Lionel Hollins, Scott Brooks among candidates for lead assistant role with Trail Blazers

Last week, Marc Stein of The New York Times reported that the Los Angeles Lakers interviewed former Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks for a potential spot on Frank Vogel’s staff and there was some confusion as to why.

While there isn’t technically a limit on how many coaches a team can have on staff, or a salary cap for coaches, the Lakers had just hired David Fizdale as a lead assistant. In addition to Fizdale, they also have Phil Handy, Lionel Hollins and Miles Simons on staff. Brooks may have had his struggles in Washington, but he arguably deserves something comparable to a lead-assistant role.

Fortunately for Brooks, he may still get that opportunity with the Lakers. According to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, Hollins is being considered for a lead assistant role on Chauncey Billups’ staff with the Portland Trail Blazers. Brooks is also reportedly in the mix for the job.

It’s possible that both Brooks and Hollins will be on the Lakers’ bench next year, but it seems more likely that one of them will end up in Portland — and if it’s Hollins, it’s safe to assume that Brooks will fill his spot on Vogel’s bench. How that might affect the Lakers is unknown because it’s hard to really quantify from the outside looking in what kind of impact an assistant coach has on a team, but we do know that Hollins played a big role in helping Marc Gasol get acclimated last season (though I wouldn’t read too much into that).

Whatever happens, there are no shortage of candidates to fill the vacancies on Vogel’s bench, and Brooks will be the name to watch if Hollins gets the job in Portland.

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