Previewing the Centers

By Joshua Coleman

Year after year since they arrived in Memphis, the Grizzlies have run out a ragtag group to man the pivot. Other than Lorenzen Wright, who performed admirably the majority of his time in his hometown, the other players have either been undersized (Stromile Swift, Alexander Johnson, Lawrence Roberts, Andre Brown) or undertalented (Jake Tsakalidis, Ike Austin, Cezary Trybanski) or both (Mike Batiste). So the fact that they will be trotting out not one, not two, but three legitimate 7-footers is practically a miracle of epic proportions. The additional thought that at least two of them are worthy rotational players and the third is a worthwhile project makes me all tingly inside.

The primary job of the center in the modern NBA is that of a rebounder and defensive presence. Other than the players of Yao Ming and Al Jefferson's offensive skill or Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard's athletic prowess, centers just aren't looked to as scorers nowadays. The Sameuel Dalembert's, Tyson Chandler's and Andrew Bogut's are the norm for the position now. When looking at Darko Milicic, Marc Gasol and Hamed Haddadi, it seems apparent that they favor the latter grouping more than the former. All three are known for their hard-nosed defense, physicality in the paint and solid rebounding. Let's take a closer look at each of them.

The Players:

Darko Milicic - As I said previously when talking about the Power Forwards, Darko isn't likely to ever reach the expectations that certain people had for him when he was drafted #2 overall in 2003, but that doesn't mean that he cannot be a quality NBA starter. After all, he's only 23 years old and has limited mileage on him considering that he barely played while in Detroit for two and a half seasons. Darko's strengths are in his positional defense and shot-blocking, although he did exhibit a deft passing touch last year from the high and low post positions. With the thumb on his shooting hand finally healed, we might get to see more of the player that posted 6 games of double-digit scoring in his first 15 appearances as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. If he winds up splitting time between the PF and C positions, his offense will definitely need to be raised to a new level. The bigger question for The Dark One is where his confidence level is at, since that has been the biggest road block to greater success in his career. If he ever gets out of his own head, the rest of the league should be very worried.

Marc Gasol - Pau's little brother is no stranger to Memphis. After his performance in the Olympics, he's probably not a stranger to the rest of the NBA now either. If Grizzlies fans had any doubt, Marc proved that he wasn't his much maligned sibling by putting Chris Bosh squarely on his backside when Spain met Team USA. The reigning MVP of the ACB League in Spain comes across the pond with a chip on his shoulder after not garnering a scholarship offer from any big name schools after graduating high school here in Memphis. While he doesn't have the offensive skillset of Pau, he has already displayed that he is much tougher and more physical in the paint, along with growing far superior facial hair, which is important to me since I'm also bearded on occasion. If what he has shown in Spain translates well to the NBA, then Gasol could find himself with a substantial amount of playing time this year.

Hamed Haddadi - The final member of the international trio manning the pivot is the Iranian import who recently got clearance to enter the United States. Although there might be a few communication issues that have to be overcome (such as GM Chris Wallace accidentally giving Haddadi the equivalent of "the bird" by displaying a thumbs up in practice) and he should definitely be classified as a project, but as the saying goes, 7-footers don't grow on trees. He displayed plenty of raw ability in the Olympics, leading all players in rebounding and shot-blocking. His new teammates have been very complimentary of his skill level over the past week, giving hope that he might be able to contribute as soon as this season if the necessity should arise.

(And you thought that I couldn't do that without a camel joke.)

CONCLUSION: While the Grizzlies undoubtedly have more potential than ever before at the center position, it is anyone's guess how well the two newest additions will transition to the NBA and whether or not Darko will finally "get it". If the Grizzlies manage to get an average of 15-17 ppg, 13-15 rpg and 3-4 bpg each and every night from their centers, then it will take a lot of pressure off the rest of the team who will have the knowledge that they have a capable shot-blocker behind them on defense, as well as a solid rebounder and space eater. The Grizzlies will finally have some intimidators in the paint this season -- something that is long overdue.

