| | VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Vancouver Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins, still being paid an assistant's salary despite his additional duties, reached a tentative agreement Thursday on a cash settlement with the team's ownership group.
Hollins has continued to draw his assistant's salary since
taking over on Dec. 16 when Brian Hill was fired. Hollins had
threatened to step down if the salary situation wasn't resolved
this week.
"I would not be the coach here tonight if we hadn't done
anything," Hollins said before Thursday night's game against
Portland. "That's what I told Stan (McCammon, CEO of Orca Bay
Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Grizzlies, GM Place
stadium, and the NHL's Canucks). I said, 'I'll give you 'til
Thursday to talk. After that, if I'm not happy with what's going
on, I'm not coaching.'
"Stan came to the meeting with the mindset that he was going to
get something done, so that (not coaching) wasn't even a remote
possibility," Hollins said. "But it was in my mind and it was
still something that I was prepared to do if necessary."
League approval on prospective Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley
is expected to go through next week. Hollins wanted the matter
settled before Heisley takes over.
Before Thursday's game, Hollins, 46, had compiled a 16-35 record with Vancouver. He played 10 years in the NBA with five teams, winning an NBA championship in 1977 with Portland. This is his first head job after 12 years as an assistant, seven with Phoenix
and the last five with Vancouver.
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