Quick Hit Links

Matt Moore (Hardwood Paroxysm, NBA Fanhouse, Ridiculous Upside) interviews Mike Conley about entering into his sophomore campaign with raised expectations. He follows that up with an interview with Javaris Crittenton. Quality reading.

The Grizzlies did not pick up the option on Hakim Warrick's contract, effectively making this a contract year for the former Syracuse forward.

Hoopsworld projects O.J. Mayo as the top rookie this year. Who am I to disagree with that?

Wizards Insider (Washington Post) profiles the Grizzlies before tonight's preseason game.

Jersey Love

The new NBA uniforms have been unveiled for the 2008-09 season.

My reviews:



and...



The Oklahoma City Thunder: Sheesh. I'm going to try to be as unbiased as I can being from Texas and being classically conditioned to hate all things Okie...but wow. Seattle fans can at least smirk over this. The Seattle Sonics uniforms were classic looking, and a great color scheme. These things couldn't be more flamboyant if Richard Simmons and Clay Aiken were jumping on a trampoline together while listening to Donna Summer. They look like Golden State and the New York Knicks decided to come together, except the Thunder will play worse than either. The colors are so horrible, I cannot even bear to see the future alternate. Avert your eyes, these aren't even worth grading.

Next up...



and...



The New Orleans Hornets: Well I'm sure the die-hard Hornet fans (if there are any left) in Charlotte can appreciate this. When I first saw the uniforms, I expected to see Bobby Phills modeling one; of course, in my amazement at the resemblance between the two unis, I forgot that Bobby Phills was dead. You know what else is dead? The brain cells of the person/people who came up with this. The only thing different is the French-styled block lettering on the jerseys. A big F for unoriginality on this one.

Who's next?



and...



The Minnesota Timberwolves: Meh. I debated even covering this, because outside of the Twin Cities, who cares? The lettering looks cartoony, but their colors are a better fit than the Thunder. I'd give them a C.

Alright...



and...



Orlando Magic's 20th Anniversary Uniforms: They call it the "evolution" of their first uniforms, except less hideous with no starry basketball on the front of the jersey. I concur. It isn't my favorite of the crop, but at least they masked the retread of the past with a clever "Anniversary" title. Speaking of retreading the past, their retread looks alot like the retread of New Orleans/Former Charlotte's jersey design. So two present-days have to copy from the same team's past. Interesting. I give it a C. It would be lower, but I respect the BS card they pulled with calling it an "Anniversary" jersey.

Let's move to the Alternates...



Toronto Raptors Alternate: Now this one I like. I just like red and black together, and the majority black with the red/grey piping looks sweet. The maple leaf is a nice touch. I'd give it an A-.

Looks good. Don't dissapoint me...



Aww...You did.

Milwaukee Bucks Alternate: WTF. I love the old school style jerseys more than the newer style ones (I hate my beloved Mavs "alternate" designed by P Diddy, that man needs to stick with crappy music, selling hamburgers with trans-fat and creating crappy reality television shows) but this one just sucks. If they trade for Eddy Curry, misshapen as he is, the Bucks will look like they have a Heinz ketchup bottle manning the post. Which would be great advertising if the Bucks were ever to move to Pittsburgh.

I believe that is all of them.

Now what does this have to do with the Grizz, you ask??

It seems that every two years, teams change their uniforms. (Orlando comes to mind.) I guess we're due for a new uniform face-lift any day now. Several people I have spoken to love our away uniforms, but say our home uniforms are a bit plain. Be that as it may, I am fine with our regular uniforms. My question is this:

If every other team can change uniforms and have new alternates every year, where is ours?

Seriously. Where is ours? I think we deserve it. We have/had Spanish night when Pau and Navarro were here, as I am sure we will continue to have it for Marc. Why not throwback night(s)? Hell, I don't even think we should neccesarily create a new uniform for us. Our throwback should be something ABA-styled, or classic NBA styled. Enough with these new jerseys...more of them turn out horrible instead of classic looking. I for one wouldn't be caught dead in any of the re-do's this season. Let's bring back a piece of history.

Presenting your Memphis Grizzlies Throwback/Alternate Jersey:



Hak, this is for you.



I know we have "Pro's night" or "Throwback Night" or wait...that horrible "70's night" where we get to wear the cool jerseys but its masked behind horrible music and cheesy costumes. That's fun and all, but I say we use these as our throwback/alternates. They are cooler than the Golden State's "The City" jerseys, another alternate used that doesnt have their current team name plastered on the front. We should be able to use them, and we sure should.

I mean, this:



looks better to me then having the alternate come out urine yellow with blue and white trim, making Stevie Wonder need stronger sunglasses.

I think we should be able to have an alternate if every other team can have one and change their uniforms seemingly every season. However, let's not create a new one and risk it being Thunder-esque horrible. Let's go with what works.

Love the team or not, they ARE the only Pros in Memphis.

Previewing the Power Forwards

By Joshua Coleman

With the Point Guards, there appears to be a defined rotation. For the Small Forwards, there is The Man and everyone else. Even for the Shooting Guards, we have a good idea of who is going to play and how much. But for the Power Forwards...the phrase "total crapshoot" comes to mind.

Hakim Warrick is the presumed starter, Darrell Arthur is the rookie, Antoine Walker is the mercurial veteran in a contract year and Darko Milicic is the enigma. Marc Iavaroni included Rudy Gay in that group when we interviewed him, but after this comment that Chris Herrington posted, I'm not very confident that we'll see #22 manning the 4 anytime soon:

“We’ve got a lot of [power] forwards on this team, and I’ve told them: If I have to play your position, something is wrong.”

Really, the PF position is one of the glass being both half full and half empty. Guys are either good on offense (Warrick and Walker) or on defense (Darko) or talented, but completely unproven and inexperienced (Arthur). No one appears to be a complete package in the mold of presumed starters Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay. That means that any of those four players could garner significant playing time this season. That is both intriguing and maddening at the same time.

The Players:

Hakim Warrick - The Syracuse product is well known by Grizzlies fans as he enters the 4th year of his career. He has proven to be a skilled scorer with his solid mid-range game and impressive dunking ability. He's an average rebounder for his size, nabbing 7 boards a game as a starter last year and has extended his range out to 18 feet on his jumper. The areas of his game that prevent Hak from being a surefire starter in the NBA are his complete lack of passing skills and his poor defense. I know that I get accused of picking on him from time to time, but Javaris Crittenton played 61% fewer minutes than Hak last year (678 total minutes to 1754 minutes) and Critt only fell two assists shy of matching Warrick's total for the year, which was 53. I understand that PF's aren't expected to pass the ball as much as guards, but most starters at least average a dime per game. Even Darko Milicic averaged a higher number than that while playing with an injured thumb the majority of the season. For Hakim to remain a starter under the new defensive-minded coaching staff, he's going to have to start doing more than just scoring and rebounding.

Darrell Arthur - In assessing Arthur's game, he actually reminds me quite a bit of the aforementioned Hakim Warrick. An athletic forward who excels from mid-range and might not be quite big enough to bang with the more physical post players in the league. The one thing that separates him from Warrick so far is his shot-blocking, as he has averaged better than one per game through two years at Kansas. Enough has already been written and said about his blunder at the Rookie Transition program, so I won't waste any more in this space. I don't see DA making a big impact this year, but he might show enough to make a case as the future starting PF, which could make Hak trade bait by January/February.

Antoine Walker - What is there left to say about 'Toine at this point? He's a good rebounder and he loves to shoot -- especially from the perimeter. Next!

Ok, just kidding. There are two things that make me think that Walker could actually be an asset this year: money and more money. That's right, the Master of the Shimmy will make $9 million this year and knows that there won't be any teams that will pick up his option for next season, so he's basically in a contract year. That means that he will give more than the 60% effort (since I'm being generous) he gave the T'Pups last year. If that's the case, then he could turn out to be a valuable trade piece at the deadline. His range and his rebounding ability will also be assets if he still has anything left in the tank. The question is still what does he have left in the tank.

