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.

Previewing the Point Guards:

by Chip Crain

This is the official kick off 3 Shades of Blue's pre-season coverage of your Memphis Grizzlies (like you came here to read our views on any other team anyway!).

Each day this week the guys at the 3SOB will cover a new position in detail to give our readers the most comprehensive and informative information on this website. We hope to have the most comprehensive coverage over the Internet but don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves just yet.

To begin the pre-season review it seemed appropriate to start at the most debated position on the team: point guard.

Memphis returns three players who consider themselves point guards from last season's team and none of the players have two full years of experience nor have reached their 23rd birthday yet (Conley, Lowry and Crittenton). So what do the Grizzlies do on draft night? They trade away their best returning performer and their draft pick who filled a need for a player who considers himself a point guard (Mayo). Included in the trade for Mayo is the old man of the group in 29 yr old Marko Jaric but is expected to be low in the rotation for playing time at the point. That's five players capable of playing the point out of an expected 13 roster players for Opening Night.

And people wonder how we never run out of topics to discuss over here.

The Players:

Mike Conley - Mike returns as the starting point guard on the team despite missing all or parts of 30+ games his rookie season due various injuries. In the 52 games Mike played in as a rookie he put up respectable numbers when compared to other point guards around the league's rookie numbers (Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Deron Williams to name a few). That isn't to say that Conley will match those players in the future. Rather that he has shown the potential to do so. Especially when you consider that he was as young or younger than any of the aforementioned players his rookie season. One major difference between Conley and the others has been his durability but he has looked much stronger this off-season than he did last season. That strength will be important if Conley plans on putting the injury reputation behind him.

Kyle Lowry - The former Wildcat has become a bulldog on the Grizzlies roster. Kyle lit the city on fire on opening night of his rookie campaign when he announced his presence with authority posting 6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in leading the Grizzlies 2nd half charge. Suddenly Kyle Lowry was the most exciting rookie in franchise history (which is pretty impressive considering Shane Battier, Shareef Abdur Rahim and Pau Gasol had preceded him). Just as suddenly he was gone for the year after breaking his wrist in the 10th game of the season. His sophomore season was a struggle as he fought for playing time behind veteran Damon Stoudamire and rookie Mike Conley. Kyle's wild play energizes the team on the defensive end but his lack of control hurts the team on the offensive side of the ball. Still Kyle produced at a rate similar to Conley in nearly the same amount of time on the court and usually with inferior players around him. While his game seems best suited for a backup role right now Lowry's grit and determination means that no one is going to take the starting spot without a fight.

O.J. Mayo - O.J. Mayo looks to supplant Kyle Lowry as the most exciting rookie acquisition in franchise history this year. O.J. Mayo has been preparing himself almost since birth to be an NBA star and anything short of brilliance will disappoint his legion of supporters around the city. Mayo looked impressive at times in summer league and practising against the US Olympic team but he has also looked sloppy with the ball and unable to really explode past defenders. Mayo lacks the blinding speed of Conley and other PG's but he compensates that with a good passing ability and nice size for a PG. Mayo is also a workaholic who is in excellent physical condition. While no rookie can prepare himself for life as an NBA player, Mayo should suffer less than most because of his excellent physical condition. Mayo is already considered the best defensive player in the Grizzlies backcourt and quite possibly the best defender on the team which is a trait not often associated with a score first PG. For now at least the plan appears to be to play Mayo at the shooting guard position this season where his clutch long range shooting and defense are needed more but one can't ignore the possibility with a trade of Mayo taking over the point during his career.

Javaris Crittenton - When JCrit arrived from LA after the Gasol trade he felt a wave of relief. He was now going to get the chance he was denied at the Lakers. It hasn't worked out exactly that way so far. Instead of being behind Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar, more typical PG's for Phil Jackson's triangle offense, JCritt found himself behind Conley and Lowry who were equally quick and young but had the inside tract with the coaches. JCritt has been working hard this summer on some perceived weaknesses in his game including the outside shot and better court vision. Javaris wants to play the point in the NBA but right now the minutes just don't seem to be there. JCritt will need to show he can play the SG position as well if he wants anything more than token minutes this season. One strong point for JCritt is his defense which should hold him in good standing with new coach Kevin O'Neill and his preferred pressure style of play.

Marko Jaric - Finally we reach the one PG on the team that has actual NBA experience in playoff games. Wait a minute. You mean Jaric has played 6 seasons in the NBA and never made the playoffs??? How can that be? Well first off he hasn't played on many good teams but he also hasn't made bad teams better by his presence. One thing Marco definitely does have is a smooth long distance shot and excellent height for a PG at 6-7. What he doesn't have is a scorer's mentality as he has never reached 10 ppg over a season. It is unknown right now if a team with OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay not to mention Hakim Warrick, Marc Gasol and Antoine Walker really needs another player looking for his shot. Defensively Jaric is considered decent but not excellent. His 6-7 frame does cause problems for opponents trying to get a shot off over him and his 1.4 spg over his career means he is smart enough to get into passing lanes despite a noticeable lack of foot speed for a point guard.

