NBA News: Maurice Cheeks Named New Detroit Pistons Head Coach, Jason Kidd Interviews For The Brooklyn Vacancy, Lionel Hollins Official Let Go By Grizzly

Former National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star point guard, Maurice Cheeks, has been hired by the Detroit Pistons as their new head coach.

Cheeks, an assistant for the Oklahoma City Thunder this past season, is getting his third opportunity as an NBA head coach, replacing Lawrence Franks.

"I was very impressed not only with his basketball knowledge but his communication and leadership skills," said Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. "We are very excited to have someone of his experience and talent help take this franchise into the future."

Cheeks is 284-286, in six season, for his career with stints served with Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers, including three first-round playoff exits in his six full seasons as a head coach.

The Pistons, who hired former Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson as consultant to help to fill their vacancy, never interviewed Jackson coaching pupil, Brian Shaw, who has drawn interest from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Shaw interviewed with the Clippers yesterday, the first candidate that have talked with since relieving Vinny Del Negro of his coaching duties, as a result of his first-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Clippers have also scheduled interviews with former Cleveland Cavaliers coach, Byron Scott (who coached Clipper-free agent-to-be Chris Paul during his time with the New Orleans Pelicans), former Portland Trailblazer coach Nate McMillian, and former Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins, who was recently told by Memphis he would not be re-signed by the team.

The Grizzlies are looking to either hire from within - giving Memphis assistant coach Dave Joerger a chance to interview for the job, as well as recently ousted Denver Nuggets coach, George Karl, who was fired last week.

The Brooklyn Nets were interested in talking with Hollins but were denied permission by Memphis to hold talks with him. The Nets have moved on, in their coaching search, interviewing former Nets point guard, Jason Kidd, who recently retired from the New York Knicks.

Frank, who coached Kidd while with the Nets, thinks that the future Hall of Famer would be great choice for his former organization.

"I think Jason could become a great coach," Frank said on NBC's "Mike'd Up" on Sunday night. "[He's] one of the smartest players to ever play the game, a great leader who has a great presence. I think Jason could be a great head coach."

The Nets are also looking at Shaw, who was flown by to team to New York to meet with team officials today. The Nets wanted to interview current Boston Celtic head coach, Doc Rivers, but were rejected by team general manager Danny Ainge.

While management is fully behind Rivers, Rivers won't commit to coaching the team until he knows the make-up of the Celtics roster. The Celtics are looking at personnel changes, after years of depending on veterans such as Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and Rivers does not want to be part of the team's rebuilding process.

Thus far, the Phoenix Suns (Jeff Hornacek), Charlotte Bobcats (Steve Clifford), Atlanta Hawks (Mike Budenholzer), and Milwaukee Bucks (Larry Drew) have hired new coaches to helm their teams.