The wheel in the sky Cavs front office keeps turning. Lionel Hollins now finds himself as the hot-name in the Cleveland coaching search. The former Grizzlies head coach has allegedly been engaged in a two-day meeting with front-office staff, per the Plain Dealer. The meeting was originally scheduled for Saturday, got pushed to Sunday, and stretched into today.
After dinner meeting Sunday, Lionel Hollins interview with #Cavs continues today
— M.S. Boyer/J. Valade (@PDcavsinsider) June 2, 2014
Hollins was let go by the Grizzlies despite leading the team to the Western Conference Finals last year (where they were promptly swept by the ascendant Spurs). His Grizz team posted the best winning percentage in franchise history (.621) yet his contract was not renewed. Management cited differences in team outlook and perception.
Hollins' coaching career started in 1999 when he was hired as the interim coach of the then Vancouver Grizzlies. He was hired as the interim head coach again in 2004, following the team's move to Memphis.
Hollins finally landed the full-time head coach position of the Grizzlies in 2008, leaving his assistant coaching position with the Bucks.
During his career he's compiled a 214-201 win-loss record, good for a .514 winning percentage. If you throw out his interim coaching records, his winning percentage jumps to .558, with a 196-155 record (not including the post-season).
Hollins has pretty much broken even during the post-season. His first trip to the dance saw his Grizzlies team record a 7-6 record, his second trip saw a 3-4 record, and his third trip notched an 8-7 record; good for totals of 18-17, a winning percentage of .514.
His Grizzlies teams featured a solid collection of talent including: Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Mike Conley Jr. Those teams consistently made the playoffs and consistently posted winning records.
Hollins' ability to develop talent was a hot-button topic for the Moondog authors. He was able to maximize his post-players but seemed unable to create a system that gelled with post and wing play. That said, Mayo has never looked as promising as he did in Hollins' system and Gay has performed at about the same level since departing.
But the common complaint about his defense and rebounding heavy Grizz team is their lack of wing scoring. With Tony Allen and the moribund husk of Tayshaun Prince patrolling the perimeter, it would be difficult for any coach to manufacture wing points. It's difficult to say if he did the best he could without Gay and Mayo, or if he failed to maximize that duo while they were under his care.
Hollins has not received much help from the front office during his tenure, particularly in regards to the draft. The best overall pick during his Memphis tenure was probably Grevis Vasquez. Check out who got drafted to Memphis from 2008-2012:
2008: Kevin Love (drafted with the No. 5 overall and promptly traded to Minnesota)
2009: Hasheem Thabeet (with the No. 2 overall) and DeMarre Carroll in the first round; Sam Young in the second
2010: Xavier Henry (No. 12 overall), Dominique Jones and Vasquez; all in the first
2011: Josh Selby
2012: Tony Wroten
While Hollins may have had some input into the drafted players, those were pretty poor decisions made throughout GM Chris Wallace's tenure. And for those of you that don't remember the abomination that was the Kevin Love trade here's the details:
Minny received: Kevin Love, Jason Collins, Mike Miller and Brian Cardinal.
Memphis received: OJ Mayo, Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker
Note: Hollins was hired as head-coach after this trade occurred.
Yikes.
This off-season could very well dictate the future of the Cavaliers franchise for a decade plus. Miss on the number one overall pick and the fans might rebel by exiting in droves. Hit on the pick, and unlock the right combination of free agents and line-ups, and you could be looking at a championship contender in 2-3 years. Hollins' player development and draft record are inconclusive thus far, and Hollins' inability to maximize the Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol line-up might have been a question of selfish players and not incompetent coaching.
Hollins has consistently been labelled a player's coach, the type of guy that smooths over locker room tensions and motivates players. Griffin might be thinking Hollins' could salvage the Chernobyl that is the Irving-Waiters relationship.
Here's a video of Hollins' players talking about how they enjoy playing for him:
Hollins finally landed the full-time head coach position of the Grizzlies in 2008, leaving his assistant coaching position with the Bucks.
During his career he's compiled a 214-201 win-loss record, good for a .514 winning percentage. If you throw out his interim coaching records, his winning percentage jumps to .558, with a 196-155 record (not including the post-season).
Hollins has pretty much broken even during the post-season. His first trip to the dance saw his Grizzlies team record a 7-6 record, his second trip saw a 3-4 record, and his third trip notched an 8-7 record; good for totals of 18-17, a winning percentage of .514.
His Grizzlies teams featured a solid collection of talent including: Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Mike Conley Jr. Those teams consistently made the playoffs and consistently posted winning records.
Hollins' ability to develop talent was a hot-button topic for the Moondog authors. He was able to maximize his post-players but seemed unable to create a system that gelled with post and wing play. That said, Mayo has never looked as promising as he did in Hollins' system and Gay has performed at about the same level since departing.
But the common complaint about his defense and rebounding heavy Grizz team is their lack of wing scoring. With Tony Allen and the moribund husk of Tayshaun Prince patrolling the perimeter, it would be difficult for any coach to manufacture wing points. It's difficult to say if he did the best he could without Gay and Mayo, or if he failed to maximize that duo while they were under his care.
Hollins has not received much help from the front office during his tenure, particularly in regards to the draft. The best overall pick during his Memphis tenure was probably Grevis Vasquez. Check out who got drafted to Memphis from 2008-2012:
2008: Kevin Love (drafted with the No. 5 overall and promptly traded to Minnesota)
2009: Hasheem Thabeet (with the No. 2 overall) and DeMarre Carroll in the first round; Sam Young in the second
2010: Xavier Henry (No. 12 overall), Dominique Jones and Vasquez; all in the first
2011: Josh Selby
2012: Tony Wroten
While Hollins may have had some input into the drafted players, those were pretty poor decisions made throughout GM Chris Wallace's tenure. And for those of you that don't remember the abomination that was the Kevin Love trade here's the details:
Minny received: Kevin Love, Jason Collins, Mike Miller and Brian Cardinal.
Memphis received: OJ Mayo, Greg Buckner, Marko Jaric and Antoine Walker
Note: Hollins was hired as head-coach after this trade occurred.
Yikes.
This off-season could very well dictate the future of the Cavaliers franchise for a decade plus. Miss on the number one overall pick and the fans might rebel by exiting in droves. Hit on the pick, and unlock the right combination of free agents and line-ups, and you could be looking at a championship contender in 2-3 years. Hollins' player development and draft record are inconclusive thus far, and Hollins' inability to maximize the Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol line-up might have been a question of selfish players and not incompetent coaching.
Hollins has consistently been labelled a player's coach, the type of guy that smooths over locker room tensions and motivates players. Griffin might be thinking Hollins' could salvage the Chernobyl that is the Irving-Waiters relationship.
Here's a video of Hollins' players talking about how they enjoy playing for him:
Please feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you would think of the Cavs hiring Hollins as the next coach of the Cavaliers.