John Hollinger to join Grizzlies' Front Office

[Uriel]

Not Spurs-related, but it's pretty significant news, seeing as he was one of the best columnists on ESPN. He will sorely be missed.


Grizzlies hire John Hollinger

Updated: December 13, 2012, 7:30 PM ET
By Marc Stein (http://search.espn.go.com/marc-stein/) | ESPN.com

John Hollinger, a fixture of ESPN.com's coverage of the NBA for the past eight seasons and one of the leaders in basketball's rising statistical analysis movement in the past decade, is leaving his role as a columnist to become the vice president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies).Best known for hatching the formula behind every player's Player Efficiency Rating (PER) -- which attempts to quantify player performance through the use of an all-in-one rating -- Hollinger will begin work as a senior executive in the Grizzlies' basketball department next week.

"It's incredibly difficult to leave ESPN, but the chance to work for an NBA team and the Grizzlies' new ownership was an irresistible opportunity," Hollinger said Thursday.

Hollinger was recruited to the Grizzlies by new controlling owner Robert Pera and CEO/managing partner Jason Levien, who have made upgrading Memphis' analytics department one of their front-office priorities. The Grizzlies also hired Stu Lash on Thursday as their director of player personnel and basketball development.

"We are thrilled to have John and Stu join the Grizzlies," Levien said in a release. "Both of these individuals will provide innovative and unique perspectives that bolster the organization's future."

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that the move won't change the status of Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace but added that Hollinger will be a "prominent voice in the team's front office beyond providing statistical analysis."

Hollinger, 41, founded the website "Alleyoop" in 1996 to launch his online career as a basketball sabermetrician and authored a series of books originally known as the "Pro Basketball Prospectus" and later titled "Pro Basketball Forecast."

He went on to work for The Oregonian newspaper's online site (OregonLive.com) and served as the NBA editor of Sports Illustrated's online site (SI.com) before joining ESPN.com in February 2005.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8745158/espn-columnist-john-hollinger-join-memphis-grizzlies-front-office

[iManu]

Damn. Good idea.

[Juggity]

I'm amazed that some big market team hadn't swooped in years ago to try this.

Good on Memphis for taking the initiative.

[timvp]

While Hollinger was sometimes annoying with how much he believed and relied on his own inventions, I will definitely miss reading his writeups. With most NBA pundits rehashing platitudes and rarely looking beyond preconceived reputations, Hollinger stood out as someone willing to form his own ideas and avoid groupthink. Even when I disagreed with him, I almost always respected his thought process and the amount of hard work he put into covering the league.

Congrats to Hollinger for what's probably a sweet gig. I'll miss reading his stuff, tbh.

[tlongII]

Portland is the epicenter of great basketball minds. Obviously. :smokin

[Josh810]

Portland is the epicenter of great basketball minds. Obviously. :smokin
http://digitaldeconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Michael-Jordan.jpg

[timvp]

Damn, he got the title of VP of Basketball Operations. That's a damn high position for someone off the street :wow

It should be interesting to see what the Grizzlies do. Will they go after everyone with a high PER? If so, Hollinger there's this kid named DeJuan Blair who has put up some lofty PER numbers....

[FromWayDowntown]

Portland is the epicenter of great basketball minds. Obviously. :smokin

This is a set up for a Blazers joke, no?

[FromWayDowntown]

It will be interesting to see how this works out. Presumably, either everyone in the league has Hollinger's formulas (since he's published them for years on ESPN) and a mountain of literature to explain his thought processes, or Hollinger has been holding back some special metrics in the event that he gets a job like this one and has been lying through his teeth in his evaluation of players.

I get the hiring -- and I sort of hope it works out, as someone who is (by and large) a fan of Hollinger's way of thinking -- but front office decision makers aren't usually effective if their assessments of players are transparent.

[capek]

Am I misremembering this, or wasn't the Spurs signing of Butler attributed to Hollinger's analysis/some kind of recommendation? If that's correct, I'll continue to be skeptical about any kind of positive influence Hollinger will have on actual basketball decisions until he proves me wrong.

[ace3g]

Makes sense, the Memphis' analytics department was one of their front-office priorities.

*Does ESPN have rights to PER? How will that effect NBA Trade Machine, etc

[Chinook]

Exactly my question. Is the formula for PER known? If so, it is just a number that anyone can calculate. I can't see how anyone could claim it. I mean, it's used on other sites besides ESPN right now with no problems. If only Hollinger knows it, this could be interesting.

[racm]

The formula for PER is on Wikipedia.

[hater]

I'm surprised nobody has swooped timvp yet :lol

[eDizzle20]

It's sort of ironic that a sports organization hired someone from the media to such a high-level position. Gotta hand it to Hollinger though, can't say I've ever heard a columnist being hired on for basketball operations. Guys such as Marc Stein and Ric Bucher gotta be jealous :lol.

