Report: Rockets target former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins to join coaching staff

Lionel Hollins played for the Rockets in 1984-85, his final season as a player in the NBA. (Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

The Houston Rockets are in pursuit of former Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins -- who played for the Rockets in his final season as player in the NBA in 1984-85 -- to try to add him to Kevin McHale's coaching staff, Marc Stein of ESPN reported on Tuesday.

Hollins, 60, coached in Memphis from 2009-'13, his third stint as a coach with the franchise dating back to the 1999-2000 season when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver.  In the 2012-13 season, his last with the organization before it was announced that his contract would not be renewed, Hollins led the Grizzlies to a franchise record 56-win season, bowing out in the playoffs to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

SI WIRE: Tony Parker, Spurs chairman expect Tim Duncan to return next season

A defensive mind with the Grizzlies, Hollins could help boost a Rockets team that ranked 12th in defense, allowing the most points per possession in the playoffs.

After carving out a 10-year career as a player in the league -- winning an NBA championship in 1977 with the Portland Trail Blazers -- Hollins recently interviewed for the vacant head coaching openings with the Cavaliers and the Lakers. According to Stein, he is still in pursuit of a head coaching gig and is hesitant to accept an assistant role.