Darko Milicic - Finally, a power forward with some power in his game. If there is one thing I know about Darko from last year, it is this: He is better than he exhibited after he injured his thumb. I know that he will never be the player that Joe Dumars (and Chad Ford, God bless him) envisioned when he was selected #2 overall, but I definitely think that he can be a solid rotational player for a playoff contender. Last year he displayed the ability to be an effective defender, especially against low post titans like Tim Duncan and Yao Ming. In fact, I haven't seen anyone frustrate Duncan so much since Rasheed Wallace got inside his head during the first part of the 2005 Finals. Fans of the Mad Serbian have told me repeatedly that Darko is best utilized as a PF. It appears that we will now see how true that is. The Dark One will need to find something other than the lefty hook shot in his arsenal if he plans on surviving the season without being mercilessly booed. Shaving off the sparse mustache he sported for much of last year wouldn't hurt either.

CONCLUSION: I don't know if Warrick or Walker will be the starter at the beginning of the season, or if Darko will be the closer. Darrell Arthur showed lottery level talent in college, but still fell all the way to #28 in the draft for unexplained reasons. This motley crew undoubtedly makes up the weakest position for the Grizzlies this year, but if all of them will commit to defense and rebounding, then two of them might survive until training camp next year. In any case, I don't believe that any of them will enter this season with preconceived notions about how much playing time they will be given, nor should they. This position is in need of serious help as the Grizzlies move forward.

Bargain Shopping, Part 1: The Denver Nuggets

By Lee Eric Smith

I have a buddy who is a wine expert. I was joking with him once about getting a great $50 bottle of wine. He simply replied: "Anybody can buy a great bottle of wine for $50. The question is, can you find a great bottle of wine for $10?"

These days, the cream of the crop of NBA GMs tend to share that great quality of being able to build a good team by finding great bargains -- R.C. Buford in San Antonio, Joe Dumars in Detroit, even Jerry West was prescient enough to swap proven big man Vlade Divac for some high school kid named Kobe Bryant, bucking the wisdom of not trading big for small. Maybe Chris Wallace can catch some of that magic himself.

So after reading Henry Abbott's True Hoop posting about "teams in turmoil," it got me thinking: some teams might be ripe for trades -- not all due to basketball reasons either. Hence, this, the first in a periodic series I'll write this month called, "Bargain Shopping." Our first stop at the Clearance Mall: The Denver Nuggets.

Why Denver:
You think it sucks for the Grizz not to get out of the first round? At least our excuse was that we only had Pau, Mike Miller and Shane. Imagine having a team with Iverson, Melo and Camby, and not being able to do it. They're WAAAAY over the cap, which means they'll have to pay $6.3 million in luxury tax. Key players (AI, Melo, Nene) are all pissed about the Camby trade. Then there's Furious George's tendency to grate his players. Oh, and it's not like the West is getting weaker, either. Sounds like a recipe for cleaning house.

Proposed Deal:
Allen Iverson ($21M) for Antoine Walker ($9M) + Kyle Lowry($1.1M) + Hakim Warrick ($2.1M).



















Crunching Numbers:
This is mostly about money. For those who are wondering how those contracts add up, put away your calculators: they don't. Except for the fact that Denver is $10 million over the cap, and we're $10 million under it. Means we could take on AI's salary without going over.

Why Memphis Does It:
It's Allen Freakin' Iverson! On other message boards, I've proposed getting AI a couple of times, and I stick to it for the same reasons: Galvanizes the fan base, makes us relevant, he plays with heart and fire, and then there's the fact that he scores in bunches, even at 32. He's in a contract year, so it's not like we'd be on the hook past this year anyway. Would allow us to bring O.J. along slowly, gets us veteran leadership, etc. There's no downside here.

Why Denver Does It:
I can think of at least $6.3 million reasons. Taking Iverson's contract off the books would put them under the cap, saving them that amount of money. And while the Nuggets would no doubt ask for somebody like Mayo or Gay, Hak and Kyle are two young pieces to work with (along with the first shot at resigning them), at two positions where they need young pieces. Plus, with Antoine's expiring contract, they get the same cap relief they would with Iverson next summer, only without having to pay $6 million in between. Hak and Melo have played together before at Syracuse, and are good friends. Kyle brings defensive toughness, which they need also. The Nuggests need to rebuild sooner or later, and this would not be a bad start, coming out with at least $10 million for next year's free agent crop.

I could run a couple different scenarios that would involve getting Carmelo and/or Nene, but I just don't see Denver giving up Melo, or us giving up what it would take to get him -- not with Rudy progressing so nicely, and OJ and Conley showing such promise.

I know some would be concerned with AI's age, attitude, durability, etc. But to me the pros FAR outweigh the cons. And he would be loved in Memphis just as much as he was in Philly, if not more, giving us instant "street cred."

More to come in the series . . . in the meantime, what do you think? AI in Beale St. Blue? Post below . . .

About that Zach for Darko/Marko Deal . . .

by Lee Eric Smith

Lots of linkety-links, mostly from NY Media . . .

Newsday: Darko would welcome a trade.
TheKnicksBlog: Grizz want a first rounder.
RealGM Message Boards (via translation): Darko's "99 percent sure" he'll be a Knick by Friday.
Newsday Blog: Zach expects to be with Grizzlies this fall.

I know we're just Memphis, smallest NBA market, dealing with NY, the NBA's Biggest, but all I keep hearing about is why NY wants to unload Zach. . . . kind of an addition by subtraction thing.

What I haven't heard is: Why are we doing this trade?

I get it, Zach is a veteran 20-10 guy, a complete bull in the post, and we need somebody we can throw the ball to when the game slows down. And maybe that's all that needs to be said. But somehow, that doesn't seem like enough.

Upgrade? Look at it this way: NBA analysts all over the net are considering Darko a mild UPGRADE in New York, or at least a better fit. Now think about how the consensus on Darko is that he's a bust, and maybe you understand my concern. Why would Donnie Walsh trade a proven 20-10 guy for a promising, but still unproven Darko? Who's really getting fleeced here?

If Zach Don't Fit in NY: Given that Iavaroni wants to run just as much as D'Antoni in NY, and Z-Bo "doesn't fit" in D'Antoni's system, it begs the question of how Z would fit in Memphis.

Defense. Zach's not known for it; Kevin O'Neill will DEMAND IT. If we're trying to IMPROVE defense, why trade our best shot blocker? And do you think there would be chaos in the locker room if O'Neill jumped down Z-Bo's throat for missing an assignment? What would that do to chemistry? Would Zach run over Iavaroni?

What do we already have? Granted Hak is skinny and 'Toine is older, but Hak put up respectable numbers at the 4 in about 23 minutes, as did 'Toine in 19. I'm not saying that either of them is as good as Zach, but together, their production could conceivably add up to Z-Bo's -- without giving up an improving big man in Darko. Besides, if neither Zach nor Hak (hey, a rhyme) are going to play defense at the 4, I'd rather go with the young gun, who probably fits better with our running, swarming style (I hope . . . for both the style and Hak's fit).

The Knucklehead Factor. It's been said that both Zach and 'Toine can be knuckleheads. If that's true, in my mind, the tie goes to the one with the ring: Antoine Walker. He won a championship with Miami in 2006, and has more playoff wins than Zach. Plus, he's adapting to his now-and-future role as an aging player: backup to the younger players -- Hak and Darrell.

Paper. Ah yes, the money. Z-Bo's contract is the same as Pau's was, even expires at the same time (I think). Granted Z is tougher and meaner than Pau, no question, but I'm not sure how he fits the 3YP.

Proposed deal makes SOME basketball sense, little financial sense (unless they hold out for the draft pick), and almost NO "chemistry" sense. . . . to me, anyway. So . . .

Why are we doing this again?

If you got answers, please explain below . . .