Memphis' Weapon of Mass Destruction...At The Box Office...

....Might just be Hamed Haddadi.

That's right. To the fiery depths with Josh Smith, Elton Brand, Amare Stoudamire or Carlos Boozer. No disrespect to Kevin Garnett intended, but the "Big Ticket" might be Hamed Haddadi, as far as Memphis is concerned.

A survey/census shown on City-Data.com reports that there are 245 Iranians in the city limits of Memphis. The category "Other Arabs" equates to 202. These numbers may or may not have to be adjusted for population growth/decrease, but let's just use for my lack of mathematical skills an even number of 400 possible new fans in Memphis alone, and 70.5 MILLION back home in Iran. We will need a clever name to call this possibility, so let us use "The Yao Ming Effect."

Let me begin by saying I am not comparing Memphis' market to Houston. Houston is a bigger, more cosmopolitan city in a bigger, more cosmopolitan state. Houston also has a more significant population, and a larger ethnic enclave as it relates to their foreign star. However, the size difference does not neccessarily mean that there will not be the same effect. When Houston drafted Yao Ming, as they were one of the teams Yao preferred to go to due to their sizeable ethnic population, Houston immediately felt the impact. Endorsements here and in China came flooding in, and people wanted to tune in to Rockets games to see this player. Houston games were being broadcast in China just as regularly as we get to see Kobe vs Shaq on Christmas Day. Yao has made the All-Star team by having hundreds of thousands upon more hundreds of thousands of votes, due to support in the US and his team's fans for sure, but it was the other side of the world making a difference. The NBA is big in China now because of this, and now we are seeing more Chinese/regional players trying to make it in the NBA. (Sun Yue, Ha-Seung Jin, etc.)

Wouldn't that be great for the Grizzlies? In no way am I saying that Haddadi will be Yao Ming's equal or better (although I hope noone crosses up Haddadi like this or Haddadi can at least get a shot off against a midget. ) However, what I am saying is we can expand our market, seeing as how right now we're having difficulties expanding our market out to Desoto, Crittenton, Tipton, Fayette, Madison County and the like. We will have an entire country, along with Spain for Marc Gasol, and Serbia for Darko Milicic joining the Grizzly market. It may very well be the Grizzlies turn to lead the NBA into global expansion, and Haddadi will lead the way for players in his home country to come to the NBA. I think it would be a feather in the Grizzlies cap.

Let's close by talking about the ticket sales. Let's be frank. I highly doubt people from Iran are going to fly to Memphis to go to a game. Buying merchandise on NBA.com, yes. Spreading the word, yes. Flying into Memphis? Not so much. We do not have a large Iranian population, but with ticket sales they way they are rumored to be, 400 new season ticket holders, or 400 more people as a television audience could go a long way into either filling up the Forum and getting more people to come to games because it looks more full and fun, or it could justify the televising of more games due to higher demand. Either or would be great, although I'd prefer the first. Finally, without getting sappy or too political, I think it would be great for the city to have such diversity at the games. Everyone of any race and age could be in the same place, even for just 2 and a half hours, and share something together, even for that one moment....they're all on the same team...which is how it should be.

Warning: Hamed Haddadi does not actually cure war and ensure world peace. He just dribbles a ball, and hopefully will be good. God, do we need help at the 5 spot. Help us Hamed Haddadi, you're our only hope.



**End transmission.

The Iranian Invasion Begins

According to My Eyewitness News' reporter Rob Petrone (ABC24/CW30), Hamed Haddadi arrived at Memphis International Airport this afternoon and will be ready to go when training camp begins on Tuesday.

It will be interesting to see how the Iranian big man matches up with Darko Milicic and Marc Gasol in practice after posting some impressive statistics in Olympic competition. With word coming down that Darko Milicic is expected to spend some time at PF, there could be ample opportunity for Haddadi to see playing time as the backup center.