Conclusion: Memphis has a problem that most NBA teams dream about in having too many young, talented Point Guards but that doesn't mean it is not a serious problem. How the Grizzlies can manage to find playing time for all 5 players will be a nasty juggling act for Marc Iavaroni. Heading into camp it appears that Conley has the inside position as the starter with Lowry backing him up. Mayo and Jaric are expected to split time at the two guard while JCritt floats back and forth but nothing is written in stone. Memphis is willing to discuss a move for any of the potential PG's but isn't interested in helping another team out by giving one of their players away for nothing.

Right now JCritt and Lowry look to be in a dead heat to be the first player moved while Mayo is the only player among the group entrenched on the roster. Conley should be safe unless he can't separate himself from Lowry this year. Jaric may be here a while because of his bloated contract but could be moved to bring in someone with a larger contract (maybe Zach Randolph for example). JCritt needs to find a place to get some minutes either here after someone else is moved or somewhere else for himself.

The Grizzlies are okay at the point this season and should be heading toward strong by next season. They just need times to find their legs and learn the game. Making a clear decision on who is going to be the starter and who's going to be first off the bench should help the players understand their roles and what they need to improve on going forward.

I can't believe I wrote about the point guards and didn't mention Adriana Lima one single solitary time!

That didn't count there at the end did it?

Linksplosion

We're overdue for a Links post, so let's dive right in with a couple of interviews!

Yahoo! (Sean Deveney - Sporting News) - Rudy Gay talked with Deveney at Chris Paul's charity event last weekend about a variety of topics. Deveney asked some rather provocative questions, many of which seemed to be designed to get a reaction from the young SF, but Rudy enhanced his calm and comported himself quite well. He answered questions about leadership and why the fans should show up this season, too.

The Sporting News (Stan McNeal) interviewed rookie Darrell Arthur yesterday via phone. Among the topics discussed was his involvement in the happenings at the Rookie Transistion Camp and how he had to face his mother afterwards. Solid interview for a player we hope is a solid presence in the post.

Ron Tillery checks in with two solid articles in the past couple of days. The first one, found on the Commercial Appeal, discusses the likelihood that the team is done making moves for the time being and will go into preseason with the 13 players already under contract. The second (and far more enlightening, IMO) is on the Memphis Edge, and gives fans something to be excited about: This Grizzlies team has fire and intensity! Reports of O.J. Mayo and Darko Milicic getting in each others' faces during practice makes me all tingly inside.

Speaking of Darko, over on FOXSports.com, my least favorite MSM NBA scribe, Mike Kahn, has a column about The Dark One and whether or not he'll ever live up to his hype and potential. Given what Marc Iavaroni told us in his interview posted earlier this week about Milicic moving over to the PF spot more this upcoming season, I think we could see some interesting things from him this year.

In an interesting interview that Chuck Klosterman did with Michael Rand (StarTribune.com), there was the following question and answer:

RB: Kevin Love or O.J. Mayo?

CK: This is actually pretty close. I think Love has the potential to be better, but only if he’s the third option on a very good team (and that will never happen in Minnesota). Mayo is more complex. He’ll either be awesome or useless. There is something strange about his attitude; he seems detached in a way I cannot define. He might end up being a version of Vernon Maxwell who passes well, or a [redacted] sociopath.

The Grizzlies are now short a shooting coach. Mark Price has joined the staff of the Atlanta Hawks.

Hoopsworld is reporting that even though the Zach Randolph trade is dead (can I get an Amen???), the Grizzlies are still more than willing to listen to trade proposals from around the league. Does that classify as breaking news given their imbalanced roster and overwhelming amount of young guards? No? Just checking. They also check in by listing Mike Conley as one of the Top Six Players in Need of a Trade. Ummm....yeah....right.

Kornheiser's Cartel seems to think that the Grizzlies' problems lie at the feet of GM Chris Wallace. I disagree and will explain why in an interview with the mastermind of this great new blog in the very near future.

Upside and Motor has a note for fans around the league that complain about ticket prices: Be glad you aren't a Laker fan.

For the stat geeks out there, check out this post from Bucks Diary that calculates the Win Profiles for each NBA team. This is some Dave Berri-level stuff, so it isn't for the faint of heart.

Think that all NBA referees suck and that you could do better? Henry Abbott (TrueHoop) says, "Not so fast". More often than not, these guys make the correct call.

