Diss Guy: John Hollinger
When advanced stats first arrived on ESPN’s NBA page in in the mid 2000s, I was very apprehensive. For me, numbers were scary. I was never a strong math student, and I generally shied away from any statistic that didn’t have “per game” at the end of it. So I didn’t really trust this John Hollinger guy who came in telling me not to trust per-game statistics, and that the numbers themselves were misleading. He introduced the term “efficiency” to my basketball vocabulary, and really, things haven’t been the same since.
Indeed, Hollinger and his crown jewel statistic, the player efficiency rating (PER), have revolutionized the way we value players and understand basketball. By drawing attention away from the amount a player produces, but rather, the way in which they produce, Hollinger delivered value to a subset of players whose contributions might not show up on a stat sheet, but whose value could be quantified in different ways. PER, an all-encompassing stat, highlighted the myriad of ways a player could help (or hurt) their team. He used that stat to lead (with others) a veritable statistical revolution, and bring advanced stats, a mainstay in baseball, to basketball.
Hollinger was just hired away from ESPN to join the Grizzlies’ front office as a senior executive in their revamped analytics department. It’s the latest step in a career that, frankly, should be a model to anyone who fancies themselves an analyst of basketball, and who wants to make a future in the game. He started his own website in 1996, worked for OregonLive.com and SI.com, and wrote two books before joining ESPN in 2005. Many only read snippets of his work, since so much of it was featured on ESPN Insider, a subscription-based service. Despite this, he’s worked very, very hard to get where he’s at today, and there’s a certain excitement to seeing what Hollinger does in terms of team building for a team that made early use of advanced stats when they started building their now-contending core of players.
Congrats to Mr. Hollinger, who got me to like numbers in basketball.
Miss Guy: Kevin Love
Did you know that John Hollinger isn’t only writer-turned-basketball executive in the NBA? He’s a member of a mixed-bag fraternity, which includes current Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn. Hollinger is praying that his post-writing career as an executive is filled with less controversy than Davey K’s.
David Kahn’s been working very hard the last few years to rebuild the Minnesota Timberwolves. We’ve talked a lot about the Wolves over the last 18 months, so you probably know the general narrative by now. It’s been a comedy of errors at times, but now the Wolves seem to be on fairly solid footing. They have all the right pieces in place; a good coach who seems committed, a solid cast of supporting players, a re-engaged fan base, a really great player returning from injury and of course, an unhappy superstar.
Well, he doesn’t say that he’s unhappy. But everything from a Adrian Wojnaworksi story that came out this week seems to imply that while David Kahn is the general manager, K-Love will never truly be content. In the story, Kevin Love expresses his unhappiness with the way David Kahn has built the team, with wasted draft picks, bad contracts, and missed opportunities. He also expresses his hurt with not getting the “super max” 5-year deal that, presumably, is being saved for Ricky Rubio. Though his love for the fans, the coach, his current quality teammates and, I guess, the idea of being the Wolves’ franchise player is clear, it doesn’t stand out as clearly as his disdain for Kahn and the Wolves organization.
This is the first year of Kevin Love’s diss of a 4 year, $68 million dollar contract. The Wolves currently sit at 10-9, 7th in the West. They have gone 5-5 since he returned early from a broken hand. Ricky Rubio is due back this Saturday to continue the long journey back from his severe knee injury. Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger, two major components with balky knees, are out with no timetable for return. There is still much to assess, and more moves to make, but at the moment things look good. David Kahn’s plan is proceeding, though it took awhile for it to get started.
One wonders if trading Kevin Love while his trade value is at its highest (see: Williams, Deron; Utah Jazz) isn’t coming someday soon.