Grizzly 52 Pick-Up

1. Darko, pick up an anger management book. Learn to harness your temper, unlike the Serbia-Greece postgame incident, and put it towards your play on the court.
2. Coach, pick up your pride after last season. Don't listen to those who blasted you, you're a rookie head coach. I've got the faith. There is no I in team, but I want I on the sidelines.
3. Conley, pick up the weights. I heard you have, but pick them up again. And again. Repeat.
4. Hakim, pick up the weights. Ditto the rest of numero tres for you.
5. Lowry, pick up the fact that when you drive through the lane, you need to be a bit more controlled. I love your bulldog-like tenacity, but a little more controlled chaos would be beneficial to the team's overall game.
6. Rudy, pick up a scouting report on yourself. You are a STUD, my man. Teams adjust their gameplans to YOU. Put this team on your shoulders and become the star I believe you can be, the star some have already annointed you, and the star some think you can never be.
7. 'Toine, pick up a health and fitness book, report to camp in shape, and hopefully you can get some playing time. I mean, you do have a ring that isn't breaded with an onion inside of it, so I believe you've still got game. Let's see it, because I don't want us to have to spend our "capspace" bolstering our bench...so you can sit on it without breaking it.
8. OJ, pick up some more bowties for press conferences and post-game reports. GQ.
9. Marc, pick up a mirror. Then you will realize you look like the spawn of Mike Miller and your brother. Of course, if you have a hybrid game of Mike Miller and your brother, then you are going to be worth every bit of your money and then another of your salary on top of that.
10. Marko, pick up a nice dress for Adriana to wear for opening night. That can be your contribution to the team and the fans.
11. Greg, pick up a clipboard. You're going to be a player-coach this season anyway. maybe occasionally spelling Rudy at the 3.
12. Darrell, pick up a head full of steam and barrel through the post using your speed at the 4. I'd like to see you start at the 4, but you will likely have to back up Hakim, so make your minutes count. Use your advantages.
13. Hakim, pick up your dribble after having the ball for a few seconds, then pass. I hate watching you dribble almost as much as I hated watching OJ Mayo play PG in Summer League.
14. Marc, pick up rebounds. That IS why we signed you, or it should have been. We never can seem to rebound worth spit.
15. Kevin O'Neill, pick up Darko's anger management book after he is finished reading it. Turn that book into your Bible.
16. Michael Heisley, pick up the tab on some players, please. Capspace, Shmapspace. You want a winner, let's build one.
17. OJ, pick up games with high profile players = good thing. It gets your name out there, gets the word around that you are the real deal, makes you better, which in turn makes us look good as well.
18. People in the Advertising Dept, pick up on the fact that some of this just isn't cutting it. The "Hello Mayo" poster? Absolutely gorgeous. Where are our billboards, our bus signs, our commercials...something with pizzazz, flash, flair..."just like what the Grizz are going to bring this season."
19. Casey, pick up my car from valet out front. It's the Crossfire, black. Here's three dollars. The first three you made all night.
20. Critt, pick up the ball when youre open from the 3 point line, and jack it like a TV from a New Orleans store display. You, along with Toine, Rudy, Mayo and maybe Jaric are our only credible three-point shooters. Man, losing Mike in that aspect hurts.
21. Coach, pick up your clipboard and draw up some plays this season. Please, no more high-post handoff predictability.
22. Conley, pick up the speed more, if possible. Not because you're doing anything wrong, but because I'd just like to see how fast you really are. Top 5 in the L, in my personal opinion.
23. Kevin O'Neill, pick up some throat lozenges for after the game. I have a feeling you will need them.
24. Rudy, pick up the other team's players (and possibly our own) jaws after you blow past them for a rim-rattling, earth-shattering, mind-altering dunk.
25. Hakim, pick up a pair of clippers and shave that soul patch if you aren't going to go full beard on us. It's all-in or fold, buddy.
26. Darko, pick up your head if you don't make the first shot. It's not the end of the world, get your head back in the game. I'm tired of seeing your first shot not fall and then watch you get your confidence down the rest of the game and it affect your play. Go hard every minute.
27. Darrell, pick up a new hairstyle or something, anything but a headband. If Hak takes my advice and shaves the soul patch, I will have no chance of distinguishing you two lanky post players with headbands and no facial hair from all the way up in my section. Wait...you're the one who can play defense, right?
28. Hak, pick up a defensive scheme once in a while. Wait...no dont...then it would go back to you two being undistinguishable again...noooo....
29. Conley, pick up a Ja Rule cd cover. It's going to be like looking into a mirror for you, seriously.
30. Anyone, pick up a Downtowner magazine or an RSVP Memphis mag so we can stuff it down Phil Jackson's throat the next time he wants to say our downtown looks like Dresden.
31. Marc, pick up a laptop or anything with internet access and read the things that Memphis fans have said about your brother. Learn from it. Play the exact opposite.
32. Lowry, pick up some Air Jordans or some Nikes with heels. 6'0 my left foot. I'm 6 foot tall, and I was taller than you. Can you imagine Lowry with height on him? Man. Those "Trade Conley" advocates might get a vote from this "independent" on that front.
33. Rudy, pick up your teammates when they get down, and get on em when they mess up. That's what a leader of a team does.
34. Michael Heisley, pick up this team and move it, and you will have an entire city chasing you up to Chicago. You don't want that. Crime is already bad enough in Chicago this year without adding angry Memphians in the mix.
35. To Whom It May Concern, pick up the initiative I propose for opening night. The National Anthem shouldnt be done in person, we should all stand while the video of Isaac Hayes singing the Anthem at a Grizzlies game plays over the jumbotron, followed by a moment of silence for a Memphis Soul Icon. It'd be a classy move.
36. Coach, pick up your players and shake them from time to time. Don't make O'Neill do it every time. You can still be the nice guy...you can be the nice father with a stern hand.
37. Critt, pick up your speed. If we do trade Conley, or Lowry, you become the backup PG. If we are going to in fact be a running system, we're going to need speed. If we lose Conley the Ferarri, or Lowry the bulldog, we need speed and toughness at the point. You can be J-Critt the Challenger R/T. Speed and muscle. Speaking of that...
38. Critt, pick up the weights after Conley and Hak are done with them.
39. Darrell, I'll say it again, pick up a distinguishable characteristic. You are similar to the generic "Create-a-Player" on NBA Live 09. Grow some braids, dye your hair like the Rodman Rainbow, change your name to "Cero Cero" a la Chad Johnson...something.
40. Lowry, pick up the foul that ISNT an offensive one when you run into the post.
41. OJ, pick up a local newspaper. There is a buzz for you being here in the M. Take that, seize it, and you and Rudy become a two-headed monster. Maybe one day, the two of you will be ranked on a Dynamic Duo list.
42. Marc, pick up and absorb everything you learned from FIBA, the Olympics, and even at Lausanne. Apply it on the court here, and you will begin to step out of your brother's shadow. Not here, of course. You can drive through Memphis and see tomatoes and arrows thrown at the ground because a shadow that looked like Pau was there at one time.
43. Marko, pick up a GQ magazine, flip past that "Mayo Brings Back the Bowtie" article and find you some fashion tips. That way you can look fly on the bench. I kid, I kid. Not every game.
44. 'Toine, pick up the guts to say No to the Paula Deen Buffet. I know its right past the state line, but resist...RESIST!
45. Michael Heisley, pick up the WSJ and see if we have a trade embargo with Iran. Maybe if we dont, we can explore trade options for Hadadi and expiring contracts for, you know, capspace.
46. Hak, pick up some fattening food. I should have listed that first, but eat Eat EAT before you pick up the weights. Otherwise you will turn into a human strand of sinew, muscle and bone from working out. Sorry for not clarifying. Eat, then work out.
47. Darko, pick up the English language better. That way, if you do go into another tirade, I will be able to understand it without subtitles, and it will give me great entertainment.
48. Scouting team, pick up a report on Blake Griffin. If we have a terrible season, and we still have no answer at the 4 spot, tell the appropriate people to do everything they can to ensure that we get him.
49. Sportswriters and Analysts, pick up on the fact that the Grizzlies ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. You can stop with your X-Files conspiracy theories. It isn't going to happen. Las Vegas doesn't have grizzlies, and they aren't going to have ours either.
50. OJ, pick up Rudy before one of your pickup games. Do a little two on two. It will establish chemistry with our duo, and get both of you some great experience in the process. The only thing better than it helping you, is if it helps both of you.
51. Fans, pick up your tickets for the entire season or just a game, whatever you can do. Support the NBA in Memphis.
52. And lastly, Anyone, pick up the habit of being a Grizzly fan.

Trade Talk

Since the Josh Smith offer sheet was matched by the Atlanta Hawks, it seems that most of the talk surrounding the Grizzlies making another acquisition this offseason has centered on potential trades. Plenty of names have been bandied about on the Grizzlies Fan Boards and on websites/news papers around the country. Let's take a look at who has already been mentioned and find a few more that might prove to be interesting.