Would you like to know more about defensive principles? Then read this excellent post by Dave on Blazer's Edge. Truly a great read.

Would you like to know more about basketball -- and sports in general? Then read Eric Musselman's blog every single day. What a great mind!

Former (Vancouver) Grizzlies forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim retired this week. Most fans in Memphis never got to see him suit up for the franchise, but I'm sure that many of the fans in the Great Northwest remember his remarkable consistency as a 20/10 player, night after night.

Finally, don't forget about the Tip-Off Luncheon. There are still a few seats available at the 2nd table that we here at 3 Shades of Blue will be sponsoring, so shoot us an email if you're interested.

Transcendent Meditation

By Chip Crain

By now most people have read the back and forth comments between Ryan Schwan at Hornets24/7 and our own Josh Coleman about the Grizzlies. I also sent Ryan an email about his comments and he replied with this:

Yeah, I unloaded on your team. Sorry about that. :( I still love your blog!

I actually left out one of the main points I wanted to make about your team - which is that in order to make a quick turnaround from 15-20 wins you have to land that transcendant talent - O'Neal, Duncan, Paul.

I have been thinking about what he wrote and it suddenly dawned on me the problem with the argument about transcendent talent. No we don't appear to possess the transcendental talent yet but in the last three years Memphis has traded Shane Battier for Rudy Gay, acquired Mike Conley with the 4th pick in the draft after Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Al Horford had already been taken (the Hornets got Chris Paul after Bogut, Marvin Williams and Devin Williams were drafted by the way) and traded Kevin Love and Mike Miller for O J Mayo.

They have been trying to get the transcendental talent he talks about!

Rudy is a near miss but a big step up from Shane Battier right now and is only 22 and starting his 3rd NBA season. Conley, only 20 yrs old, still is looking like the 4th best player taken in the lottery. Consider that after Conley you had Jeff Green, Yi Jianlian, Corey Brewer, Brandon Wright, Joakim Noah, Spencer Hawes, Acie Law, Thaddeus Young, Julian Wright and Al Thornton. Where was the transcendent talent in that list?

No one knows about O J Mayo but there have been some intelligent people who are very impressed with him so far. Memphis hasn't been lucky in the lottery/draft the last few years (unlike New Orleans). As long as the team continues to try and get that transcendent talent they will eventually get lucky.

That is why I am glad the team isn't selling out for players like Zach Randolph and the like. This would only hurt our chances of acquiring the type of talent Memphis won't get in free agency. Maybe Conley will develop to an elite PG. Maybe he will only be average. That still makes him one of the top 15 or so PG's in the world. Rudy Gay is one of the top 50 players in the world right now at any position according to Tom Ziller and he hasn't peaked yet. Mayo is a rookie but no one argued with him being the 3rd pick in last year's draft after Beasley and Rose.

Finally Josh Smith nearly fell into their laps this summer. Sure Atlanta matched immediately but that is what happens with players of that caliber in the NBA. They just aren't available very often and a small market like Memphis has to get lucky and keep shooting for the stars to get that talent. Where would New Orleans be today if Chris Paul had been drafted #1 in that draft and Chicago matched the Hornets offer on Chandler? What if that draft had gone Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut? Where would New Orleans be today?

The bottom line is that Memphis is trying hard to get the type of player you say they need. New Orleans got lucky and had one fall into their laps at #4. Memphis hasn't been so fortunate yet. Gasol, Hamed, Darko, Warrick and Arthur aren't supposed to be the big name players. Memphis still needs to acquire someone to be the Beast on the Bluff (you don't know how many years I have been waiting for the Grizzlies to get a player worthy of that moniker by the way). It isn't going to be Zach Randolph or anyone else in free agency most likely. Memphis will have to parlay the talent they have to acquire someone in a trade or get lucky in the lottery/draft. But they are only that piece away from being surprisingly good with a ton of cap space to fill in the needs off the bench it may have.

Then again, with guys on the bench like Arthur, Crittenton, Lowry, Haddadi and Gasol maybe there won't be that many more holes to fill either.

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 . . .

Comparing to the Celtics (or Ridiculousness to Pass the Time)

Two seasons ago, the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics "fought" to the wire for the title of "worst team in the NBA" in order to garner the best shot at the two "no doubt future superstars" in the draft in the form of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Alas, their "efforts" were all for naught, as both finished outside of the top 3 positions in the draft, slated #4 and #5 respectively. As we all know, the Celtics didn't sit idly by, but were very active, as they traded away their younger assets for the services of two veterans -- Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Those moves helped them to surround longtime Celtic Paul Pierce with enough talent to not only make the postseason, but to do so with the best record in the NBA and go on to win the NBA Championship this year. However, there was also another key acquisition that spurred the Celtics on to title aspirations. That was the hiring of a new assistant coach.

