GM Chris Wallace Faces the Fans...again.

Well the trade dead line has come on gone with the Memphis Grizzlies basically standing pat until the 2008 off season. Well they helped a couple of their division rivals exchange malcontents but decided against trading Mike Miller or Kyle Lowry at this time. Supposedly, Grizz GM Chris Wallace had multiple offers for both Miller and Lowry but decided none of the offers were worth making a move. Unfortunately for Wallace, after the Pau Gasol trade he has joined the likes of Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale and Billy Knight in the ESPN WILL RIDICULE EVERY MOVE I MAKE CLUB. The influence of ESPN can not be ignored. Also, the fact that Gasol is now playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and will likely be on national TV every week can't be ignored. For the rest of this season, Memphis will likely be losing and Gasol and the Lakers will be winning with ESPN's talking heads being critical of Wallace and the Grizzlies along the way.

Whether I agree with the decisions Chris Wallace has made or not, after trading Pau Gasol for a bag of magic beans and not trading Mike Miller for another bag (I agreed with both), Wallace has always gone the extra step to try and keep the fan base informed about his reasoning for doing or not doing a particular move. Shortly after the NBA trade deadline, Wallace took it another step and fielded phone calls on Chris Vernon's radio show from frustrated Memphis Grizzlies fans for an entire hour(part 1, part 2, part 3). Although Wallace has a tendency to use redirection and deflection, he did at least give some outlet to the growing frustration in the Memphis Grizzlies fan base. It is one thing to call or listen to sports talk radio and speak with the radio host but it is another thing to engage in a discussion with the man who is making the decisions for your favorite team.

So after the uneventful trade dead line, it is time for Chris Wallace and the rest of the Memphis Grizzlies fans to turn our focus to college basketball and hope that our savior is coming in the 2008 NBA draft. The Western Conference in the the NBA is going to be hellacious to navigate through over the next season and a half. It is with this notion the Chris Wallace has positioned the Grizzlies to try and be ready when the Suns, Spurs, Mavericks, and Nuggets are hit with the realities of age that the Memphis Grizzlies can join Portland, Seattle and Minnesota as the up and coming to teams poised with young talent to take their place.

Now winning the lottery...that is another article entirely.

Miller Trade Watch: No Trade?

With the trade deadline looming, is the Mike Miller Trade Watch cooling off?

It looks that way.

Miller's name has been all over the NBA trade rumor grapevine in the last week (e.g., here, here, here, here)

But now, Verno just posted that Miller is likely to stay in Memphis.

I am told that a betting man would bet the Grizzlies would stand pat, but anything can happen.

Now, on to Miller... the Grizzlies point of view is that they will not trade Miller in a simply financial deal. Any deal for Miller would have to make basketball sense (this was a nice thing to hear). They are worried that if they move Miller they will lose real outside shooting and virtually any veteran presence (from a guy that plays). The thought is that if you keep Miller that you could put something good together within a few years, whereas if you move him for what you would get in many of the deals you could quickly become 4-5 yrs from being really competitive (like the Bulls did). The other thought is that at the top of the draft (where the Grizz pick will be) there are pg's and bigs, but really only one outside scorer (Gordon). So let's say that you more than likely get an interior guy (Beasley, Love, Arthur, whoever) in the draft, then you want to have Miller and you could be something other than an abomination in the near future. Again, Miller's outside shooting and the fact that he is a vet make them very skeptical of moving him. I understand the value that they see in keeping Miller if teams are not bowling them over with the offers.

I would bet that Miller is not dealt, but again, anything can happen. Wallace will be on the show tomorrow.

Makes sense.

And we also have some additional evidence that supports what Verno is saying.

During the Clippers feed of the game, their sideline reporter was talking about Miller not being active due to back spasms and that the timing may seem odd due to the trade deadline, she reported that she had it on "good authority" that Miller will NOT be dealt before the trade deadline. She then mentioned a few reasons that were exactly in line with what Verno said.

So, the tone seems to be that Miller will not be dealt for just expiring contracts. It has to make sense basketball wise. And the team seems to be scared of losing his outside shooting presence.

I'd say the Mike Miller Trade Watch should remain at Yellow, but I do believe reports that odds right now are that he likely wont' be dealt.

Now we just wait to see if anyone presents Wallace with any better trade offers in the next 12 hours or so.

Update I

Tillery has an article saying the same thing as above.

Anything can happen by the NBA's 2 p.m. CST trade deadline.

Then again, nothing is likely to occur regarding the Grizzlies.

That was the tone within the organization late Wednesday with regard to potential deals, specifically regarding guards Mike Miller and Kyle Lowry.

