Jackson was fired. In his last stint as a head coach, he led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 56-win season that ended with a loss in the Western Conference Finals. Overall, he owns a career record of 214-201.
The Warriors also sought out permission to contact Thibodeau, the coach of the Chicago Bulls. Thibodeau was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics when current Golden State owner Joe Lacob was a minority owner of the team when they won the championship in 2008.
Karl, an NBA analyst for ESPN, coached the Warriors from 1986-88 and has since had stints with Seattle, Milwaukee and Denver. It is known that Karl wants to return to coaching, and is believed to have interest in the Warriors’ opening.
The San Francisco Chronicle names former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni, former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg, Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie, and assistants David Fitzdale, Alvin Gentry and Nate McMillian as other potential candidates. The latter three are still coaching in the NBA playoffs.
If the list sounds redundant, you’re right. D’Antoni and Gentry are both speculated to be coaching targets of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hoiberg and Ollie are expected to be contacted about the Lakers’ vacancy, previously filled by D’Antoni.