Tillery: Grizzlies Set To Sign Quinton Ross, Haddadi Arrival Held Up

Ron Tillery is reporting that the Grizzlies are close to finalizing a deal with free agent swingman Quinton Ross. The 27-year old former Clipper is expected to sign on the dotted line for a non-guaranteed contract tomorrow.

At 6'6" and 193 lbs., Ross is well suited to be the backup SF that the team obviously needs, given the unknown conditioning status of Antoine Walker or how well Greg Buckner will fit in with this Grizzlies team. He's a solid perimeter at both swingman positions, which is good in a division that includes Tracy McGrady, Peja Stojakovic, Manu Ginobili and Josh Howard. Also, it bears noting that at age 27, he could be a long-term fit for the Three Year Plan. Tillery notes many of the same things in a blog post on the Memphis Edge.

He also has information that Hamed Haddadi hasn't been officially cleared to travel to the United States yet. Apparently there are still some immigration issues to work out. Well, that's what they say, but we all know that he's really having difficulties in arranging transport for his pet camel, Bubbles.

They Pay Them How Much???

by Chip Crain

I love this time of the year. Training camp is about to get started and fans are nearly catatonic about their teams...either with joy or depression. Very few rumors are floating around after a summer of nothing but rumors and the ones that are around are generally so over-covered that you tune them out until something gets announced anyway.

Then there are the rare stories that raise your eyebrows in wonder.

Yesterday I saw that ESPN has the Memphis Grizzlies salaries listed for the upcoming season. Now I know it is not exactly accurate but it is usually close enough for government work (which these days means within a billion or two but that is another matter entirely).

Listed among the salaries were Marc Gasol at $3,093,333 for next season and Hamed Haddadi at $1,572,221. That seems like a lot of money for two rookie free agent big men. I started to wonder if these guys had been draft picks instead of free agents where would they have had to be drafted to earn these salaries?

So I started off with Marc Gasol to see where his salary fit among the rookie pay scale. Now you have to understand that Marc was Player of the Year in the 2nd most difficult basketball league on the planet so naturally his salary was going to be close to the top of draft.

Yes the Spanish league has higher quality teams than the NCAA. Sorry homer USA fans but that is the truth.

Getting Gasol involved a not insignificant amount of bidding against the major European squads and their seemingly endless Euros. $3 million seems pretty inexpensive but when you consider that $3 million a season is equivalent to the #6 pick in the draft this year you have to wonder is that such a bargain?

Who was picked 6th in the draft you may ask?

Interestingly it was Danilo Gallinari, an Italian and son of Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni's roommate when D'Antoni played in Italy. Since the two players are making approximately the same amount of money we now have a general baseline to compare Gasol against. Sure it won't be perfect as both players are expected to contribute in different ways with their teams but it should be interesting to track none the less. It is interesting that the salary negotiated by Gasol's agent prices him in line with Gallinari, a less experienced and younger player. If Gasol had made a few dollars more he would be compared to the #5 pick, Kevin Love. Now that should be interesting to watch in comparison. Whether intentionally or not, Gasol was wise to take less than Love to prevent any unjust criticism of his contract.

What about Hamed? Where would his rumored salary of just over $1 million place him in last summer's draft? What player is his salary making him comparable to?

As luck would have it Hamed's salary is nearly identical to the 17th pick in the draft. So the man who led the Olympics in scoring and rebounding is priced as high as a player just out of the lottery.

This also means that Hamed will be making more money than draft night acquisition Darrell Arthur and this was true prior to Arthur's $20,000 fine for screwing around (some would say up)) at the Rookie Transition Camp. Arthur was an important player on a NCAA national championship team. Hamed was the most important player on his nation's team. Will the parallels never stop?

Who was taken 17th? None other than Georgetown big man Roy Hibbert. Now there couldn't be a better comparison than Hibbert for Hamed. Perhaps the similarities between the players is how Wallace came up with that number for Hamed's contract. I have no proof of that but I do find it interesting that a 7-2 highly skilled player who is considered very slow of foot (Haddadi) is going to be paid a nearly identical amount of money as a 7-2 highly skilled player who is considered slow of foot. Of course no one has ever questioned Hamed's heart yet. People expected a lot more from Roy Hibbert this past year than they got.