The two most sought-after players will remain in Grizzlies uniforms through the remainder of the regular season barring an 11th-hour, earth-shattering pitch from suitors.

"We value these guys," Griz general manager Chris Wallace said Wednesday before the team faced the Los Angeles Clippers. "We have not committed to any deals. There's nothing that I would consider imminent. If I had to put odds on it, I'd say it's more unlikely than likely that we'll do something."

So there you go, similar to what Verno said. Nothing likely. Door not closed, but expect no deals. Team insists that the team isn't being stripped down financially and that they are considering the basketball standpoint.

Wait....just saw another mention somewhere about us not trading Miller. This time it is Yahoo.

It will be interesting to see what the beat writers from Denver, Miami, and Cleveland say in the morning.

Update II (not about Miller)

A Houston paper reports that we are somehow acquiring Marcus Vinicius from the Hornets in a 3-team deal. Doesn't give any details and sort-of implies we get him for free. I suspect the Hornets needed to make room since they are trading former Grizzly Bobby Jackson for 2 players (former banned Grizzly Bonzi and Griz Killer Mike James). Maybe we use any cap space we have or an exception of some sort or send over future considerations or a 2nd rounder or something. I'm sure we will find out on Thursday sometime if this report is true and the full details.

Miller Trade Watch Inching Closer to Red

The trade deadline is less than 48 hours away. The Mike Miller Trade Watch is as hot as ever.

There are so many Mike Miller rumors out there, I'm not even going to attempt to provide all the links. Go to the hoopshype rumors page and see most of them.

I'll summarize where we are at:

-- Mike Miller is clearly the most mentioned name right now in NBA trade rumors. He also might be the player most likely to be traded that can make an immediate impact on the team he is traded to.

-- Miller's name has been linked to something like 11 teams (Denver, Clippers, Miami, Dallas, New Jersey, Indiana, Spurs, Blazers, Bulls, Cleveland, Lakers).

-- Denver seems to be the most interested, but also seem to be looking at either Miller or Artest (wait, they also want Lowry too!).

-- Cleveland seems to be the next most interested in Miller (and Lowry as well, imagine that). Although the problem with Cleveland is that they have very little to offer. Check out this craptastic trade offering Chad Ford spits our way.

The deal, as described to me by a player agent, would send Miller, Cardinal and Lowry to the Cavaliers for Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons and Dwayne Jones along with cash and at least one first-round pick from Cleveland.

The trade works using the RealGM Trade Checker, but I still say Yuck! I understand this pu-pu platter contains the prerequisite expiring contracts and draft picks, but I would hope we could land at least 1 current player to add to our nucleus when trading Miller (and/or Lowry). Even getting rid of Cardinal's two more years isn't that exciting because Marshall has one more year left. I understand the reasoning in also trading Miller now and increasing our cap space even further, but I'm still dumbfounded why a cheap and producing player like Lowry must also get traded for nothing? He cost very little, has been a solid backup, and currently nobody else on the roster looks like a full time backup PG. Why is it a must we trade Lowry before the deadline again?

-- Rumor has the Clippers wanting to send Sam Cassell and filler for Miller (what? how does that makes sense? are we buying him out too?), but the Griz wanted their pick and they said no to that.

-- Rumor has it that Indiana has offered Daniels and Diogu (I'm not appalled, at least).

-- On the radio, Verno and Hassletine were fairly certain that Miller would be traded.

-- Miller, after getting undercut by Ridnour, was suddenly done playing for the rest of the Sonics game. Didn't want to risk injury before a trade???

-- A report was that Miller said bye to all his teammates before the all-star break, just in case he was traded before the Sonics game. And another report then mentioned that he flew to Seattle for the game on his own and his teammates were happy to see him show up for work at the team hotel.

It sure seems that Miller is going to be traded before Thursday. And if not then, it is highly unlikely he plays with the Griz in 08-09. Miller's trade value seems to be as high as ever right now, as many teams are rumored to be chasing him pretty hard. I hope Wallace can turn a Miller trade into something good for the team. If Miller does make it past the trade deadline, I'd fully expect to see him moved during the draft. The Mike Miller Trade Watch never seems to end...

Miller Trade Watch Raised to Orange

The trade deadline is less than 6 days away and the Mike Miller Trade Watch is heating up, moving into the Orange Level.

You don't know what the Orange Level is? Well, let me fill you in.

Level 1 - Green or Low...Just a normal day in the trade friendly NBA.
Level 2 - Blue or Guarded...Name is thrown around the NBA trade rumor grapevine.
Level 3 - Yellow or Elevated...Name is thrown around in rumors AND other indicators point towards the likelihood of a trade.
Level 4 - Orange or High...Either exceptionally strong trade rumors OR the Yellow Level near the trade deadline.
Level 5 - Red or Severe...Trusted media sources basically assuring us a deal is imminent.

