Late last week, the Grizzlies made headlines when they hired ESPN's John Hollinger as their new Vice President of Basketball Operations.  The move was significant for a couple of reasons.  Hollinger is making the rare leap from journalist to front office executive and is doing it thanks to his analytics background.  The world of baseball has been aware of the power of analytics for quite a while, but it wasn't until recent years that the NBA caught up.  Hollinger spoke with 92.9 ESPN in Memphis to talk about the transition and Eric Schmoldt of Sports Radio Interviews has the goods..

On the reaction from old-school basketball people and players:

"So far, so good. I haven’t had a chance to spend much time with the players yet because the first day of work, you spend a lot of time just filling out forms, random stuff like that, and just meeting lots of people. … So, I’m hoping in the next couple of days, to really do that. I met some of the coaches today at practice, and that was great. … It’s something I’m looking forward to over the next couple of days, but as far as how I’ve been received, so far everything’s been really great. If anyone has any grievances about it, they’ve kept it well-hidden.”

On how he'll have to adjust his commentary on basketball:

“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.”

On his notoriety in basketball:

“I would say it’s mostly coaches and executives. There are some players who do know me, and I know because they tell me. … But, I think a lot of them, you’re right, just haven’t been following me, and that’s fine. It’s not their job to follow what I’m saying. It’ll be interesting as we get into it, but I don’t know that it’s really going to affect anything. Even players that are aware of you and might be following you, their day-to-day interaction isn’t really with me, it’s with the coaching staff.”

On being a new-school 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.”

While previous reports have indicated that GM Chris Wallace's role with the Grizzlies wouldn't change after the hiring of John Hollinger and Stu Lash, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that Wallace, Hollinger and Lash are expected to have equal input with CEO Jason Levien, who'll have final say on basketball matters. While Wallace expressed a willingness to work in the new environment, Tillery wonders if this might signal the end of Wallace's tenure in Memphis, writing that "only time will tell" how long he stays on board. Here's more on the Grizzlies front office and other news from the Southwest Division.

• Tillery notes the Grizzlies hiring of Hollinger isn't the first time the team has employed an analytics specialist in the front office. Aaron Barzilai, who's now with the Sixers, worked for the Grizzlies as a consultant for several years.
• Beckley Mason of The New York Times wonders if the Spurs have been sitting Matt Bonner, with whom they're more efficient than when he's not on the floor, to give more minutes to DeJuan Blair in an effort to showcase Blair for a trade.
• The Mavericks had interest in Terrence Ross before the Raptors took him eighth overall this June, reveals Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link). The Mavs held the 17th pick in the draft before trading it to the Cavaliers, so that means they were either thinking of trading up or believed Ross might slip out of the lottery.
• Chandler Parsons was a steal for the Rockets in the second round of the 2011 draft, but the 6'9" small forward was convinced he was headed elsewhere, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details. "I thought I was going to go to the Celtics, 100 percent," Parsons said. "That was probably my best workout. I killed it." 
• We went in-depth on the summer moves made by the Mavs and Hornets today as part of the Hoops Rumors Offseason in Review series.

After the 76ers parted ways with Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, and Louis Williams and others last season, they were in need of a veteran leader.  The Sixers found their man in veteran point guard Royal Ivey, who was an excellent locker room presence for the Thunder last season, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.  Royal Ivey and the Andrew Bynum-less Sixers are taking on the Pacers in Indiana tomorrow night.  Here's more from around the Association..

• The Grizzlies' hiring of John Hollinger and Stu Lash won't change the status of current General Manager Chris Wallace, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  Hollinger was hired by Memphis earlier today as the club's new Vice President of Basketball Operations.
• Hawks forward Josh Smith is happy in Atlanta, and he discussed his new found zen in detail with Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.  "I've always had a good relationship with the management. It's nothing against Rick Sund, but Danny Ferry worked for a lot of successful organizations in Cleveland and San Antonio, so I think he brought that winning attitude to this team and it has trickled down to the coaches and the players," Smith said.
• The Blazers are happy with the EuroLeague assets they received in their Ray Felton/Kurt Thomas trade with the Knicks, writes Nick Gibson of Sheridan Hoops.  Small forward Kostas Papanikolaou is shining for Olympiacos and has nailed at least 50% of his threes in all but one game this season.

6:10pm: Hollinger will serve as the Vice President of Basketball Operations, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).   The Grizzlies also hired former Nuggets employee Stu Lash as Director of Player Personnel, according to Chris Herrington of The Memphis Flyer (via Twitter).

5:20pm: The Grizzlies have hired ESPN's John Hollinger to a front office position, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter).  Hollinger is best known for his statistics-heavy analysis and Player Efficiency Rating (PER) metric, which crunches numbers from every portion of the box score to quantify a player's performance.

"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 told ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

The Grizzlies, under new owner Michael Pera and CEO Jason Levien have made a concerted effort to focus in on basketball analytics.  The Rockets made a similar leap in 2007 when they tabbed MIT graduate Daryl Morey as their General Manager. 

Ironically, Hollinger's resume and career path have a great deal in common with Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations David Kahn.  Kahn worked as a full-time sportswriter for six years and both were previously employed by The Oregonian.  Hollinger has been critical of Kahn's decision making during his tenure in Minnesota.

In addition to ESPN.com and The Oregonian, Hollinger also wrote for the New York Sun and Sports Illustrated.