[capek]

I'm surprised nobody has swooped timvp yet :lol

Why would they hire him when they can just steal whatever he writes, thereby getting his work for free? Why kill their cash cow? :wow

[spurraider21]

the new moneyball

[jestersmash]

Hollinger has had the most accurate predictions of any analyst (and certainly armchair GMs across the world) for many years now -

http://deadspin.com/5921063/john-hollinger-had-the-best-nba-preseason-predictions-jon-barrys-were-nearly-the-worst

[Budkin]

This just seems... weird. Hollinger not at ESPN? Err

[racm]

This just seems... weird. Hollinger not at ESPN? Err

2012?

Grizz now 0-1 in the Hollinger era after a loss in Denver

[ElNono]

Memphis +2 wins

[TDMVPDPOY]

surprise blazers didnt hire him to workout whose going to blow out a knee next

[racm]

surprise blazers didnt hire him to workout whose going to blow out a knee next

They should ask Phoenix for Kendall Marshall and their medical staff for LaMarcus Aldridge.

[Kuestmaster]

Timvp, if the spurs read your analysis, you'll be next. Suit up.

[tmtcsc]

http://digitaldeconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Michael-Jordan.jpg

Very nicely done. :toast

[tmtcsc]

Shocking..absolutely shocking. Hollinger is 41 ?

[will_spurs]

Why would they hire him when they can just steal whatever he writes, thereby getting his work for free? Why kill their cash cow? :wow

Yes but on the other hand the other teams won't get his analysis for free any more...

I guess the Grizz management have a few indicators they want to track, and a couple of precise questions that need answered, and Hollinger will provide them with custom analysis. Not sure if he's going to interact more with the front office (trade targets, draft targets, etc.) or the coach (which players combos work better, etc.)

[gee]

Yes but on the other hand the other teams won't get his analysis for free any more...

I guess the Grizz management have a few indicators they want to track, and a couple of precise questions that need answered, and Hollinger will provide them with custom analysis. Not sure if he's going to interact more with the front office (trade targets, draft targets, etc.) or the coach (which players combos work better, etc.)

Was referring to timvp, not Hollinger I believe

[will_spurs]

Was referring to timvp, not Hollinger I believe

True, but my point still holds :)

[Russ]

Portland is the epicenter of great basketball minds. Obviously. :smokin

Naw, too easy. . .

[TimmehC]

Portland is the epicenter of great basketball minds. Obviously. :smokin

And not one healthy knee between them.

[Arcadian]

http://digitaldeconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Michael-Jordan.jpg

http://newspaper.li/static/e118ed6739988321efb780a6bb978f07.jpg

:lmaoBlazers

[Drz]

I'm fairly certain PER will play a minimal role in any statistical analysis Hollinger brings to the Grizzlies. He knows and discusses its limitations, and right now using a single catch-all statistic is a recipe for disaster.

I wish we could delve into the analysis the Spurs do, because I think they're doing things that are not only different from what the public has ever seen, but that are *significantly* better as well. The Diaw acquisition is a good example. On the surface, the only justification seemed to be that we needed a guy of his size at that position, because his performance in Charlotte had been awful. Yet he comes here, and overnight, suddenly he's a very useful player. Much of that is system-related, but still, I think there's more to it. I think the Spurs are doing some form of deeper analysis that no one else is privy too, and it'd be really cool to see exactly what that is.

[mystargtr34]

This is almost exactly the way i think of Hollinger.. just couldnt put it so eloquently. :tu

[CaptainLate]

I wish we could delve into the analysis the Spurs do, because I think they're doing things that are not only different from what the public has ever seen, but that are *significantly* better as well....Much of that is system-related, but still, I think there's more to it. I think the Spurs are doing some form of deeper analysis that no one else is privy too, and it'd be really cool to see exactly what that is.

I can tell you EXACTLY what the Spurs know that others don't, and it is no secret. They, and specifically Pop, have many times talked about going after players "who have gotten over themselves". Fortunately, the ping pong balls bounced their way twice: 1st time when they were able to pick a humble graduate from the Naval Academy, and the 2nd time, when a player who was planning to be a swimmer got sidetracked by a hurricane, but would eventually become the greatest power forward in the history of the NBA.

Off the top of my head, I can almost guarantee that Kevin Durant and his type of personality would thrive in S.A., whereas there is no way someone like a Lebron James or Kobe Bryant would have fit into the Spurs philosophy. And although right now it certainly looks like a huge mistake, it is perhaps the reason why the Spurs did not sign A. Blatche for the minimum, although everyone and their grandmother knew the Spurs needed frontcourt help.