Enter Tom Thibodeau. In his 18 seasons of being an assistant coach in the NBA, his team has finished in the Top 10 in overall defense 14 times. He is a defensive specialist -- that is what he does. Of course, at the time of his hiring, many wondered if he was simply the "coach in waiting" for Doc Rivers, who was perceived to be a lame duck by many. Any of this sound familiar yet? It sure does to me, in light of the way that many people received the news that Kevin O'Neill was being hired for the purpose of bolstering the Grizzlies' defense. There was rampant talk of the move "undermining Coach Marc Iavaroni" and that O'Neill was just in place to be "the next head coach" once Ivy was let go. Unfortunately for all those people -- some of whom just love to stir up trouble -- the fact is that O'Neill was brought in with Iavaroni's full endorsement. We've gone over that issue before, but it bears repeating as we gear up for the season. Marc Iavaroni wants Kevin O'Neill on his staff. Period. End of discussion.


With that out of the way, I wondered if there were any parallels to the champs that we could draw, besides the coaching labels: Doc Rivers = Marc Iavaroni in the "Supposed Lame Duck" category (vastly overstated IMO); Tom Thibodeau = Kevin O'Neill in the "Hard-nosed Defensive Specialist/Coach-in-waiting" category. Since the first two examples were in the coaching staff, I decided to look at it from the perspective of leadership/attitude. So the next few comparisons are based upon that idea, not position, game type or skillset.

Kevin Garnett = O.J. Mayo

KG (or Mr. Intensity) is the unquestioned emotional leader of the Celtics. He is the guy that gets everyone else fired up and has no issue with getting in someone's face and screaming like a banshee if they aren't as into the game as he wants them to be. Rudy Gay is not that guy. Mike Conley hasn't shown that he will be that guy. I believe that Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo just might be that guy though. He has that certain presence that defies categorization beyond the label of "born leader". If anyone on this young team is going to take that initial step towards being the unquestioned emotional leader, I think that Mayo is the most likely choice.

Paul Pierce = Mike Conley

The Truth leads by example. He's not big on displays of emotion, preferring to let his actions speak for themselves. While KG is raw emotional intensity, Pierce possesses a quiet fury that bubbles just below the surface. In that same manner, Conley isn't a guy that gets into his teammates faces (not yet, anyways), but he carries himself like someone who knows what needs to be done and then goes out and does it. He could prove to be the on-the-court leader that the Grizzlies need as they mature over the season. Only time will tell.

Ray Allen = Rudy Gay

Jesus Shuttlesworth is one of the best 2nd fiddles in the league. The fact that he is a 3rd option for Boston makes him one of the best #3 men in the history of the NBA. While he's not a leader in terms of emotion or an "on-the-floor coach", he is an absolute assassin when the need arises. He puts up big numbers when the team needs a lift and has no issue with the ball being in his hands as the clock winds down to 0.0 with the game on the line. Rudy Gay is a lot like that to this point in his career. Whether it is scoring in bunches throughout the game or hitting deep 3's late in the 4th quarter to bring his team back from the brink of defeat, he has shown himself to be a clutch performer so far in his young career. Like Ray Allen, he is best suited to be the sidekick due to his approach to the game, but what a talent to have as the #2 option.

I could go on and on, making further comparisons like Kendrick Perkins = Marc Gasol/Darko Milicic, but I think we've covered the important parts. This is not to say that the Grizzlies are going to even come close to making the playoffs next season, much less contend for a title, but the makeup in terms of personality and attitude is there for them to show some improvement. If their talent level can reach even 75% of the players I have compared them to, they might just reach Tsunami Status a lot sooner than anyone expects. Wouldn't that be a nice surprise?

PE: Working Out to Play the Game

Class is back in session. Earlier in the week we had Civics, Science and Math if you want to read up on the other classes. And you don't want to start the school year falling behind in class do you???

So we finish up our back to school week blogs with the most people's favorite class Physical Education (unless you are one of those Bill Gates types who abhor sweat and prefer to make jokes about computer codes). No homework and you usually were allowed to scream, run and create mayhem without getting into trouble. Try doing that in English class! Along this theme I wanted to find out what NBA players in general, and Grizzlies players in particular, do to stay in shape during the off-season. What I found out was quite different than I expected.

There is no 'typical day' per se for NBA players. Some players use the off-season to work on particular weaknesses in their game. Other players continue to work on the strengths of their games. Some work harder on conditioning while others opt to rest their bodies to prepare for the upcoming 82 game marathon season. And of course some players choose to use their summer free time representing their country in the Olympics or other national competitions. Memphis has Marc Gasol (Spain), Darko Milicic (Serbia) and O J Mayo (USA Select team) who all contributed at least part of their summers helping out on the home front.