Zach Randolph for Darko Milicic/??? - Ron Tillery mentioned him in a brief, one-line comment after the Hawks matched the offer sheet. It caused quite a stir among Grizzlies and Knicks fans when they saw it, but now that comment has been removed from the online piece where it originally appeared (which is why I don't see the point in linking to it).

My thoughts on Z-Bo are quite simple. He's a talented PF and he's a knucklehead. Yes, he puts up good stats, but he doesn't play well in a team concept, plays no defense and is a certifiable black hole on offense. He's a cancer -- and I don't throw that term around loosely. On top of all that, he has the exact same contract that Pau Gasol has, which the organization and its fanbase were so eager to get rid of. He's a glorified role player with a max-level contract, which means that the Grizzlies shouldn't consider him for any reason.

Matt Harpring/Jarron Collins for Darko Milicic - This one popped up in the Salt Lake Tribune column that we linked to earlier in the week, as Steve Luhm answered a reader's question about Darko's ability to fit in with the Jazz. This isn't even a real rumor, as Luhm even labels it a "hypothetical trade" in the column, but it is interesting. On the one hand, Harpring does give the Grizzlies that veteran backup SF that they desperately need behind Rudy Gay. On the other, Jarron Collins is known as "Collins the Lesser" among my circle of NBA friends. That's right, he's not even as good as his brother, Jason, who we fans had the pleasure of seeing last year. Not to mention that this would thrust Marc Gasol directly into the starting lineup when we don't have a clue as to how well he's going to adjust to the NBA. I don't have a problem with taking a calculated risk (Rudy for Shane, Mayo for Love, Miller for Gooden), but this seems to be a needless chance to take just to acquire a SF who will probably only be needed for 10-13 mpg this year. I think that Darko has more value than this trade.

Keith Bogans/Draft Pick for Javaris Crittenton - I've had a lot of back and forth with an Orlando Magic fan about this trade rumor. I think that it could be a win-win for both teams, but it all hinges on the draft pick. I don't think that a 2nd rounder is enough for Memphis to do the deal, but a protected 1st rounder probably would. I like Keith Bogans game a lot. He's a solid defender who can play the SG and SF positions off the bench. He's only 28, which means that he could still fit into the Three Year Plan if they re-sign him beyond the current deal. I'd much rather send them Kyle Lowry (PG only) in this deal than JCritt (combo guard capable), but getting another 1st rounder and thinning out the "young guard" group would probably prove to be worthwhile.

Al Harrington/Marco Belinelli for Antoine Walker/Hakim Warrick/Kyle Lowry - A Warriors fan who was high on Hak/Lowry sent this one to me the other day. Ummm....where do I sign? I'm not a huge fan of Harrington's SF game at the PF spot, but he has the same price tag as Walker for this year and twice the production. Belinelli (Summer League All-Star!) would be solid as a backup SG and might actually get some playing time in Memphis -- something he hasn't gotten much of in Oakland. They are both in the last year of their current contracts, so if they don't work out, then you don't have to keep them. Honestly, this deal feels like something you should have to wear a ski mask to pull off.

Reggie Evans/Willie Green for Hakim Warrick/Javaris Crittenton/Greg Buckner - The Grizzlies get a proven frontcourt presence in Evans, while the Sixers get some instant offense off the bench behind Elton Brand in Hak. Willie Green is a solid guard off the bench who started for Philly much of last year. Critt and Buckner would be quality depth for a team that has dreams of winning the Eastern Conference next year. Evans (28) and Green (27) are both young enough to qualify for the Three Year Plan, too.

Those are the ones that I'm aware of at the moment, although I'm hearing rumblings of Andrei Kirilenko being available, too. AK-47 is a tremendous talent and was always better as a PF than the SF role he has assumed since the arrival of Boozer/Okur. But, he also has the same max contract that Gasol and Randolph have, which means that it would be counter-productive to trade for him at this juncture. That's really too bad, since the combination of him with Darko/Marc in the frontcourt backing up Conley/Mayo/Lowry in the backcourt would display a fearsome level of defense. C'est la vie.

Be sure to either email us any rumors that you've heard of recently or just leave them in the comments.

Moving Forward with the Forwards

(Photo by Getty Images)

Matt over at Hardwood Paroxysm emailed me last week to ask me a simple question that has been bandied about on the message boards for quite some time. That question was this: Why not take a stab at Josh Smith? He didn't use my response in his post about the matter, which is great for me, because now I can use it here.

The Grizzlies should probably at least make a cursory call in to his agent for two reasons:

1) To drive up the price that the Hawks eventually sign him for. Nothing better than making other teams overpay for their own free agents.
2) To make the Grizzlies fanbase believe that they might have intended to spend some of their cap space this offseason, even though they have said repeatedly that they were targeting the 2009 offseason to spend it.

Now, as far as them making a legitimate play for him -- this is problematic. Since he's a restricted free agent, the Grizzlies would have had to offer him more than what the Hawks were willing to match in order to actually acquire him. Because they signed Marc Gasol already, the Grizzlies only have about $10 million in cap space for the first year of that contract, which Atlanta would almost surely match.

I don't believe that Josh Smith (or any of this year's young free agents) are max-level players, but that's the kind of contract offer it would probably take to pry any of them away from their current teams. While I'm not convinced that the trio of Antoine Walker, Hakim Warrick and Darrell Arthur will be enough to cover the Grizzlies at the PF position this year, I don't see any reason why they should overpay for Smith either, given that this team is still 2 years away from making any real noise no matter who they choose to go out and sign this offseason.

Besides, there is another possibility that most people haven't discussed. What if Smith (and Igoudala, Okafor, Deng, et al.) decide to just sign the qualifying offer and test the market next summer as unrestricted free agents? Then the market truly sets their real value, rather than having to haggle with an agent, only to see their current team match that offer, leaving you with nothing to show after putting your cap space on hold for a week. This is why the Grizzlies didn't sign Andres Nocioni or Anderson Varejao to offer sheets last year, despite serious interest in them, and instead went after Darko Milicic for a reasonable sum.

Restricted free agency is almost always a fool's gambit. You either overpay, get suckered into a bad deal via trade (Kenyon Martin to the Nuggets, Joe Johnson to the Hawks) or simply waste your time (Corey Maggette retained by Clippers after signing offer sheet with Jazz). The NBA has designed it to favor the "home team" and they certainly succeeded in that regard.

On top of that, even though the Grizzlies would be more exciting and talented if they were able to sign Smith, would they be able to compete with the Lakers, Hornets and Trail Blazers over the next few years with that core group?

Now, as I stated in the email entry above, I'm not sure that I buy into the idea of entering the season with a trio of Warrick, Walker and Arthur, but I know that I don't want Josh Smith as our starting PF for the next 4-5 seasons. I'm a big fan of Smith's style of play...as a SF. That's his natural position, after all. Last time I checked, we already had a decent small forward by the name of Rudy Gay. He needs a backup, but I don't think that's what the fans have in mind when they suggest signing Smith.

I know that a lot of Grizzlies fans (all 11 of us) get a little upset when they consider the ramifications of letting everyone know that we have no intention of making a major free agent signing this offseason, despite the fact that we are the only team with any significant cap space. It sends out a message that seems to plainly say, "we're not going to try to compete this season". I mean, that's what all the media pundits are reporting across the board anyways. I've seen that phrase, or some version of it, on no less than 5 different major media websites in the past week. But just because the Grizzlies aren't throwing cash around simply because they have it, doesn't mean that they aren't being competitive. I'm not saying that I'm on board with what the Three Year Plan represents initially, but given that this is the stated direction of the front office, we might as well accept that and look at moves that fit in with that direction.

Here is my suggestion -- and one that I believe we will be able to see in action over the next two seasons. Why don't we see what we have first? As I noted yesterday, we have two young players at 4 of the 5 positions, with SF being the only one that is without competition for the next season. Conley vs. Lowry, Mayo vs. Crittenton, Warrick vs. Arthur and Gasol vs. Milicic. What if Darrell Arthur -- a consensus Top 15 pick on nearly every reputable mock draft in existence -- turns out to be worthy of that designation, rather than displaying the talent level of where he was actually selected near the end of the 1st round? In other words, what if Arthur proves to be talented enough to be the starting PF as early as next season? Wouldn't that negate the need to go out and sign a player like Josh Smith this offseason? That should be a very realistic possibility, given that he was ranked #14 overall on the Grizzlies draft board and the #4 PF by DraftExpress.


Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

In this piece on SI.com, Chris Mannix makes it clear that the Grizzlies front office has very high hopes for Arthur and loves the fact that he has come in with a tremendous chip on his shoulder due to the way that his draft stock plummeted needlessly, taking him from the back end of the lottery to the very end of the 1st round. After all, If D.A. can come in and use that motivation as a positive force (like Paul Pierce did regarding his draft position), then the rest of the league probably won't be laughing at the Memphis Grizzlies much longer. Check back tomorrow for what that future might look like.

Do the Grizzlies Have 'Big' Problems

It wasn't so long ago that the over-loaded front line drew as much criticism from fans as the current over-loaded point guard position does now. Remember when Memphis had Pau Gasol, Stromile Swift, Bo Outlaw, Lorenzen Wright, Shane Battier, James Posey and Theron Smith all on the roster? Bonzi and Miller were really forwards who were forced into guard roles by the shear number of front line players.

Now Memphis has a dirth of frontline players and those they have are not experienced. Rudy Gay is entering his 3rd season and started a grand total of 124 games in his career. Hakim is beginning his 4th season and started a grand total of 75 games. Darko is the most experienced returning player and in his 5 years in the league he has started a grand total of 83 games in his career. Sure Antoine Walker has experience but he'll be 32 this coming season and hasn't player well since winning his ring in Miami three seasons ago. Does anyone feel confident relying on the 'shimmy shaker' to help educate our young players in how to be professionals?

Then we come to the primary backups at PF and C. Two rookies. One, Darrell Arthur, fell in the draft to 27th because of questionable health and heart. No there is nothing physically wrong with Darrell's heart. It just seems he doesn't bring it to the game every night. The other, Marc Gasol, was a fat kid who liked to take 3 pt shots when he left Memphis to return to Spain. This past season he was in the top 5 of the Spanish league in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. Only one other player in the Spanish leagues accomplished this feat...Pops Mensah Bonsu.

WHO? Pops was on the GW team that shocked the world in the NCAA tournament a few years ago. Nice effort guy and he has a high basketball IQ but hardly someone I would say is going to be an impact player in the NBA. Doesn't that seem to trivialize Gasol's accomplishment a bit?

So the Grizzlies have a combined 283 games started total among all of their front line players not named Walker. That is a little bit more than three seasons of games (246). Antoine does have 707 career starts but only 16 in the last 2 years.

So do the Grizzlie have a big man problem? Perhaps they do. If Arthur and Gasol don't perform, if Darko doesn't improve, if Walker comes in out of shape and with a negative attitude, if Rudy doesn't continue rounding out a complete game to go with his fantastic offensive one and Warrick continues being a black hole on both sides of the court (can't defend anyone and won't pass the ball) then Memphis could be in big trouble.

2008 Memphis Grizzlies Offseason

2008 NBA Offseason starts off with a bang!

The 2008 NBA free agency period has gotten this offseason off to a bang. It seems that Elton Brand and Baron Davis hatched a plot to make the Los Angeles Clippers more significant, while the two of them can work on their blossoming second careers as movie producers. The Clippers have vaulted themselves into the 10 team battle for the Western Conference playoffs. At this time: Golden State, Sacramento, Seattle, Minnesota and your Memphis Grizzlies seem to be on the outside with the Kings and Warriors probably making moves this summer to join the fight. Davis' defection from NoCal to SoCal leaves the Warriors with enough caproom to offer even a veteran a MAX contract. Accordingly, the rumor mill has Warrior GM Chris Mullin offering Gilbert Arenas $100 million dollars to return to the Bay area. At the time of this writing, Arenas was thought to be leaning toward turning down that ridiculous offer to accept a more retarded offer from the Washington Wizards of 6 years and $127 million dollars. I guess there is no recession in the NBA.

What does all this mean for the Memphis Grizzlies?

The Grizzlies are still one of the few teams remaining with enough caproom to make an NBA player drool. However, the landscape of the Western Conference makes it likely that unless they signed a true 1st team All NBA talent (none are available), they still could not get into the Western Conference playoff picture. That is the reality of our situation. So I expect Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace to keep his plan in motion: increase flexibility and collect assets for future use.

Now this does not mean the Grizzlies will be inactive this offseason. I think this is likely to be the most active offseason in Grizzlies history. I just do not expect them to rush out and make a splash with a headline grabbing free agent offer. The Grizzlies are in need of a veteran inside presence. They also need to thin the ranks of their guard rotation and maybe add a veteran backup for Rudy Gay.

A Deal to obtain a vet and thin the guards

The Grizzlies currently have an interior rotation of Hakim Warrick, Darko Milicic, Darrell Arthur, Antoine Walker and hopefully Marc Gasol. Unfortunately their is no real experience or proven toughness in this group. At this point Darko is virtually untradeable, so the most likely player moved is Hakim Warrick especially since he is due for a contract extension this summer and becomes a restricted free agent next summer if not extended. Warrick has proven himself to be a capable offensive player in the NBA but I do not think he fits into Chris Wallace's long term plan.

The veteran player we obtain must be on a reasonable contract and must not disrupt the Grizzlies plan of cap flexibility. Also, the guy has to be tough presence on the boards. My top 5 list of obtainable veterans are: Reggie Evans, Joe Smith, Jason Maxiell, Malik Rose, and Anderson Varejao. Of this group I think Reggie Evans is the most interesting. Today Atlanta power forward, Josh Smith, is in Philadelphia looking to sign an offer sheet. The 76ers need to clear enough caproom to offer Smith a contract that Atlanta will be unable to match.

Here is my proposal: Reggie Evans, Calvin Booth, and Phillies 2010 1st round draft pick for Hakim Warrick and Kyle Lowry.

This deal gives Philadelphia capable backups at power forward and point guard while giving them enough caproom to offer Josh Smith a maximum contract. The 76ers keep their 2009 pick and are owed a pick from Utah that will compensate them for the pick they are giving up. The Grizzlies get a banger in Reggie Evans who can come in and start this season to stabilize the young starting lineup. Calvin Booth is an expiring and could be waived immediately. This deal for the Grizzlies would be be cap neutral in 2009 as Reggie Evans+minimum cap hold for an empty roster spot is about equal to the 2009 salaries for Hakim and Kyle. This also gives the Grizzlies three draft picks in the next strong draft class of 2010.

The Grizz after the trade

PG: Micheal Conley, Javaris Crittenton
SG: O. J. Mayo, Marko Jaric
SF: Rudy Gay, Greg Buckner
PF: Reggie Evans, Darrell Arthur, Antoine Walker
C: Darko Milicic, Marc Gasol, Calvin Booth

This gives the Grizzlies 12 players on the roster and about $14 million in expiring contracts that can be used if an opportunity falls into their lap. All they would need to do is pick up a D-Leaguer at SG/SF to complete the 13 man roster and resign Andre Brown if they cut Booth. This gives the Grizzlies a fairly balanced roster with some toughness in the post to help the young guys bang on the inside without hurting the Grizzlies future cap flexibility.

I admit this isn't as sexy as offering Josh Smith $80 million dollars but it keeps this Grizzlies on track to their goal.

Links: Slow News Week

Hakim Warrick wants your Final Four picks on his blog.

The Memphis Grizzlies sponsor a team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association: the Memphis Rolling Grizzlies. Hat tip: Living in Lakeland, who actually participated in a game. Click for pictures.

This guy thinks that the Grizzlies should be listed among the Top 10 Worst Franchises in Pro Sports. I won't argue with him, because their history speaks for itself, but he is taking liberties in assuming that the future doesn't look brighter than the past.

Check out Odenized and Hoop Tube for great NBA videos daily.

A few general NBA posts:

Hardwood Paroxysm gives the best analysis of the San Antonio Spurs I've ever read.

J.E. Skeets (Ball Don't Lie) - An NBA fan's guide to the Final Four

Buster Gunning (RealGM) - Isiah: East is Beast

The Most Overpaid Players of 2007-08

Deadspin (via Ball Don't Lie) - Who is the NBA's Least Valuable Player?

