April 12, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Memphis Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins coaches against the Houston Rockets in the first quarter at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets are making a hard sell to Lionel Hollins to join the Rockets’ coaching staff, according to a tweet from Marc Stein (ESPN).

Word is Rockets making hard sell to Lionel Hollins to join Kevin McHale‘s staff as assistant. Hollins, naturally, still chasing next HC gig — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 17, 2014

This is the second time we have heard Hollins’ name in regards to the Rockets job. The first report came from Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports, which said the Rockets were looking into Hollins as an associate head coach.

Hollins is one of the best coaches available and he is obviously going to look at all the other available head coaching jobs before choosing a lesser role with another team.

From a Rockets standpoint, bringing Hollins on this staff would be home run for a team that lacks a defensive mentality. The Rockets struggled on the defensive all season long, and the loss of Kelvin Sampson made it even worse. Hollins is the best defensive-minded coach out there, and would be the biggest “game changer” the Rockets could add to their coaching staff.

How do you sell Hollins on the job? For starters, Kevin McHale only has one year left on his deal. Another disappointing first round exit, could mean the end to his stint as the Rockets coach and Hollins would be a top candidate to take over the reigns.

The Rockets are also terrible on defense. If Hollins can turn the Rockets into a respectable defensive team, and help vault the Rockets deep into the playoffs, his resume would only improve and increase his chances at finding a good head coaching job, instead of the ones available in Cleveland, or other sub-par options.

Since the Rockets can’t make any free agent decisions quite yet, focusing on Hollins should be priority number one. He would be an excellent addition to McHale’s staff and would start the Rockets offseason on a positive note.