While working out against the Redemption Team isn't going to put a player at too much additional risk of injury, sometimes the International team workouts can be very detrimental to a players NBA career. Stories about 7 ft players running along rocky trails in mountains are not uncommon. It is not a big surprise that Darko hurt his Achilles tendon while training with Serbia, a country and a team not reputed to be among the leaders in modern training techniques or medicine.

I did talk to Mike Procopio at Attack Athletics about his group's program. Some of you may remember Mike from Chris Wallace's press conference after the O.J. Mayo trade. Mike was the person who pestered Chris into acquiring O.J., saying he was going to be a big star in the league. Hopefully Mike knows what he is talking about.

Attack Athletics program is based on working out 5 days a week for about 6 hours a day. A typical day begins around 9:00 am with an hour and half skills workout including shooting (200-250 shots during that time). Next is another hour and a half of strength and conditioning work. After a short break for a snack the players start scrimmaging. Not just some backyard, pick-up game scrimmaging either. The scrimmages are limited to their NBA players (20 right now, including O.J. Mayo and Antoine Walker) and are officiated by actual NBA and college referees.



Down at Suwanee Sports Academy in Atlanta things are done a little differently. SSA is the home of the Mark Price Basketball Academy for NBA Players. None other than Rudy Gay is quoted saying:

“To learn from one of the most fundamental players of all-time has made a major difference for me on the court. Mark Price knows the game so well and has helped me become a more well-rounded player.”

Mark's program focuses on footwork not shooting actually which Mark believes is 'the lost art of the game.' Javaris Crittenton has been working with Bruce Kreutzer and Mark Price this summer and Bruce said that he has made big strides this summer. Judging from the fact that JCritt's team won the competitive Atlanta Summer Pro League I would say that is an understatement.

A typical day at Mark Price's camp is not a full day affair however. Their schedule is 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. Occasionally they will do two a day workouts but that is not the normal routine. They offer individualized instruction from Mark Price, instruction in the state-of-the-art Mark Price Shooting Lab, pre and post video Analysis of shot mechanics and footwork, follow-up and communication with player’s and player’s coaching staffs with weights and fitness equipment available.

While these are only two examples of the type of summer workouts available to players there are many other camps around doing similar types of routines. I am sure everyone remembers the video of Mike Conley working on his dribbling skills last summer. That is just another example of a summer league workout routine.



One thing is for certain. Players need to come to training camp in shape. The days of playing yourself into shape during camp are a thing of the past. Kind of like my days in PE class.

The Mike Conley Bowling Challenge

Via Grizzlies.com, we're proud to present the Mike Conley Bowl-N-Bash. Click the link for full details, but here's the quick and dirty version:

September 27th, 12:00-3:00 PM Funquest, Collierville Entry fees: Five-man team: $300 donation or $60 per person. Each bowler will receive a t-shirt, autographs, and a photo opportunity with Mike Conley.

For those unfamiliar with Conley's love of bowling, allow me to present this video:


Now, I'm something of a bowler myself. I own my own ball, bag and shoes -- you know, the whole bit. So I'm going to do something that can only be described as incredibly foolish. That's right! I'm calling you out Mike Conley! You name the time and the place, and I'll take you down a pin or two. Yeah, you might be a professional athlete, but I've been hanging out in stinky, smoke-filled bowling alleys since.....well, never actually. You see, the place I frequent is non-smoking and actually smells quite pleasant. But they do serve beer, so it still has that bowling alley feel to it. Well, that is, unless there is a kid's birthday party going on or something. Or if they decide to break out the midnight bowling black lights, even though it is the middle of the day and there is sunlight streaming in from the doors. But other than that, it is totally hardcore!

So I'm throwing down the gauntlet -- or dorky wrist guard thingy that bowlers wear, as it were. Are you man enough to step up MC? Or are you gonna duck my challenge and put one in the gutter? Just so you know -- I've been practicing this shot:

Beale Street BluePrint

One of the most interesting things about the NBA for me is how much of an effect a truly elite player can have on a franchise. The NBA is the only professional league in which almost the entire fortune of a franchise can be driven by one player. My belief in The Superstar Theory was initially established after reading the wonderful article on 82games.com by Dennis Gallagher. A similar three part study was done on NBADraft.net by Robert W. McChesney (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Both authors come to similar conclusions. Without a superstar player (All NBA 1st or 2nd team), an NBA team has virtually no chance at winning a championship.

