HoopsHype.com Rumors

What’s John like as a person? Is he going to reach out to the Memphis community in the manner of Chris Wallace or is he more of a sit in his suite and leave him alone type like Jerry West? Henry Abbott: He has a ready smile, especially when he has a cup of coffee in his hand. (Seriously, coffee is a major Hollinger concern.) It’s amusing to me that from afar lots of people treat John as if he’s scary. Anybody who knows him knows he’s a good dude. I have no idea if his role will entail being the face of the franchise to the local business community and the like. But if the job is to say hello, listen, smile, and build relationships … he can do that job. 3 Shades Of Blue

Memphis Grizzlies, John Hollinger 

You made a career about commentating about basketball. How much does that change now?: John Hollinger: “That’s going to be really interesting. I really want to keep up some kind of dialogue with people and use [my Twitter] account to do that, but I can’t do it in the same way that I did. The biggest thing is I just can’t really talk about players on other teams. That’s the biggest limitation. It kind of changes things, somewhat, and I’m still learning, I guess. … I’m still figuring out how that voice is going to work, but I’m still going to be out there on Twitter somehow and having that dialogue with people.” Sports Radio Interviews

Memphis Grizzlies, John Hollinger 

Johh Hollinger on being a new-school kind of guy working with a coach in Lionel Hollins that appears to be really old-school: “I think the biggest thing to look at is that people will always want to make the strong-man argument, that you’re trying to replace the previous knowledge. That’s not the case; you’re trying to add to it. If I can add things to what they already know, then that becomes really helpful. I think the biggest thing is, you have to kind of build the relationship and build the trust and kind of start with things that are more easily grasped and then try to move on from there. I’m definitely going to be available to help them as much as I can, and we’ll just see how it goes from there. He’s had plenty of success without me, but at the same time, I think there are probably ways that I could potentially help him, and once we start really working with each other, we can figure out where that balance is.” Sports Radio Interviews

Memphis Grizzlies, John Hollinger 

Chad Ford: I didn't realize I was the dork-in-waiting. Feel like there are much smarter dorks than me who are much more likely to be heir to Hollinger (in that regard Tom Haberstroh is off to a great start). But hey, if I was, it would be an honor. But really feel like Hollinger is pretty irreplaceable. Smarter than most of us and was really an excellent writer. Was the only column in the NBA that I NEVER missed. Read PER Diem every day. ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, John Hollinger 

You’ve been an analytics guy, you’ve been to the Sloan conference. Do you have a guy or several people dedicated to that in your front office. Have you noticed that Memphis just hired John Hollinger? -JOE LACOB: Yeah, I did see that. We have that–not a Hollinger per se, he’s a well-known guy. But we have hired some guys inside, whether they be internal or consultants, looking at statistics. We’re one of the first teams to employ the video system in the arena and analyzing all that… Now getting information out of that is what’s hard. But we are looking at all those things. San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Joe Lacob, John Hollinger 

Joe Lacob: I think we’re more on the forefront than not. But there are certainly some teams like Houston that have done it to a great extent. Obviously Memphis making a big commitment to do it. And we think it’s important. But it’s one factor. It’s important, but having Jerry West and his eyes, or Bob Myers’ judgments, or Larry Riley, who’s still with us in scouting… those are things you do with your eyes and those are important, too. I’m a great believer, we’re great believers in always listening and trying to integrate statistics with what we see. We want to be on the cutting edge, but you can’t be all statistics because that doesn’t tell the whole story. San Jose Mercury-News

Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Jerry West, Joe Lacob, Bob Myers, John Hollinger 

I wish Hollinger all the best of luck. Truly a nice, congenial guy. I believe being on the business side of a team will be eye-opening for him because he sometimes wrote and said things about the game and the league that came off as naive. His hire reflects the wave of analytics-driven, fantasy-league- raised owners that have entered the NBA. Hollinger speaks their language and these owners are convinced that they know basketball because they know numbers. I have yet to see an analytics-driven team win a title or even exceed expectations. CSNBayArea.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Ric Bucher, John Hollinger 

Most NBA teams, including the Nuggets, now employ "stat geeks" to crunch data, though not in such a high-level capacity as Hollinger. Of Hollinger's hiring by the Grizzlies, Nuggets coach George Karl said: "The only thing I know is, he's the one guy that expresses stats I can understand. Some of the other guys, I'm not sure I understand what they're saying. "But I think all organizations are searching for the edge right now with the top guys in statistics. I don't know how many teams in the league have that guy, but in a few years I think everybody will have one." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, George Karl, John Hollinger 

"There are certain stats that help, but you've still got to eyeball players. You've still got to know who has heart and toughness," Hollins said. "You can look at a bunch of stats and be very wrong on people. Stats don't always tell the whole story." Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, George Karl, John Hollinger 

Sources with knowledge of the Grizzlies' thinking insist that this week's hires of ESPN's John Hollinger and veteran agent Stu Lash don't change the status of Grizz general manager Chris Wallace. All three will report to Grizz CEO/managing partner Jason Levien, who has the final say on basketball matters in Memphis under new controlling owner Robert Pera. Yet sources likewise insist that Hollinger will indeed have a prominent voice in personnel matters beyond merely supplying statistical analysis to support decisions. ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Jason Levien, Chris Wallace, Robert Pera, John Hollinger 

Hollinger had been in town last month for the ESPN televised game against the New York Knicks and spent much of the game meeting with Levien in one of the arena's luxury boxes, but Hollinger gave no hint at the time that the duo were discussing a job. Hollinger's presence at the game wasn't unusual; he had made several previous trips to FedExForum as a reporter, including covering the Grizzlies' second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the spring of 2011. Memphis Flyer

Memphis Grizzlies, John Hollinger 

Marc Stein: Sources say Grizz hires don't change status of GM Chris Wallace but insist Hollinger to have prominent front-office voice beyond analytics Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Memphis Grizzlies, Chris Wallace, John Hollinger 

Chris Vernon: Was told that while @John Hollinger will take on role of VP of Bball Ops, GM Chris Wallace will remain. guess we will see. Twitter @ChrisVernonShow

Memphis Grizzlies, Chris Wallace, John Hollinger 

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 join the front office of the 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. ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Media, John Hollinger 

"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. ESPN.com

Memphis Grizzlies, Media, John Hollinger 

Ronald Tillery: ESPN's Hollinger joins Griz front office, Barones shown the door: gogrizzlies.com Twitter @CAGrizBlog

Memphis Grizzlies, Media, John Hollinger 

Bill Simmons: Happy for @John Hollinger - I'm going to miss reading him. Hope he kills it with the Grizzlies. Twitter @BillSimmons

Memphis Grizzlies, Media, John Hollinger 

Royce Webb: I'm not sure @John Hollinger has a formula big enough to measure what his loss will mean. Go get 'em, John! Twitter @RoyceWebb

Memphis Grizzlies, Media, John Hollinger 

Ryan Wolstat: Dwane Casey said he has great respect for John Hollinger. Wants guys to use 33 wins as motivation Twitter @WolstatSun

Dwane Casey, Owners, John Hollinger