NBA Rumors: Kevin Ollie, Pistons HC Finalists to Meet with Governor Tom Gores

The Detroit Pistons plan to meet with the three finalists in their coaching search this week, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Overtime Elite coach Kevin Ollie, New Orleans Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins and Milwaukee Bucks associate head coach Charles Lee are the remaining candidates.

Charania reported Pistons majority governor Tom Gores will take part in the conversations with each coach.

The Athletic's James L. Edwards III reported on April 21 these three were "the current, early front-runners for Detroit's first-chair vacancy."

Ollie spent 13 years in the NBA as a player before joining the UConn men's basketball staff as an assistant in 2010. He was the Huskies' head coach for six seasons, guiding the program to a national title in 2014 but watching the goodwill from that triumph steadily wane until his departure amid scandal in 2018. The 50-year-old signed on with the Overtime Elite project when it launched in 2021.

Collins is another former NBA player, logging 10 seasons in the Association. He began his coaching career in 2014 with the Golden State Warriors and remained with the organization through the 2020-21 season. The Pelicans hired him in August 2021 to fill out the staff for first-year head coach Willie Green.

While Lee can't match Ollie and Collins' playing resumes, he has made a name for himself as an NBA assistant. It's only a matter of time before the 38-year-old is coaching his own team, and his promotion on Milwaukee's staff last offseason reflected how his stock continued to rise around the league.

Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported Lee also interviewed with the Toronto Raptors, who are looking for a replacement for the ousted Nick Nurse.

Prying him out of Milwaukee might be difficult because he's a natural successor to Mike Budenholzer, who was fired after the Bucks suffered a shocking first-round exit in the 2023 NBA playoffs.