So now we know where Chris Wallace values his two prize signings this summer not acquired in the draft. Gasol is slightly behind Kevin Love and the same as Danilo Gallinari. Hamed Haddadi has nearly the same upside as Roy Hibbert. All this assumes of course that rookei free agent contracts are associated with rookie draft pick contracts. It should be interesting to see how well the young Grizzlies stack up against their peers.

Because I'm Just Crazy Enough To Think It Could Work

Most of the news surrounding the Grizzlies right now is about Darrell Arthur's mistake in a hotel room or the possibility of Zach Randolph donning Beale Street Blue this season. I think that we've covered the first one pretty well, and I don't even want to think about the second one. But the potential Randolph deal did get me to thinking about another issue facing the Grizzlies. If they deal Darko & Marko to NYC, then the Grizzlies have 2 rookie C's, 4 PF's and still no backup SF (unless Greg Buckner plays out of position). That will also mean that the Grizzlies go from 13 players under contract down to 12. That opens up some possibilities.

I thought about moving Antoine Walker over to backup SF, given that he has played that position quite a lot over his career. But even then, the team will still have to sign at least one more player -- probably two. Obviously, one of those players will have to be a veteran center, given that Marc Gasol and Hamed Haddadi have played a combined ZERO minutes in the NBA so far. Any number of minimum contract stiffs could fill the bill of being the backup center, so I'm not too concerned about who they sign for that spot. But what about that other potential signing? Who should they take there?

The depth chart would look something like this if that trade took place:

PG - Conley, Lowry
SG - Mayo, Crittenton, Buckner
SF - Gay, Walker
PF - Randolph, Warrick, Arthur
C - Gasol, Haddadi, Token Stiff

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm comfortable that our PG spot is fine, given that Conley, Lowry, Mayo and Critt all have played that position in their recent careers. I'd love to use that last spot to shore up the SG/SF positions though. This is especially true if 'Toine comes in less than 100% motivated this season. But who could we sign for a low level contract (a given with this regime) that could actually contribute if called upon? I know of a guy that's sitting out there in free agency, just waiting for his phone to ring. A player who is already familiar with the nuances of Memphis.

You know him, you love him, so let's welcome him back to the Bluff City..........Mister Bonzi Wells!


Before you start sputtering about his past with the Grizzlies, hear me out. His play on the court was rarely ever an issue -- his conflicts with the head coach (Mike Fratello) were a problem. No more Czar = no more problem. He was a fan favorite and Heisley absolutely loved the guy while he was here. He can play both swingman positions and is a veteran who can contribute, and could even start if called upon. People want a guy who won't back down, plays with heart and wants to win every single night? Here's your guy. Am I worried about having Bonzi, Zach and 'Toine in the same locker room with all these young, impressionable players? I'm scared to death of it. But if we're going to bring Z-Bo in, then why not go all out and find another guy who is long on talent and has a questionable head? Especially if that guy might bring a few more fans back to the FedEx Forum who think of him fondly.

The contract that he signed with Houston two years ago was for 2 years and $4.5 million. Anyone else think that kind of deal would fit in with the fiscally responsible Three Year Plan? Yeah, me too. Let's be honest - Zach Randolph isn't going to bring in more fans than having Adriana Lima in the stands would have. But bringing back Bonzi might -- especially if it rekindles memories of postseasons trips in the minds of fans who are looking for something to believe in.


Bring. Back. Bonzi.

Friday Roundup: Links and such

Well it was not quite as quiet a week on the Grizzlies homefront as most people wanted with the news that Darrell Arthur was expelled from the Rookie Transition Camp. While it hasn't been released whether or not Darrell was actually involved in drug use, the women in the room was enough to ban him from the event. While mostly embarrassing it does cause on court issues to come into question such as his reputation for zoning out. Hopefully the financial penalty will be all that is neccessary to remedy this problem but the league can add on a suspension of indeterminate length and the team can impose their own penalties as well.

