Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Be Careful What You Wish For

By MemphisX

It seems that New York Knicks President Donnie Walsh has thrown some cold water on the hot trade rumor sending Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the Serbian duo Darko Milicic and Marko Jaric. There have been some strong opinions on this deal within the Grizzlies fanbase and on the Internet in general. The general consensus has been that Zach Randolph is an unstoppable force of basketball horribleness, doomed to infect any team he goes to with some sort of plague. So many among the Grizzlies were happy to read that Walsh considered this deal "dormant". They have been wishing for this deal to hit a snag every since Ron Tillery first mentioned it a month ago. Be careful what you wish for...

I know that acquiring Randolph is not the last or only possible deal out there. That does not change the fact that camp opens in about three weeks. One of the biggest things for a young team is continuity. So making a big trade during camp or midseason that disrupts roles puts a lot of added pressure on a coaching staff that is already on the hot seat. You definitely should not bring in someone like Randolph during the season until roles are clearly established among our core players. So that means that more or less, the Grizz roster now will likely be what we will see on opening night. Be careful what you wish for...

Yes, the Grizzlies should have enough playing time available for all of our young players to develop. However, that is part of our problem. Conley and Lowry both think they should be starting and both of them can make a case for it. Mayo and J Critt at shooting guard but both of them really want to play point guard. Warrick and Arthur at power forward but neither of them like the post or rebounding. Darko, Gasol, and Hadadi at center and all three are either limited, inexperienced, or both. So other than Rudy Gay, there isn't another proven NBA talent on the entire roster. Be careful what you wish for...

So I was up for the trade. I wanted the Grizzlies to acquire a veteran capable of taking some of the scoring pressure off of Gay and Mayo. As is this team is going to be real easy to defend. Most of our scoring will be coming from the perimeter via our guards and Gay. None of the Grizzlies truly require a double team and our point guards and bigs are not experienced enough to utilize the pick and roll. So if you think defense is going to be our biggest problem, I simply can't agree. You can manufacture a decent team defense by scheme or effort but scoring in the NBA takes talent and mismatch advantages. The Grizzlies have very little of either. Be careful what you wish for...

Yes, acquiring Randolph was a risk. However, with a team devoid of low post scoring and really with only one other proven scorer on the entire roster, I think it was a risk worth taking. Randolph has his negatives. He is not a great or willing passer, he is a below average defender, he loves the strip club scene, and he has an entourage that is somewhat menacing. However, his two assets (interior scoring and rebounding) are the two things the Grizzlies need most. So it would seem that he would have to help the Grizzlies right?









...be careful what you wish for...

4 comments:

samiam said...

You seem to make a sound argument but ignore Randolph's hefty $48M contract. If he was cheaper, your argument may have held water, but, as it stands, this contract will do a lot of damage to the three year rebuilding program. Caulkins was right about Randolph.

Earl Hardaway said...

Randolph is owed $48 million, Darko and Marko are owed $35 million. Minimal differences until 2010. Randolph's contract would not hinder our flexibility unless Heisley allowed it to do so.

Little Rock said...

82 games without substantial rebounding and inside scoring muscle and a very young team might be brutal. With that in mind, adding Randolph might be appealing, particularly if we only have to give up Darko and Marko. However, I agree with Herrington; I can't endorse the trade under any circumstances. Randoph is just too much of a knucklehead. I would rather endure 82 games without him than be stuck with him and his big contract for 2 - 3 years, if he acts out. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Jay Smith said...

Very thoughtful, had a great time reading your post