McChesney identifies who he thinks are the truly elite talents in today's NBA that the Grizzlies will have to contend with when the 3YP is complete: LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Dwyane Wade, Deron Williams and Yao Ming. These are McChesney's Gold Medal superstars. I will add Greg Oden and Kevin Durant to that list. The big question for the Memphis Grizzlies is can Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo or Mike Conley make it it to Gold Medal superstar status. If they can't then it is implorable that they acquire one of the above nine players by any means possible. This is why the Mayo trade was a must do. Although Mike Miller and Kevin Love are good players (Love should be better than Miller), Mayo has a chance to reach superstar status. No amount of good players is worth passing up on a gold medal superstar.

McChesney makes this statement:

The moral of the story could not be clearer: Smart GMs, and smart fans, have to always be thinking about how their team can get a hold of a gold medal superstar, or, if it is the best you can do, a couple of silver medal superstars. It is the single most important issue before an NBA GM. Once you have your superstar(s), then your job is to surround him with the pieces to win a title, but that is a day at the beach compared to trying to get a gold or silver medal superstar in the first place.

If this is the foundation of the 3YP, then I am with it. If this is the reason why they did not actively pursue a free agent this summer, I am with it. There is no other philosophy I believe in about NBA team building more than The Superstar Theory. It is the reason why I was so fired up to go get Carmelo Anthony (just missed McChesney's cut). You win in the NBA with elite talents. It is not just about winning an NBA title, you need on of these elite players to even contend for an NBA title. Now I am sure there are a couple of examples that defy the rule but for the most part it has held true for the entirety of NBA history. As McChesney puts it:

On 40 of these 52 teams, the best player was one of the 21 gold medal superstars, the elite of the elite of the elite. In basketball, more than any other team sport, getting a player for the ages is essential for championships. Mere all-stars, even several of them, ain’t gonna get the job done. And 8 of the 11 champions that did not have a gold medal superstar leading it, had at least two players from this list on the team, in their primes, at least one of whom was silver-medal. (The exceptions? Rick Barry’s 75 Warriors, Elvin Hayes’s 78 Bullets, and Dennis Johnson’s 79 Sonics. These champions defeated teams in the finals that were similarly under armed; these were “down” years for the league. The late 70s was almost like a Bermuda Triangle for the NBA. Accordingly these are regarded as among the weaker champions in NBA history.)

It gets worse, or better, depending if your team has one of these guys. It is not just about winning titles; it is about getting within sniffing distance of winning titles. All but three of the losers in the NBA finals since 1956-57 have been led by one of these 80 superstars. (The exceptions? The 2000 Pacers, the 1978 Sonics and the 1971 Bullets.) So dig this: only 3 of the 104 teams that have played in the NBA finals were not led by a player on this list. Teams led by bronze medal superstars account for only 9 of these 104 teams, so even having one of them is hardly a winning ticket.

And over one-half of these runner-up teams in the NBA over the past 52 years have been led by gold medal superstars. That means 21 players have led 68 of the 104 teams that have played in the NBA finals since 1956-57. Considering how short Bill Walton’s effective career was, that really means 20 guys.

To put it in even more stark terms: the 28 finalist losers that were led by gold medal superstars lost to champions led by gold medal superstars 22 times. As a general rule, gold trumps silver and silver trumps bronze and nobody else is even allowed to play.

This is it in a nutshell. When teams are holding on to Shane Battiers, Mike Millers and Tayshaun Princes instead of going all in for one of the elite players, you know the GM does not know what he is doing. In fact, I will go a step father and state that the team building does not truly begin until you have at least a silver medal superstar in the fold. So when Heisley says:

If I get a superstar player, you know I said 3-5 years, hell I might be able to get there in 2 years. I might be willing to do what I said I wouldn't do and get an older player so everything changes depending on what the opportunity is.

I hope he is down with The Superstar Theory and not just blowing smoke. If you are a Grizz fan reading this then you already are aware of my skepticism of the 3 year plan. However, I have to ackowledge that there wasn't a single free agent available this offseason that qualifies as even a bronze medal superstar except for Gilbert Arenas and coming off an injury he got $100+ million. In 2009, there is only one potential Gold Medal Superstar that might even be available and that is Andrew Bynum and my guess is that the Lakers will MAX him out or match a maximum offer if they even allow it to get that far.

So as a Grizzlies fan, our hope lies in Chris Wallace acquiring a gold or silver medal superstar in trade or having on of our own develop into one. Anything else is just wheel spinning in the NBA.

What Will Mike Be Like?

We've all heard the phrase 'If I could be like Mike.' Well we at 3 Shades of Blue decided to take a more local look at that phrase and to think 'what will Mike be like' this season?

This topic was discussed on the Grizzlies message board but it seemed to devolve into a typical player fan arguement. I thought I would instead take a more objective view of the situation on the blog.