Chris Herrington is back from vacation and back being one of the best reporters of Grizzlies news in the business this week. Welcome back Chris and we hope you had a pleasant vacation with the family.

TrueHoop is kind enough to link to us from time to time so when Henry Abbott takes the time to write a full article on the Arthur situation I felt it appropriate to link back to him.

Ron Tillery has also been busy on the Edge Blog lately keeping fans informed on the recent trade rumors involving the team. Ron also wrote an insightful article on the Grizzlies in the paper. See Ron, we can write nice things about you too!

Our friend Tom Ziller over at Fanhouse puts his two cents worth in on the Arthur story as well. I really can't argue with his logic (mainly because it agrees with mine). TZ also ranked Rudy Gay at #39 in his ongoing listing of the Top 50 Players in the NBA.

Final word comes from David at David's Memphis Grizzlies Blog who says that players should only be punished for performance enhancing drugs and he would rather have Darrell high than skateboarding or motorcycling.

Lost in the smoke from the Arthur scandal was the fact that both O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol were at the Rookie Camp too. It is unclear at this time if Hamed Haddadi was also at the camp. Since Haddidi signed right before the camp was scheduled to begin it is understandable if he didn't make it. There is also the question on his being able to understand anything being said there anyway.

Inside Hoops is confirming Ron Tillery's entry that the Grizzlies and Knicks are in discussions about Zack Randolph. This is interesting since Chris Wallace said on Chris Vernon's radio show that very few trades are done in September and October as most teams are focusing on the getting the team ready for the regular season and he fully expects the current roster to be in training camp on September 30th. I guess you can call him a liar if the deal gets done according to Dr. Zack.

The sad news here is that rumor involves Marko Jaric and Darko. Darko isn't a great loss but would leave us very thin at center. Losing Mr. Adriana Lima before the first pre-season game would be heart-breaking! Come on Grizzlies, at least let us have one game with Adriana in the stands before you ship him off!

Matt over at Hardwood Paroxysm must have seen our back to school series last week and has added his touch of Science to the world of Blogging. He rated us with some impressive blogs so I wanted to make sure everyone sees it.

Notes From Memphis has an interesting view of the Hamed Haddidi signing.

Who's Your Haddadi? Grizzlies Sign Iranian Big Man

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

Via Grizzlies.com:

The Memphis Grizzlies signed free-agent center Hamed Haddadi pronounced (ha-MED ha-DAHD-dee), who led all 2008 Olympians in rebounding and blocks, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

So Haddadi will join the internationally flavored frontcourt pairing of Marc Gasol (Spain) and Darko Milicic (Serbia) at the center position this season.

This is a solid signing, even if it will be viewed as Wallace attempting to "catch lightning in a bottle" once more from some of the more pessimistic fans. At the very least, it provides Memphis with another big body to throw out there in case Darko's Achilles injury is more serious than anyone thinks or if either Milicic or Gasol suffer an injury this season. His shotblocking and rebounding skills make him a worthwhile gamble for this young, up-and-coming team.

No word on whether or not he's bringing a camel with him though. I'll keep you updated on that front as information becomes available.



RUMOR: It has come to the attention of the bloggers at 3 Shades of Blue that Hamed Hadadi's contract is multi-year and similiar in nature to a 1st rd draft pick's contract (no idea where in the first round that contract would fit but it probably is somewhere between 20 and 30. This has not been confirmed yet but the source is reliable. It is believed that Ron Tillery will have the details more precise in print very soon.

This makes sense to lock him up for at least 3 years. If he develops at all then the Grizzlies have his Bird Rights. If he doesn't then someone else will gladly take a chance for an inexpensive big man. As has been mentioned on the radio lately, there just aren't a lot of big men around these days.

Rumors Cooking . . .