Links: All-Star Hangover Edition

Hope everyone enjoyed the All-Star weekend festivities. I, myself, didn't actually watch any of it other than the Slam Dunk contest, because the Rookie/Sophmore game is an abomination, the Celebrity game and Shooting Stars competition are beyond horrendous and I find the Skills Challenge and 3-point Shootout rather pedantic. And, of course, the Knight Rider movie came on last night, so I skipped the All-Star game. Priorities and all. I know that Hardwood Paroxysm made the trip down there and snapped a quick picture of Juan Carlos Navarro, so that's something, I guess.

Chris Herrington compiled the Top 10 Grizzlies Dunks in preparation of the Dunk Contest.

The 700Level.com has the lowdown on what the Sixers' scouting report for newly acquired player-coach Aaron McKie looked like the other night.

• Savvy vet
• Not as good a shooter as he thinks
• Used to defend
• Don't guard
• Rotate off of him

Nice to see that they think enough of him to have some fun at his expense.

Trade Talk: Miller/Lowry to Denver? Lowry to Cleveland?

Even though it doesn't make the news every time it happens, the Grizzlies try to do their part in the community. Hakim Warrick does his part in his hometown, too.

Speaking of Hak, Empty the Bench lists him as one of their Ten NBA Players Poised for Better Things Down the Stretch, along with rookie Mike Conley. Some interesting analysis to be read there.

Pau Gasol is adapting to the Triangle just fine. Now, will somebody get him the number to a real estate agent?

Speaking of Pau, add Tim Duncan to those who think the trade was fairly craptastic. Wait, what's that? Tim Duncan whining about something? I'm shocked.

In the "piling on" portion of the program, we have Epic Carnival saying that Chris Wallace is no Rocket Surgeon.

The Bismarck Tribune has a nice article on assistant coach Dave Joerger.

Blog/Website of the Day: The 22 Worst Dunks Ever

Mega-Links: Injury News, Mike Miller and his monkey, TK in a giving mood, Sign the "Kobe Stopper"?, Team Value, Rudy Gay, Hak on the block?

Ron Tillery is reporting on the Memphis Edge that Pau Gasol is questionable for Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers after jamming the big toe on his right foot in practice. That's the bad news. The good news is that Michael Conley has been participating in non-contact drills since Monday and hopes to be cleared for full contact drills by next Tuesday. I would have liked to have known about that a few days ago, but I guess Tillery was busy finding "his stories" in other locations. Oh Ron-Ron...and here we were trying to be nice to you for a change. Don't make me regret that decision.

I was too busy yesterday afternoon to see this post on TrueHoop about Mike Miller and his former pet, a monkey named Sonny. Apparently when Henry Abbott worked for HOOP Magazine, he interviewed Miller and they had a lengthy conversation about Sonny at that time. Well, it got brought up again because of the current issue (January/February 2008) of HOOP Magazine that includes a new interview with #33 in which Sonny's story is revisited. It's unique, it's bizarre, it's a must-read.

Over on CSTV.com is the report that Tarence Kinsey is giving back to his alma mater, the University of South Carolina.

Former Gamecocks basketball player Tarence Kinsey will donate his Memphis Grizzlies game-worn uniform to be auctioned on the official South Carolina Auctions page on GamecocksOnline.com with the proceeds benefiting the Carolina Remembrance Fund.
The uniform includes an autographed jersey, game shorts and autographed shoes.
The university established the Carolina Remembrance Fund in honor and memory of the six Carolina students who died in the Ocean Isle fire Sunday, Oct. 28, 2007.
Proceeds from the fund will honor these students through their sorority, Delta Delta Delta, or fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Nice to see yet another Grizzlies player taking the time to be charitable and help others.

Over on the Grizzlies Message Board, there is an outcry to sign the recently waived Ruben "Kobe Stopper" Patterson to shore up the team's defensive deficiencies and supply a little attitude. Ehh--what could it hurt? If he can crack the rotation ahead of Casey Jacobsen and Brian Cardinal (a daunting task, I know), then give him a shot.

Finally, we have Forbes anual Team Valuation Rankings, in which the Grizzlies come in at #23 with a value of $304 million. I could have sworn that I had posted this already, but a search through the archives didn't turn up anything, so there you go.

Late Updates via the venerable ODK on the Message Boards:

Rudy Gay, A Chat On The Raptors Tonight On The RealGM Hoops Show
Tonight on the RealGM Hoops Show, Brendon, Sacha and Aaron will talk to Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay about his breakout season. They will also chat with RealGM's Tyler Sherkin about the Toronto Raptors and will be joined by former NBA star Jerome Williams live from the Philippines. Feel free to call the show between 9:00 and 10:00 PM Eastern at 1-888-942-7326.

Hakim Warrick made ESPN's list of the 10 most likely to be traded:
4. Hakim Warrick, Grizzlies

After a five-game stretch in which he played very little, the Grizzlies have been showcasing him to a degree in their past two games as word has circulated around the league that the third-year forward does not fit into the Grizzlies' long-term plans.There are still plenty of teams willing to take a shot on Warrick's upside, which means Memphis can get true value in return.

Website/Blog of the Day: The Blowtorch

Links: Darko Interview, Hakim Trade Rumor, Grizzlies Evaluation

Hoopsworld.com's Nikola Olic scored another interview with a Memphis Grizzlies' player -- this time with Serbian big man Darko Milicic. It is an intriguing look into the path that brought Darko to Memphis and how much he is enjoying having the opportunity to put his talent on display.

I ask about Memphis again, and how he elected to go out for lunch in uptown Dallas proudly wearing his Grizzlies outfit, looking like he just walked out of practice. In an uncharacteristic move, he started talking faster and louder, and even cracked a smile like the one we saw when he was introduced as a Memphis Grizzly in July.
"Now I'm in Memphis where I have the biggest chance so far of my career. The only thing I can do is work hard and play hard and take advantage of the opportunity. The best possible cure for my hangover from before is exactly what I have here in Memphis, the freedom to play and not be afraid of being benched. Every player likes freedom in his basketball. You have to know that you will not immediately finish back on the bench if you make a mistake"

For Hoopsworld's other Grizzlies' interviews, go to the Grizzlies team page.

According to ESPN, the Golden State Warriors have tried to pry Hakim Warrick away from Memphis by dangling young center Patrick O'Bryant. MemphisX covered this with his usual calculating style and seems to have deemed this an poor trade for the Grizzlies. I have to agree with him. As much as I would like to see the Grizzlies get another big body to further complement Pau and Darko in the frontcourt, I believe that they need a high energy guy (Anderson Varejao, Joakim Noah type of player) given their uptempo style of play more than a plodder. I also agree with X that a backup SF/PF would be preferrable to a soon-to-be free agent center that isn't likely to see any playing time.

There was a recap of last night's win over the Nets on wcbstv.com that I found interesting and had some good quotes from the Grizzlies.

"We were in a lot of close games this year and were not successful," Gasol said. "It comes down to us growing and improving in those situations and getting more confidence as a young team. I think we're finally getting it together."

Golden State Warriors interested in Hakim Warrick?

Our friends at Golden State of Mind uncovered a nugget of information in ESPN the Magazine[p. 124...3 Seconds]:

To get Andris Biedrins help inside, the Warriors have looked into stealing Hakim Warrick from Memphis for struggling center Patrick O'Bryant. Good luck with that.

Now it seems that most Golden State fans have a high opinion of the Grizzlies forward. In reality he has improved upon his production from last season, he is just doing it in fewer minutes so it appears that his numbers are down. Hakim Warrick has really improved his jumpshot out to about 18 feet and rarely goes into the spin cycle in the post that got him in trouble a lot last season. However, Hakim is still a blackhole. He only has 2 assists in 150 minutes vs. 9 turnovers. In the right situation, Hakim would be a good finisher and the Warriors would probably be a team in which he would thrive as he will be able to sneak around and take advantage of mismatches.

On the other side of the coin, Patrick O'Bryant is virtually an unknown to me. I liked him coming out of college but getting browbeat in the league can seriously hamper a players development. The Grizzlies are already rehabilitating Darko and two confidence projects might be one to many. O'Bryant has not shown anything in the league (I have never seen him play). He seems to foul to much to even stay on the court (13.2 fouls per 48). Add to that, he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

As a Grizz fan, I would not like this swap. I have no doubts that Hakim is not in the long range plans of Coach Iavaroni but I would expect a better return. I would prefer to get a small forward to back up Rudy.

