When Jason Kidd flew the coop this summer to coach the Bucks, Nets general manager Billy King quickly responded by hiring Lionel Hollins to replace him as the team's head coach two days later.
But, in an alternate universe, Hollins already could have been working elsewhere , had the Timberwolves — one of several teams, including the Lakers, that spoke to Hollins this offseason — worked out a deal with him.
That didn't happen, though, and part-owner and team president of basketball operations Flip Saunders returned to the sidelines to coach the team instead, a decision Saunders said he made because of the uncertainty at the time surrounding the status of superstar forward Kevin Love.
"We talked a lot about it," Saunders said before his Timberwolves beat the Nets 98-91 in Brooklyn. "I think Lionel is a great coach. … But that whole thing was because of the Love situation. There was too much of the unknowns. Lionel, he's a team who took a team to a conference finals, I thought that he was going to go to a veteran type team, and I couldn't guarantee him that would be this type of team.
"I wanted to hire a coach that knew what we had, and since we didn't know what we had, we went in a different direction, but he was one of the two or three guys that we talked to and seriously considered."
Hollins didn't seem too interested in discussing the situation.
"We did the interview," he said. "They hired somebody else. That's where it went."
Though Saunders was glad to be back on the sidelines with the Timberwolves, he said he was happy that Hollins wound up in a good situation with the Nets with the Nets.
"Things happen for a reason, and Lionel's in a great situation here," Saunders said. "He's got great ownership, Billy King is a great president of basketball operations, this is a great city. … Who wouldn't want to coach in Brooklyn or New York City? This turned out to be a great situation for him."
Garnett's 25 minutes against the Timberwolves pushed him past 49,000 for his career. Garnett, playing his 20th season, is fifth all-time in minutes played in NBA history, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Jason Kidd and Elvin Hayes.
When asked before the game if his former star pupil could become a coach in the future, Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders didn't hesitate with his response.
"No," Saunders said with a smile. "What he could be is he could be a good consultant, short-term stuff.
"He's got great knowledge, and he'd be great working with players. But his frustration … he gets frustrated pretty easy. That would be pretty tough on a coach.
"He might be a short-term guy, but it's not because of lack of knowledge. His personality, his DNA, he'd get too frustrated.
Before the game, the NBA's Trainers Association honored longtime Nets trainer Tim Walsh with the Joe O'Toole Athletic Trainer of the Year award. The award is given annually for exemplary achievement or for outstanding service to the organization.
Walsh, in his 15th season with the Nets, previously earned the honor for the 2003-04 season. He was presented with the award by Gregg Farnam, the Timberwolves' trainer and the president of the NBATA.
"We are pleased to honor Tim with this award," Farnam said in a statement. "His service and dedication as athletic trainer for the Nets exemplifies the goals and standards of the NBATA."
Walsh also has spent three seasons with the Magic and 13 seasons as an assistant trainer with the Knicks.
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