Does anyone remember how Rudy performed as a rookie and what his statistics were?

I looked it up to make sure I was remembering things correctly. Rudy played 2,103 minutes as a rookie despite fans being critical he wasn't getting enough playing time. I remember one poster in particular complaining about Barone every time he took Rudy out of a game because Tony had said in his first press conference that he would let Rudy 'die on the floor before taking him out.' Rudy averaged 27 mpg and 10.8 ppg while grabbing 4.5 rpg and 1.3 apg. Not bad numbers for a rookie SF.

Conley played on 1,381 minutes as a rookie yet the same poster who criticized the Grizzlies for not playing Rudy enough complained that the Grizzlies played Conley too much. Despite the fewer minutes played in total Conley also played fewer minutes per game (26.1) yet still averaged 9.4 ppg. 2.6 rpg and 4.2 apg. So after playing in fewer games and fewer minutes per game, Conley's numbers looked very similiar to Rudy's rookie season. One should also remember that Mike was a year younger than Rudy when he entered the leauge and two years younger in physical development.

Mike however has not been as dominating in his 2nd summer league as Rudy was in his his. Perhaps this is from the plethora of PG's or PG wanna-be's on the team. Perhaps this is from Conley not pushing the action enough (which could be an off-shoot of the terrible schedule the team has played). Perhaps this is do to the difficulty of playing the point. There is a big difference from initiating the offense and calling defensive sets at the point and simply trying to score from the small forward spot after all.

I don't know why but I haven't seen the progression yet from his rookie to sophomore seasons but all of the above reasons have had an effect. This doesn't mean Conley is incapable of improving according to his position in a similiar manner to Rudy's progression at Small Forward but it probably would require a move in the roster to free up Conley to play up to the mid 30's in minutes like Rudy did his sophomore season. That would involve a roster move to eliminate the person taking those extra 10 minutes a night of playing time. I am not suggesting the Grizzlies actually move Kyle Lowry. I just believe that the Grizzlies can't expect Conely to average fewer than 35 minutes a game and still see a dramatic improvement in his game.

Personally I don't believe Conley will make the same impact Rudy did in his second season. Conley has to contend with Kyle Lowry and OJ Mayo, both who are extremely talented and want his job, as well as the pressure of being a 20 yr old leader on the court. Rudy was a leader by scoring. Conley has to elevate the games of his teammates and this is much harder to achieve for a 20 yr old 2nd yr player. That is not to say that Conley will be a disappointment. I fully expect him to be a good contributor. I am just unsure he will establish himself among the elite players from his draft by the end of this season.

And that will probably leave some people disappointed.



Getting cheap airline tickets to the hawaiian airlines or even the aloha airlines is not a problem anymore, ever since northwest airline got way too expensive.

Summer League Review - The Team

Well now that the Rookie league team has completed play I suppose we can look back and try to discern what we learned about our players and the team in general.

It is hard to be too critical of rookie play since the team had two a days on Tuesday and Wednesday, flew to Las Vegas on Thursday and then played four straight games and 5 games in 6 days. Fatigue had to be an issue for everyone on the team. However the few bright spots the team did exhibit were quite bright. Defensively the team held their first opponent to a mere 35.9% shooting for the game. Their second opponent didn't fair much better only hitting 40% of their attempts. The impact of Kevin O'Neill and the defensive focus was readily apparent. The Grizzlies shot respectable as a team those first two games as well.

Then fatigue set in and the defense sagged while the shots stopped falling. It is ridiculous to assume this shouldn't have happened also. Yes these are professional athletes but when you are facing teams who haven't played as many games as you have in such a short period of time fatigue is the enemy you can't defend against. Overall I wasn't displeased with the team's performance.

The team looked about as good as you would expect under the circumstances they were thrown into. The better players on the team didn't play every game including Mike Conley missing the last two games. It seemed the team had found out everything they wanted to know about the veterans on the team and the last games were more about preparing the drafted rookies for the rigors of the NBA and trying to find out if anyone else on the roster was worth a second look.

There is no truth to the rumor, as far as we can find out, that Heisley requested that the team play their 5 games in 6 days so that he wouldn't have to pay for extra days in the hotel.

The Case for Not Trading a Point Guard

There has been a lot of discussion among Grizzlies fans about the apparent logjam at Point Guard on the team and how Memphis needs to make a move immediately to address this problem. I disagree and for some simple reasons.

