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.

Links: Quick Thoughts Edition

Chris Herrington (Beyond the Arc) did a lot of hard work to round up the biggest and best rumors revolving around the Grizzlies as the draft approaches. As always, it is a must read -- especially since it talks about the possible return of Whit E. Boy.

Via TrueHoop: Brian Windhorst, the great columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal, is in the hospital right now, so I'm asking all of you to send your thoughts and prayers his way.

Mediaverse has some information on the recent decision by Gary Parrish and Geoff Calkins to leave 730 ESPN.

Hardwood Paroxysm continues to drop knowledge and insight.

Mike Miller didn't make the Team USA roster that is headed to China in a couple of months, but that's okay. Upside and Motor have you covered on everything you need to know about the guys who did make the cut.

Seven Dirty Grizzly Words from The Nation of Grizzlam

Grizzlies Insider Returns with Behind-the-Scenes Look at 2008 Draft

Links: Evaluation, Nuggets Blogs, Blogger Ban

Empty the Bench has taken on the task of evaluating the teams that won't be making the postseason this year (a thankless job, if ever there was one). Yesterday, they tackled the Memphis Grizzlies. ETB didn't mince words or pull any punches, which is just the way we like our analysis: harsh and accurate. It is a great read that I urge all of you to take a look at.

Both Nugg Doctor and Fire George Karl are pleased with last night's win, if somewhat unimpressed with the opponent. Hard to blame them on either count.

I'm sure all of you bloggers out there have already heard about the Dallas Mavericks imposing a Blogger Ban on their locker room. We have read everyone else's responses to this point (Hardwood Paroxysm, TrueHoop, et al) and agree with much of what has been said. Of course, as it so happens, we here at 3SoB have been politely asked to refrain from contacting anyone within the Grizzlies organization after our initial sitdown with Chris Wallace, even as we continue to provide some of the best coverage of the team outside of the lone newspaper in town. We have abided by that, even as other teams give blogs more access that we have ever dreamed of requesting. I have no problem with teams protecting themselves from media outlets that would seek to release damaging information (true, false or otherwise) acquired from "insider access". In fact, I wholeheartedly support it. However, as has been pointed out, writers from the "established media" should be held to the same standards that they accuse bloggers of not reaching. After all, if I had a nickel for every Sam Smith or Peter Vescey rumor that never panned out, I could afford to do nothing but write this blog every day. The media landscape is changing and it is time for "media targets" to not only realize it, but to accept it and adapt accordingly.

Blog of the day: Pete Pranica (Grizz Blogs)

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: International Influx and Issues, All Star Process, The Number 3

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski discusses the position that Jorge Garbajosa has put the Raptors in with his decision to play this summer even though Spain had already qualified for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After this interesting look into what GM's like Bryan Colangelo and R.C. Buford face each time they go overseas to scout foreign players, A.W. makes mention of the Grizzlies bringing in Juan Carlos Navarro and what effect Pau Gasol had in bringing him across the pond, as well as Navarro's presence making this a better situation for Gasol than last year's nightmare.

Jack McCallum (SI.com) decided to defend himself (and his fellow media members) in reference to the level of outrage that occured when they decided to place Tim Duncan (as well as Amare Stoudemire and Pau Gasol) under the designation of "Center" on the All-Star ballot, rather than the Power Forward position he typically plays. He lists the criteria that the NBA requires for candidates (which I had never read before) and then explains their reasons for their selections, which occasionally leaves more qualified players out in the cold.

David Berri (Wages of Wins) looks at a question that I saw on TrueHoop yesterday and intend to tackle as he did -- although not from a statistical perspective. That question is "Is Three A Magic Number?" when competing for an NBA title? Good read on his part and expect to see something on 3 Shades of Blue in the near future about the subject.

Handing Out Awards

As the inspiration for the querie that Henry Abbott (TrueHoop) put to team bloggers to be used in ESPN.com's 2007 NBA previews, Chip and I felt that it was our duty to select the best questions that were submitted. It turned out to be a difficult task, as nearly all the bloggers were creative in the questions they would ask their team's GM. So here are our Top 5:

1. Lang Whitaker, slamonline.com: Atlanta Hawks

2. J.E. Skeets, The Basketball Jones: Toronto Raptors

3. Dumpy, NetsDaily: New Jersey Nets

4. Liston, Introducing Liston: Minnesota Timberwolves

5. Wizznutzz: Washington Wizards

All the bloggers did a fantastic job and we here at 3 Shades of Blue salute you.

ESPN.com Preview

ESPN.com has their Memphis Grizzlies Team Preview up, where you'll find complimentary evaluations from Jon Barry and Chad Ford (both have us in the playoffs) and a questionable prediction from Greg Anthony, who has us as last in the West again. There is also a Player Spotlight on Tarence Kinsey and some analysis from stat freak John Hollinger. Oh yeah, some hack blogger gave them a few questions to ask GM Chris Wallace, too. Make sure you check out the other team previews and the questions bloggers had for their GM's. Most of them are absolutely hilarious.

A big thanks goes out to Henry Abbott from TrueHoop for including us in this. I owe him a cookie basket or something.

And the Hits Keep Coming

Just a word of thanks to some more media markets giving out little web page some serious props. Call it a Verno Bow for the self-promotion if you like.

Wages of Wins mentions us as the lead-in for their review/preview of the Grizzlies season. This web site is an excellent source for statistical analysis of players and other interesting information. They were so kind they even added a link to our web site from theirs.

Unfortunately the preview of the upcoming season wasn't as kind. Brutally honest perhaps but not kind. Unfortunately it is difficult to argue with their reasoning either. David Berri believes that it is unlikely that Darko Milicic will progress from a below average performer during his first four years in the league to an above average performer in his fifth. Sure there are exceptions but we are talking about statistics here and if you roll the dice enough you will eventually get them to land on top of each other but I wouldn't want to bet that happens on the next roll.

What makes matters worse is that they accurately predicted last seasons performance. To quote the preview

Does this mean Memphis cannot have a “good” season this year? As we note in the book, whether something is “good” or “bad” depends upon your point of reference. If your reference point is the top teams in the West, Memphis will probably have a “bad” season. If your reference point is the Vancouver Grizzlies, then Memphis will indeed be “great” in 2006-07.

Last season Memphis won 22 games. One fewer than the best season ever in Vancouver.

I hate it when stats don't lie!

The Commercial Appeal also referenced our web site today with the mention of our meeting a Buffalo Wild Wings with Chris Wallace and the subsequent TrueHoop commentary about the rarity of a GM doing something like that. If I might make a suggestion Ron Tillery, before describing the people's reactions at the meeting you may want to interview at least one person in the group who was present. Just a small piece of advice.

These references joined with the kind words from Chris Vernon, Blog-A-Bull and others really has our website feeling some love heading into the season. Even if our beloved Grizzlies aren't getting as much.

Thanks to all of our readers for checking us out. Especially that one reader from Auckland, New Zealand. If you ever get to Memphis we have to get together!!!