Final Position Battles - Part 2

Marc Iavaroni has made it clear that he wants to run a basic 8 man rotation this season with a possible 9th player from time to time. He also made it clear that the players involved were not going to change from game to game, but be a more consistent rotation. The starters are Damon Stoudamire, Mike Miller, Rudy Gay, Pau Gasol and Stromile Swift. The backup PG is Kyle Lowry.

Yesterday I discussed the final position battle at the wing position. Today I want to look at the backup interior player battle.

This battle was rumored to be happening almost from the moment Darko Milicic was signed as a free agent on July 16th. It was just assumed that Hakim and Darko would be fighting for the starting role next to Gasol and not the backup role. Hakim was coming off a very encouraging sophomore season where he averaged 12.7 ppg on 52.4% shooting while grabbing 5.1 rpg over 26.2 mpg and 43 games started. In April he picked up the pace to 15.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Milicic averaged 8.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg in a reserve role withe the Orlando Magic but finished last season with a strong showing of his own in an impressive playoff series against Detroit. He averaged 12.3 ppg on 58.8% shooting in 28.8 mpg. His signing seemed to set up a duel between both players.

It hasn't worked out that way yet. Stromile Swift has easily beaten out both players for the starting role leaving these two young men to fight it out for the last rotation spot. What do each bring to the table?

Why it should be Hakim: Hakim brings offensive fire power off the bench. He's capable of scoring on both big and small forwards with an array of post moves and shocking jumping ability. He's more familiar with the games of the team's big players like Mike Miller and Pau Gasol having played with them for the last two seasons. His speed at the 4 makes the running game more productive.

Why it shouldn't be Hakim: Defense. While Hakim can't be stopped by most players he is equally inept at stopping anyone man on man. He isn't a great shot blocker either despite his leaping ability. He is a black hole on offense also. While difficult to stop individually his refusal to pass the ball often has him taking ill advised shots against double teams. Rebounding is also a problem for Hakim as he doesn't block out well and is too light to hold his position against most power forwards in the league.

Why it should be Darko: Darko is Chris Wallace's coup from the summer free agent period and having Iavaroni and Wallace hanging their hats on your hook isn't a bad reason right off the bat. Darko is a strong force defensively with an incredible ability to block shots. While not a great rebounder himself he does put his body on people allowing others to get the rebound. Paired with Stro or Gasol he is able to take the bulkier defensive assignments freeing the more athletic players to operate against less tiresome opponents. His range is nearly to the three point line freeing up space in the paint for others to operate. He is also an excellent passer for a big man.

Why it shouldn't be Darko: He seems lost in the system right now. Playing for his 3rd coach in 6 months has apparently made Darko cautious and one has to wonder about the emotional scars from his time in Detroit, the free agency debacle in Orlando and the outburst in Spain this summer. He has the propensity to get into foul trouble. The main reason against Darko is his lack of speed. Pairing him with Gasol would appear to make the Grizzlies a slower team than Iavaroni may prefer. His shot selection is also suspect in the half court game.

So who will win? I think it will start off being Darko. His size, defense and passing ability should more than compensate for his other deficiencies. His foul trouble will most likely be countered by the reality that Stro and Pau aren't prone to getting into foul trouble. Darko in a real sense has 24 minutes to use his six fouls.

This leaves Hakim in a precarious position. His option for next season has already been picked up but he is 4th on a 3 man depth chart. His potential and relatively inexpensive contract can be a nice chip to use in a trade scenario combined with someone else (say Damon Stoudamire or Mike Miller). He has never been an attitude problem in the past but this is an important season for Hakim and one has to wonder what will happen if he isn't a member of the regular rotation.

Don't forget the Grizzlies BLOG Party tonight at Jack Daniels Old #7. Spartacus and others will be sitting on the back side of the bar at the first table after the bar. Celebrities may be in attendance so feel free to bring a camera and get autographs!

Links: SLAM, Dime Magazine, Battier speaks, Picking up options, Live Blog, Reminder

I listed a lot of previews yesterday and over the past few weeks as well. I think the one done by SLAM Online takes the prize as best of the best though. Rather than just assuming they know about the Grizzlies, Aggrey Sam actually does know about them. He displays a keen insight into the team and makes valid, well-thought-out conclusions based on observation. Either that, or he's been probing my mind while I sleep. Example:

Then there’s the underappreciate, albeit underskilled, Brian “The Custodian” Cardinal, who should be a steady veteran influence on the young squad.

That's the kind of thing I have yet to see on any other preview, outside of our own work here on Shades of Blue. Nice work, indeed.

Dime Magazine gave some much-deserved props to Kyle Lowry for his big performance last night in Houston.

There were two Commercial Appeal articles of note, too.

The first is an interview with former Grizzly Shane Battier that gets his thoughts on the current roster in Memphis. He didn't shy away from praising former teammate Pau Gasol:
Battier said having Gasol healthy -- physically and mentally -- catapults the Griz into a team to be reckoned with despite its overall youth.

"Pau is a lot more mentally stronger than most people give him credit for," Battier said. "I played with him for five years, and he's a tough guy who really wants to win.
"He wants to do the right thing. He wants to be a leader. He wants to be the guy for the team. He's worked really hard to get to that point and erase the memories of last year."

As always, Shane comes across as the ultimate class act that he is.

The second article is a bit of business news, as the Grizzlies picked up the options on a few young players: Kyle Lowry, Hakim Warrick and Rudy Gay. Good to see that we'll be keeping these guys around for a little bit longer.

Chris Herrington promises to Live Blog tonight on Beyond the Arc, so I don't feel too bad about being at the game and leaving all of you without my commentary and insights. He also has a nice recap of last night's game, so go check it out.

Finally, don't forget about our first ever Shades of Blue Blog Party, as we take over the back half of Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Restaurant inside FedEx Forum. Drop by and say hi. We won't bite.

Rank Me Please! 25 Power Forwards

You should know the rules by now.

Power Forwards

1. Tim Duncan - The Big Fundamental is the best PF to ever play the game in this blogger's humble opinon -- so who am I to put him anywhere other than the top spot?
2. Kevin Garnett - He's got two seasons to get a title in Beantown, so expect him to find a superhuman way to elevate his game to an even higher level...as unbelievable as that is to contemplate.
3. Dirk Nowitzki - Dirk Diggler is coming off an MVP season (deserved or not), but will need to display some leadership to climb these rankings and ascend to the top spot.
4. Carlos Boozer - Took a major step up last year in leading the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals and I don't see any reason that he'll decline this season. If anything, he might find a way to score more than the 20.9 ppg he averaged in 2006/07.
5. Pau Gasol - Consistency is his M.O., but his numbers will probably see an increase under Marc Iavaroni's uptempo system, as they did under Barone last year.
6. Shawn Marion - He might be unhappy in Phoenix, but with Amare Stoudemire coming off another knee surgery (minor or not), he'll continue to put up solid numbers in points and rebounds and great stats in steals and blocks. If you could run plays for him consistently, he'd be challenging for the Top 3.
7. Chris Bosh - I had to drop him because of his injured foot, although he is quickly elevating his game to the point of being worthy of Top 3 consideration. As a side note, the guys at #4 - #8 are all equal IMO as the 2nd tier of PF's in the league -- but I do have to assign them numbers.
8. Jermaine O'Neal - He didn't get traded to Los Angeles....yet. He'll keep putting up All-Star level numbers in Indiana as they figure out how to surround him with the talent needed to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown.
9. Gerald Wallace - With Sean May out for the year, look for the athletic freak to log most of the minutes at PF where he is a mismatch for everyone not named Shawn Marion.
10. Zach Randolph - His scoring might suffer slightly in the Big Apple, but he'll be able to pull down all the rebounds he wants alongside Eddy Curry. Now about that defense....
11. Lamar Odom - It seems that he's really trying to make things work alongside Kobe, so maybe he'll finally be allowed to improvise rather than deferring to the Mamba so often.
12. Antawn Jamison - I believe he'll take a backseat to Arenas and Butler, which means that his scoring will drop as his rebounds increase -- especially in light of the news that Etan Thomas will have heart surgery.
13. Al Jefferson - He could struggle as "The Man" in Minnesota, but I think he'll shine instead, as he continues to develop into one of the most dangerous low-post threats in the game.
14. Chris Wilcox - I'm anxious to see what he'll do without two All-Stars taking the majority of shots in Seattle. My hunch is he'll average 15 and 10 this year.
15. LaMarcus Aldridge - With Oden out, Aldridge will likely be paired with Joel "White Mutombo" Przyzbilla most of the year. That means the low-post scoring load will fall upon his shoulders.
16. David West - He's not flashy or spectacular, but somehow he continues to pile up solid numbers in sneaky fashion. As long as Tyson Chandler remains an offensive afterthought, West will get to pop mid-range jumpers to his heart's content.
17. Charlie Villanueva - He was inconsistent through an injury-plagued year last season, but was showing bursts of incredible levels of improvement when he did get to stay in games.
18. Nene - I think he'll see his minutes get reduced by the return of Kenyon Martin, but he's still the better overall player of the two, so he should still receive the lion's share.
19. Udonis Haslem - He might get traded...he might not. Either way, he's capable of scoring a lot more than has been required of him while playing alongside D-Wade, Shaq and 'Toine in South Beach to this point.
20. Al Harrington - He's one of many who will be asked to shoulder an additional scoring burden after the trade that sent Jason Richardson to the opposit coast. Is he up to the challenge?
21. David Lee - If he doesnt' get to see the floor for at least 25 mpg, David Stern should step in and force the Knicks to trade him to someone with a clue how valuable he truly is.
22. Boris Diaw - He's a headache to gameplan for as he is an impossible matchup for nearly everyone not named Sheed or KG.
23. Antonio McDyess - Word outta Detroit is that he'll start at PF with Sheed moving over to play Center this year. Should be interesting, to say the least.
24. Luis Scola - I wouldn't be surprised if he warrants being ranked 10 spots higher by the end of the season.
25. Tim Thomas - With Elton Brand out, he'll have to elevate his game. Will he shy away from the added responsibility?