If you read this blog much, you've probably noticed that I like to review what events have transpired to get us to where we are now. Let's do that now as it relates to the Mike Miller Trade Watch. To a lesser degree, the Mike Miller Trade Watch has been going on for a while now.

-- In 2006, after yet another playoff sweep it became obvious that some changes needed to be made, it was rumored that Houston had their pick of either Shane Battier or Mike Miller in the Rudy Gay trade.

-- During June of 2007, it is probably safe to say that the Watch was at a Gaurded Blue Level. There were rumblings around town that Miller may be traded on draft night. One possible destination thrown out before the draft was Charlotte, who had a late lottery pick cap space to absorb Miller's contract. Charlotte ended up trading their lottery pick (and cap space) for Jason Richardson.

-- The beginning of season was more of the same. Tom Ziller at AOL Fanhouse thought Mike Miller was likely to be traded this season. Spartacus replied to TZ, which is a particularly interesting read now considering how the season ended up unfolding.

-- The Watch stayed at a Guarded Blue Level this season until Pau Gasol was traded, when it was then raised up to the Elevated Yellow Level. Part of the reason the Watch immediately went to Yellow was the manner in which Pau was traded. Chris Wallace has been highly criticized for the deal he accepted for Pau, which was a pu-pu platter of expiring contracts and draft picks. If Pau is being traded for cap space and picks, it is logically to think Miller may too, right?

-- Chris Sheridan thought so and named Miller one of the most likely players to also be moved by the trade deadline. At this point the rumors of Miller being traded were loud enough the Commercial Appeal ran the obligatory "I'm not thinking about the trade rumors" article.

Now, things are heating up. In the presence of a looming steaming hot trade deadline, amid swirling trade rumors all across the country that Miller is on the block and in the face of a evidence the Grizzlies are in a fire-sale, the Mike Miller Trade Watch has been raised to the Orange Level. Let's expand on those thoughts.

-- Miller's name is being thrown around in trade rumors all across the country (more on that in a bit).

-- It has even been reported Miller has told friends he believes he will be traded before the deadline.

-- Chris Wallace (or Micheal Heisley depending on your viewpoint) has shown he has a plan for the future and that plan apparently includes increasing both future cap space and future draft picks. On top of that Wallace has shown he will not hesitate to pull the trigger on a deal if it fits his plan (look no further to trading Pau 3 weeks before the trade deadline for cap space and draft picks). If someone offers cap space and picks for Miller, it is reasonable to assume Wallace just may say yes.

-- Chris Vernon, who I can't remember ever being wrong about the Griz, says that Heisley has the team in fire-sale mode and that if Miller gets traded for money and picks, the fire-sale will be completely undeniable. I have learned to always believe Verno and when he tells me there is a good chance that the Pau trade will lead to a similar Miller trade before the deadline, I take him seriously.

-- In what may be the most active trade season in recent memory, there are still 6 days for NBA GM's to make deals and load up in the apparent Western Conference Arms Race (including a yet to be completed Jason Kidd to Dallas trade). I'm sure other teams are talking to Wallace about Mike Miller.

Ok, so there are plenty of reasons to pay attention to the possibility of Miller being traded. What are some of the rumored trades and possible destinations for Miller?

-- Heat. A popular rumored destination is to Miami where they have expiring contracts in Jason Williams (oh, the irony) and Ricky Davis (who if you didn't know is a proud member of the Griz Killer Dream Team). One catch is that they can't trade their 2008 draft pick right now since it could be owed to the Twolves from the Walker-Davis trade.

-- Nuggets. A local rumor floating around that I've heard a number of people tell me about is with the Denver Nuggets. With the rest of the West loading up and the Nugs on a 50 win pace yet still on the bubble for the playoffs, they could make a play to improve their club. They have an expiring contract in Najera as well as their pick to trade. Oh ya, they also have a knucklehead named JR Smith ready to poison any locker room he gets put in.

-- Mavericks. Here is a new one, allegedly a sports radio host in Dallas talked about a local rumor of Dallas signing Keith Van Horn for 1 year and 20 million (!!!), then trading him for Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins. Talk about a Memphis salary dump!! I wonder if that could be a way to fill in the Dallas roster after a Kidd-for-half-the-team trade takes place. But that would mean a heck of a lot of luxury tax Cuban would have to pay. Anyway, it is just a rumor and likely without merit and completely untrue, but I just wanted to pass it along.

-- Nets. A New Jersey paper reports the Nets are interested in Miller. They have expiring contracts in Magloire and Nachbar and possibly extra draft picks from any impending Jason Kidd trade.