Ron Tillery is blogging over at the Memphis Edge about potential moves for our boys in blue. Most of it involves one or both of the following:

• Trading Mike Conley to Portland for Travis Outlaw and spare parts (Tillery says it's a bad idea, and I agree):

If that’s the case, the Griz would need more than Outlaw in return. But I don’t believe trading Conley is a wise move. Trading Conley would put the Griz back at square one, again searching for a dynamic point guard to compensate for the loss of the GOOD Jason Williams.

And why would Griz give up on a smart, physically gifted point guard so quickly? So that Mayo can handle the ball? Take away Conley’s quirky injuries and remember he’s just 20 years old, and the Griz would be wise to keep him. My guess is that they will given Conley was a deal breaker in attempts to get the right to draft Michael Beasley.

• Trading Darko Milicic to New York for Zach Randolph (also a bad idea, if you ask me):

The Griz are willing to part with Darko Milicic (last year’s big free agent signing) in a package that wouldn’t require a core player (OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, etc). What the brain trust seems to be debating is whether Randolph fits the Grizzlies’ style on and off the court.

Randolph is a bonafide low-post scorer who can shoot along the perimeter and rebound. But he doesn’t offer much on defense, something the Griz desperately want to upgrade and Randolph’s character issues may present a problem.

As I've said elsewhere, I want to see what we have first, before we start making moves. Frankly, I think some of these rumors are just based on folks thinking that Chris Wallace is a sucker after the Gasol trade. I still think that trade is going to bear great fruit for us, and given the way Pau (under)performed in the NBA Finals, some of the sting of that trade has already worn off.

Z-Bo is a bonafide 20-10 bull in the post, but I think we should stay away for another reason than Tillery covers above: His contract is identical to Pau's. I remember this because at one point, I advocated trading Pau for Zach. But given where the team is going, and more importantly, their desire to maintain flexibility for next offseason, I don't see them tying up salary in Z-Bo, because I don't think he's that "difference-maker" that the Front Office wants. Not saying he's not a good player; I just don't see him as the difference maker.

Three other points:

1. As for trading Darko, I know I'm alone on this, but I'm not ready to give up on him yet. I think the main problem is that his past coaches haven't used his strengths as they should. His game has looked weak as a back-to-the-basket center. I still think that the kid can shoot, and has shown an ability to take other centers off the dribble. If they used him as more a Mehmet Okur-type center -- pull opposing centers out of the lane for Conley, Mayo and Gay to drive and score, or drive and dish to Darko for a three -- it would pay HUGE dividends. I'm sure somebody here will take me to task on the Serbian Gangster, however . . .

2. I still want to see what Antoine Walker has left. Consider it a contract year, he still has an NBA championship, and I think the PT is there for him at PF, which is to say that I think he has a decent shot at beating out Hak and Arthur with his play and veteran savvy. The big question is whether or not he's motivated. I'm betting it is, because I can't see him retiring at 31-32, and he'll want to sign with/be traded to a contender later. But this is a great opportunity for him to regain cred as a team player and veteran leader.

3. Ehadadi. Short and sweet: Sign him to a reasonably priced, short contract, see what he can do. If he can snatch boards, defend a little, score on putbacks and finish on drive and dishes from Conley and Mayo, I don't see a downside.

Trades? Unless it's a clear upgrade, I say we stand pat. As I've said elsewhere on this blog, the team needs stability more than anything right now. But that's just me. What do you think?

Post comments below . . .

NBA Teams Cleared to Talk to Hamed Ehadadi and Give Him Ridiculous Sums of Money

Via Interbasket:

Just days after news broke that the NBA had disallowed any teams to talk or deal with Iranian superstar Hamed Ehadadi, as well as other Iranian basketball players, due to a lack of the correct license and permission from the US Government, reports are that the NBA has been approved for the license and the restriction has been lifted.

So now the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as the other teams who has shown interest in the 7'2" center since his coming-out party in the Olympics, are allowed to enter into contract negotiations. And no, I won't make a joke about camels being involved in the terms. That would be silly.