Correction!

Yesterday in the Heisley Speaks! blog I I had this little blurb at the end.

When asked about possibly hiring Dick Hackett and the overall business side of the team Heisley said this:

We have basically interviewed and looked at several people. We have some consultants in from the NBA that are working with us trying to improve various aspects of the franchise and we have not made a decision on who is going to take that position (replacing Andy Dolich) just yet.

He didn't elaborate on what the NBA was actually looking at to improve aspects of the team but I bet it isn't hiring a replacement for Andy! Obviously something is viewed as messed up in Memphis if the NBA sent consultants down to straighten out things.

I seem to have made more than just a small misinterpretation of what the NBA consultants were in town discussing.

Pete Pranica, the voice of the Grizzlies and an incredibly nice guy (he reads what we write so I obviously think he very intelligent as well!) wrote me to clarify why the NBA Consultants are actually in town and it has nothing to do with the recent criticisms around the league of the Gasol trade or anything at all in fact to do with the team per se. Pete explained that:

the presence of NBA types in Memphis isn't necessarily an indication that something is wrong and needs straightening out.

The league holds meetings for various units of the franchises: broadcast, media relations, marketing & sales. The league compiles a "best practices" program for each and shares it with member clubs. A part of this sharing is followup visits by NBA staffers. Last night, we had our second visit from one of the upper managers from NBA Entertainment. Nothing's wrong with our broadcast, it's just an effort to keep lines of communication open between Olympic Tower in NYC and Memphis.

This is why you see the same halftime entertainment in most arenas (game presentation managers share ideas) and ticketing promotions are very similar across the league (yeah, more sharing). And given that attendance is down in Memphis, it's understandable that the Grizzlies might get a little more TLC from the league office in the sales and marketing end.

Hope that helps,
Pete Pranica

It is never my intention to misrepresent things about the Grizzlies. I may not always be right on target with my thoughts but I do like to make amends when I make mistakes.

Thanks Pete for helping us get the story correct and for not blasting me publicly. We all appreciate everything you do. I apologize for my misrepresentation on why the NBA Consultants are in town. I am especially happy to hear they aren't messing with Pete and Sean's coverage of the team. They are doing a great job in my opinion.