Lionel Hollins Out As Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach

Per Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies have elected to not renew Hollins’ contract.

Lionel Hollins is out as Griz head coach. His contract won’t be renewed, sources told the CA. Story coming at gogrizzlies.com

— Ronald Tillery (@CAGrizBlog) June 10, 2013

Hollins spent seven years with the Grizzlies, guiding them to the Western Conference Finals this season even after the team traded away part of their core in Rudy Gay. Previously, Memphis had given Hollins permission to speak with other team after contract talks broke down. Though there was still a belief that the relationship could be salvaged, Hollins’ tenure in Memphis will be officially over once his contract expires June 30.

To most, showing a coach the door after the Grizzlies’ most successful season in franchise history seems a bit odd, bordering on cruel. Really, it’s on par with what the organization is attempting to do.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Grizzlies didn’t believe that Hollins would “foster” a fecund relationship with management:

Sources say the Grizzlies feel Hollins, despite Memphis’ considerable success over the past three seasons, is not prepared to foster the sort of collaborative relationship the Grizzlies’ new management team — led by majority owner Robert Pera and CEO Jason Levien — wants to have with its coach. Questions about Hollins’ willingness to work under Pera and Levien have been in circulation since late January, when Hollins publicly criticized the trade of Rudy Gay to Toronto on multiple occasions.

Hollins, however, said in a recent radio interview on 560 AM in Memphis that he “never knew there were philosophical differences” with management and insisted he was determined to stay with the Grizzlies.

On some levels Hollins had to know there were differences. As Stein notes, he publicly criticized the Rudy Gay trade just prior to Memphis’ stretch of dominance. He also a apparently had a run-in with John Hollinger, who is currently spearheading Memphis’ advanced analytics movement.

With the Grizzlies attempting to build something rather unconventional and on a beggar’s dime, Hollins’ departure seemed inevitable once they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. He was too outspoken, didn’t seem to be on the same page as Memphis’ new owners and was likely going to cost a pretty penny. Even after a Western Conference Finals appearance, the writing was on the wall.

Memphis already has begun the search to replace him as well. Per Stein, Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger is considered a favorite for the job. They are also expected to consider George Karl, who recently parted ways with the Denver Nuggets, and former Phoenix Suns head coach Alvin Gentry. Joerger is believed to be the preferred option, though, since he was essentially Memphis’ “defensive coordinator” under Hollins.

This whole debacle reeks of uncertainty. The Grizzlies continue to move on from pieces to their puzzle that were once considered vital. Now it’s a forward-thinking analytics approach that rules with iron fist.

Trading Gay was one thing. That appeared to help the Grizzlies. Getting rid of Hollins, that’s another. What he’s done with this group over the last three years has been incredible. He’s led them out of the first round of the playoffs in two out of the last three seasons and managed to nearly coach them the distance this year, even after enduring that mid-season shakeup.

Looking ahead to next season, it will be interesting to see how Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Zach Randolph will respond to the new coaching staff. It’ll also be interesting to see who the Grizzlies decide to get rid of next.