RealGM

One of the best pieces I've read in a while. Incredibly insightful.

Geoff Calkins: Lionel Hollins talks Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and all things Grizzlies

Did Conley have hype coming into the draft, I don't even remember if he was supposed to be an all-star or a role player

Conley wasn't seen as a superstar, but was seen as a solid starter. His stock skyrocketed due to Ohio St.'s performance in the NCAA tourney. In Memphis Conley was a let down before ever arriving, due to the fact that the Grizz had the worst record and were expecting Oden, Durant or at least Horford. Mike Conley was the worst case scenario. Here's some pre draft feedback from NBADraft.net...

Strengths: An ultra-quick lefty point guard with a solid feel for running a team His ability to get by opposing guards and into the paint is on the elite level Very cerebral, shows excellent decision making ability, especially considering his age His near 3/1 assist to turnover ratio is outstanding for a freshman pg Has solid experience playing alongside a great bigman as he has been teammates with Greg Oden since before their high school days A great passer with excellent vision Understands how to feed the post well, and can hit post players with excellent dishes off the dribble drive At 6-1, he has average size for the point guard position, but has good length in his arms allowing him to play bigger Above average athletically, his father (Mike Conley Sr.) is a world class track athlete, and the apple did not fall far from the tree Defensively he plays the passing lanes well and his great foot speed allows him to be an excellent on ball defender Thrives in the open floor, using his great speed to push the basketball Has a nice assortment of midrange runners and shots in the paint going towards the rim His dribble penetration is very difficult to contain as his first step and ball handling ability are tremendous Proved to be very clutch stepping up and leading his team deep into the tournament Fearless, appeared completely unfazed by the big stage of the Final Four playing like a seasoned veteran Against Georgetown in particular he was the difference, giving the Buckeyes the offensive lift they needed to reach the Championship game Really came on offensively at the end of the season, showing more aggressiveness going to the basket and drawing fouls

Weaknesses: The biggest knock against him is his age and level of experience entering the league at the point guard position. Many feel the development at the point guard position is much more difficult at the NBA level than in college. Entering the NBA after just one season in college has proven to be particularly difficult for point guards, the track record is not great His outside shooting is still a major question mark. He has solid form and can hit shots from the perimeter, but must gain better consistency and add range Shot just 30% from college 3, but did show some improvement at the end of the year Can improve from the line at 70% ... Not a real factor on the boards, but has the athleticism and toughness necessary to improve there Will likely take a few years before hes ready to handle a full time starting NBA gig Still has a lot to learn about running a team and all the responsibilities of a point guard Besides his tremendous NCAA tourney performance, he's somewhat unproven offensively ...

Notes: Hes got the qualities to become an excellent NBA point guard, but entering after just his freshman year means he will likely take some time to reach his full potential, making him a riskier pick

I'm giving him one more chance, his development's been screwed up though with the injuries his rookie year and having to listen to Marc Imadumbass. He showed the stuff again at the end of the season, he's got to get his consistency down or get out.
And Hollins seems like the kind of coach that players will quit on if they don't win like Skiles

Conley never made much mistakes and he looked like a genius feeding the ball to Greg Oden. The 2 of them took a team that had never been relevant in one season all the way to the NCAA Finals. So along with Cook, those 2 were at the top of everyone's list along with the player of the year, Durant.

Also he was touted as possessing the intangibles and pedigree of the athlete that comes once every couple years that is "world class" (see Mike Conley Sr.). He does have very sick ambidextrous ability and bowls with both arms... Who does that? Unfortunately he didn't come in and displace Kyle Lowry right away AND Damon Stoudamire was still on the roster when he was a rookie. Still it was hard to risk picking someone like Yi Jinlian or Joakhim Noah over Conley. I really didn't know much about Jeff Green but everyone had Conley ahead of him on the list. and draft another PF with PAU on team was not happy... Noah at least fit need to play 5 (like Horford who we prayed for).

Refreshing read. Hollins seems like he really gets the big picture of this team and franchise.

Hollins is a realist as far as assessing the team. But even though he calls it like it is and says the team isn't a playoff caliber team, he seemed to be kind of satisfied with how everything went this season, which sort of speaks to me that he has his goals set low.

I mean this is a guy that has coached lower teams all his career so this season must have seemed like the biggest thing in his coaching carreer. I also question how devoted he is to Mike Conley. He really is in Conley's corner and thinks he does just fine against the other pointguards in the league.

I'm sorry but I don't share his belief in Conley.

But for sure this was as good of an interview with an NBA coach as I've ever read. Hollins does tell it exactly like he sees it and doesn't give the standard, boring answers. It is refreshing to hear even if I didn't agree with everything he says.

Good read. I love the way coach Hollins sees the game. I think Conley would be an exellent 2nd option for pg position but lets see what happens when a new season begins

Lionel Hollins has an old school approach to the game, which is good in some ways but bad in others. The only beef I have with him is his obvious obsession with Conley being the point guard and not being open-minded about making changes (ala OJ to PG - Not a huge fan of that but I'm willing to let him try it). I think if this team can't make it to that next level, Hollins will be one of the main guys to get much of the flack.