So there you go. In the next 6 days don't be surprised if Miller is traded for more cap space and draft picks.

One more aspect I think I should mention. There are 3 other Griz players being routinely named in these same Miller rumors:

-- Lowry (everybody assumes he is the odd-man-out among our young guard trio)
-- Hak (very few people see a role for him on this team in the future, so why not try to get something for him now)
-- Cardinal (please, will someone freaking take his contract off our hands)

Personally, I go back and forth on if Miller will end up getting traded before the deadline, however, I will safely predict that if Miller is traded, it won't be for current talent, but rather more cap space and more picks.

If any new information is leaked in the coming days and a trade seems imminent, we will be sure to raise the Watch Level to Red and promptly fill you in on the details and give you our analysis.

Time for Some Action

“I’m here to build a championship team. I want to see a parade one day down Beale Street. This city deserves it. That’s what we’re in the game for, to win championships and (head coach) Marc (Iavaroni) and I will not rest until we have that parade somewhere down the future.”

Sounds good doesn't it? A NBA championship in Memphis, TN? Who would not get on board behind that notion. These are the words that were spoken by Chris Wallace at his first press conference upon being hired to turn around the Memphis Grizzlies. Yes, the words are easy to say but now it is time to get down to business. Most Grizzlies fans are so used to a reactive or inactive front office that the prevailing feeling is that the Grizzlies will do nothing before the trade deadline beyond buying out Damon Stoudamire. This is how much faith the fan base of a team that has a combined record of 35-90 over the the last season and a half have in their front office. Yet, everyone from Michael Heisley to Jerry West to ESPN thinks the Grizzlies fans are the dummies for not paying for the crap the Grizzlies organization have laid on the FEDEX Forum floor the last year and a half. What the Grizzlies front office is essentially telling the fans with their inaction is "we know better than you do". This is ok...if you win...but when you might put up back to back sub 30 win seasons it reeks of incompetence at best and idiotic arrogance at worst.

Last season at the trade deadline, the Grizzlies had an opportunity to remake the franchise by trading Pau Gasol. However, our organization continues to act like Gasol has brought us to the brink of winning a title. This is not the same situation as Kevin Garnett in Minnesota. Kevin Garnett was a multiple time All Star who had led the Timberwolves to four 50+ win seasons and the Western Conference finals. Gasol is a one time All Star who has led the Grizzlies to one 50 win season and an 0-12 playoff record. Holding on to Gasol because he has been the best player in Grizzlies history is not prudent, it is a testament to how pathetic this organization has been since coming into the league in 1996 and averaging a pedestrian 27 wins per season.

Trading Gasol, even for a the mythical bag a magic beans, is not necessarily the death nail the Grizzlies organization and fans envision. Just looking at recent NBA history shows this to be true. At the 2005 trade deadline, the New Orleans Hornets traded two time All Star and playoff stalwart Baron Davis to the Golden State Warriors for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis. They promptly went on to have the third worst record in the league, drafted Chris Paul with the fourth pick and in two seasons they are even better than they were with B Diddy. Isolated incident? In December of that same season, the Toronto Raptors traded the pouting Vince Carter to New Jersey for Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and two first round draft picks. One picked turned into Joey Graham and the other was used to get the New York Knicks to swap Antonio Davis for Jalen Rose. Similarly, two years later, the Raptors were better than the team in which Vinsanity was starring.

Now those were just two recent examples of how a properly managed team can overcome even the most horrid of trades. Interestingly, Davis and Carter had helped their franchises win more than Gasol has for the Grizzlies but for some reason the Grizzlies continue to hold on. It is not a matter of anyone thinking Gasol is to blame but also you can't expect to get the Grizzlies salvation from what you get in a Gasol trade. If we do then we should count ourselves lucky because it rarely, if ever, works out that way. The fact remains, with Gasol, the Grizzlies are on pace to win 24 games and finish 27th in the league in attendance? What in the hell are we hoping to avoid by keeping Gasol?

Hopefully, the Grizzlies do not wait until the situation with Gasol becomes sour again. The time to rebuild is while you have some good young talent (Gay, Conley, Lowry, Milicic) locked into small reasonable contracts. Also, Gasol's value is probably at his peak with regards to his production, salary, and contract length. Same goes with Mike Miller. Time for the Memphis Grizzlies to finally be proactive in building this franchise.

____________________________________________________________________

MemphisX Pau Gasol Trade of the Week


Pau Gasol and Brian Cardinal to the Chicago Bulls for Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Viktor Khryapa and a benevolent donation to the P.J. Brown retirement fund in the amount of $7.3 million ($3 million of which is paid by Chicago).