Others who might be Top 25 worthy: Hakim Warrick, Al Horford, Al Thornton, Tyrus Thomas, Jason Maxiell

Grizzlies Coverage In Spain

The Grizzlies are in Spain. No surprise to anyone reading this site.

What some fans might be surprised at is the level of coverage we have to devour.

First, I'd like to praise the blogging Ron Tillery is doing (did I just say that?) over at the Memphis Edge, the blog ran by the Commercial Appeal (go check it out, you'll also find some great posts from Chip there, like this one). I'm happy to see the CA sending Tillery over to Spain. He has photos and even some videos. Here are some highlights from his first few posts from Spain:

--The Grizzlies flew in style.
--Lots of media there to greet the Grizzlies. Ok, ok. Lots of media there to greet Pau and Navarro.
--Mike Conley likes McDonalds.
--Lowry returned to practice and looked 100%.
--Stromile has a sore knee (don't act so surprised).
--A number of Grizzlies along with Kenny Smith met with children at a local hospital.

But that is not all we have from Spain. Grizzlies.com is posting a ton of photos from each day. They have photos getting off the plane and of the first two practices. I especially like the photos from the 2nd practice. It seems the photos posted on the Grizzlies webpage are taken by Joe Murphy for Getty images. Even more of his photos of the Grizzlies are found at Yahoo. There are some cool pics of Mike and Pau at a EA Sports NBA Europe Live Tour event.

(off topic...while I'm writing this post, I just got captivated by one of those new black/white Grizzlies commercials...nicely done, IMO...there are a number of commercials using the phrase "New Game" and all of them are quite good...I have seen a couple of different ones tonight, three I think, and my favorite is of Hakim and Rudy playing one-on-one in an empty gym.)

TrueHoop has a post talking about how Blog Crazy the Warriors are. That got me thinking about how the Grizzlies now having 3 players blogging. Casey Jacobsen is starting up a blog on grizzlies.com. Here is the link to his first post. He thinks the Grizzlies will win a lot of games this year. Hak and Conley both have updated their yardbarker blogs. Does anyone know what team has the most players contributing to some sort of blog on the internet? 3 has to be close to the most I would guess.

Going back Tillery's coverage of the Spanish training camp trip, I got to thinking. Why isn't there this much coverage while the Grizzlies are in Memphis? Why couldn't have Tillery posted blog posts on the Memphis Edge about the training camp practices here in Memphis? The media saw a good amount of the practices here. Chris Herrington wrote a great post about what he saw. I see no reason why Tillery can't provide more Grizzlies coverage by utilizing the blog format on the Memphis Edge like he has for this Spanish trip. I hope he does during this season.

Blue and White Scrimmage Recap

(Copyright 2007 NBAE. Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

I thoroughly enjoyed the Blue and White Scrimmage today. The crowd was larger than I expected and probably more people were there than showed up for the open practice last year.

I think I should say who won, but truthfully, I don't remember looking at the scoreboard more than once or twice. I think the White team won. They played two, 10 minute periods.

Here was how the teams were split up, with an (s) designating who started for each squad.

Blue:
--Mike Conley (s)
--Casey Jacobsen (s)
--Mike Miller (s)
--Hakim Warrick (s)
--Pau Gasol (s)
--Juan Carlos Navarro
--Andre Brown

White:
--Damon Stoudamire (s)
--Tarence Kinsey (s)
--Rudy Gay (s)
--Stromile Swift (s)
--Darko Milicic (s)
--Brian Cardinal
--Dontell Jefferson
--Kyle Lowry (didn't play)

I don't remember seeing the other training camp invitee play (Kasib Powell). Chris Wallace just mentioned on the Chris Vernon Show that he has already been waived.

The most memorable part of the scrimmage was everyone holding their breath when Mike Conley went down. It was only a charlie-horse in his thigh. Here is a picture I took when Conley was getting looked at on the bench after he went down. You can see the trainer messaging the thigh.


Here are some of my random observations. Most Griz fans echo similar thoughts (messageboard thread on scrimmage).

--Neither team really played at full speed.
--Rudy can still dunk.
--Casey can shoot.
--Miller wore sweat pants. yuck!
--Darko has a nice lefty baby hook shot.
--Navarro (called "instant-grits" by his teammates) showed off his running tear drop in the lane...nice.
--Rudy played the 3 and 4.
--With Kyle out, Navarro and Kinsey had to run some point.
--Players were conscious of not trying to hold the ball for very long (one of the points of emphasis from Coach Iavaroni). This unfortunately led to some careless turnovers, but that's alright. This is still a work in progress.
--Kinsey missed Stro for an alley-oop. TK7 (my nickname for him) immediately acknowledged that he missed it, but Stro still pouted and loafed after the fact. Reactions like that are going to get him sat on the bench this year. He needs to just keep playing and not dwell on things like that.

Now I want to talk a bit about Conley vs Damon. Damon looked good physically. Clearly more healthy than last year and could be potentially better than he was when we signed him. But, unlike many of my fellow Griz fans (and probably chip and spartacus too), I still see him as a point guard best suited for a half court team and not what this team needs to ignite a fast paced offense that is spurred using ball-hawking defense. Conley plays the point more like I envision the team needing. When Conley penetrates, he is great at keeping his dribble and leave as many options open as possible. Today Damon picked up his dribble a little earlier than I think he should have a few times. Damon showed off a great stroke today (clearly he is light years ahead of Conley in terms of shooting). While Damon looked healthy physically, I still have my doubts that he will be anything but average on defense. But enough of that. Both point guards looked good. Damon probably surprised people with his health and play. I'm glad Conley only has a thigh bruise and wish we all could have seen Lowry (the soon-to-be fan favorite) play today.

I also want to discuss some of the stuff we are doing on offense for fans that couldn't make it to the scrimmage. We are using more on-ball screens than in the past. In addition, when our bigs are in the high post, they are handing the ball off to a curling point guard often.

Here is a breakdown of one of the common half-court sets we used:

1.) PG passes to the right wing, then goes and picks for the PF on the left lower block.
2.) Either the PF gets the ball on the right lower block, or more likely, the ball is passed to the C at the top of the key.
3.) Then the left wing goes down and picks for the PG who is now on the left lower block.
4.) The PG pops out to the left wing off of that screen, then curls around the C for a hand-off pass.
5.) From there, the PG penetrates and makes something happen.

The Blue team ran that exact play to start the game and Mike Conley penetrated and found a diving Pau for an easy dunk. Nice.

Finishing up, here are some links. Wes at 730ESPN has audio from the scrimmage. Yahoo has pictures from the scrimmage.