First off Conley is only 20 yrs old and has started a grand total of 46 games in the NBA. That is not exactly a ringing endorsement to give him the keys to the franchise. Sure his statistics almost mirror Tony Parker's when he was a rookie and are actually superior to such prominent PG's as Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups and Steve Nash as rookies but that doesn't mean you can stamp the future All-Star label on Mike just yet. Lowry doesn't have much more experience after only playing 10 games his rookie season. Right now it appears Conley will be the superior PG in the NBA to some people but he hasn't shown that on the court yet. There is no reason to rush the decision before someone has clearly won the job.

OJ Mayo is a dynamic player who has stated that he feels his best position is PG. That doesn't mean he is right and from what we have seen so far that is simply not the case. Mayo is a scorer who struggles against quick PG's and makes bad decisions at times when pressured with the ball. He may develop into an excellent PG at some point but right now he is a turnover waiting to happen.

Javaris Crittenton is similiar to OJ Mayo without the outside shot. He has excellent size to be a PG (compared to the dimunitive Conley and Lowry) but his ability to control the ball and run the offense hasn't develop yet. He also doesn't appear to NBA level vision when driving in the lane. A PG can always drive in the lane and shoot but to be a truly effective PG you need to get into the lane and then find the open man as the defense collapses. So far I haven't seen Crittenton capable of making that play.

Jaric can play PG, SG and SF. He is very versatile in that respect. He came over playing PG but last season he was almost exclusively a SG and at 6-7 he has decent size to play SF. Frankly with his lack of foot speed I feel more comfortable playing Jaric as a SG/SF than at the point. Jaric will bring experience and knowledge to the young guards on the team and that is important. His role is clearly more mentor than player at this point.

What's more, Lowry and Conley give the Grizzlies two different PG skill sets that most teams will struggle matching up against. Right now JCritt and Mayo don't appear to take care of the ball well enough to run the point but both can defend well at the SG and allow the Grizzlies to add more playmaking ability to the backcourt.

This doesn't even take into account the serious problem the Grizzlies have had lately keeping Point Guards healthy. In 2005 Damon blew his Patello Tendon out. In 2006 Kyle Lowry broke his thumb and missed the remained of the season. Last year Mike Conley hurt his shoulder and missed a total of 30 games. It isn't like the Grizzlies haven't had a big need for strong backups at the point lately.

At some point in the future I expect at least one of the backcourt players to be moved to fil a hole in another part of the team but that definitely doesn't mean they have to make a move right now.

Game Recap: Memphis v Hornets

The Grizzlies rookie team made an impressive debut in the summer league. OJ Mayo, Mike Conley, Darrell Arthur and surprising PJ Tucker all scored in double figures and the team was never seriously challenged but the Hornets.

You can geta nice recap of the game over at the Commercial Appeal, read the active game thread on the Memphis Grizzlies Message board and get Chris Herrington's comments over at Beyond the Arc.

The game wasn't easy to watch on the webcast at NBA.com. Poor transfer quality and no announcing with a static view and no replays made it better than nothing but hardly enjoyable.

I would like to throw out a big thanks to the Commercial Appeal for sending Beat Writer Ron Tillery to the event. In the past the CA decided to save some money and not send a reporter to the event or only send one for a short period of time. This left Grizz fans with only an AP writers recap of the games. Thanks to the sports editor for approving the expense instead of saving a few dollars and denying the local fans a first hand account.

Bad News from the Head Bear

I'll start this off by apologizing. I am about to rain on your parade. As someone who really, really loved the acquisition of O. J. Mayo. I was really on cloud 9 after the details of that trade were leaked by The Memphis Flyers Chris Herrington. I thought the shackles were finally off of GM Chris Wallace and the Grizzlies were going to become an aggressive team builder. Unfortunately, just when you think things are about to make a turn for the better with the Grizzlies, Michael Heisley shows up and reminds you that any hope for success under his ownership is and will always be an exercise in futility.

What I am referring to is his debut of The Three Year Plan (TYP). Being caught up in the euphoria of Mayo-to-Memphis, I almost was fooled. I mean, in theory, it sounds real freaking good.

"We're committed to putting a contending team on the floor," Heisley said, "and the target is three years. I'm looking for -- three years from today Memphis to have a team than contends and then turning that team into a team that competes for championships."

Sounds good on the surface doesn't it? However, when you look at the statement, it makes absolutely no sense. In three years Heisley wants a team that contends and then turn that team into a team that competes for championships. Uh...say what? So in three years, what exactly will the Grizzlies be Mr. Heisley?

I think most fans that have bought into this "plan", have done so on the notion that in three years the Grizzlies will be where New Orleans and Utah are today. Heisley even brings up the Hornets when speaking about his plan:

I'm thinking if we get guys like New Orleans' (Chris) Paul and (David) West; if we get our two guys then I could basically go out there and hire free agents to move forward toward winning a championship.

So aren't Rudy Gay, Michael Conley and O. J. Mayo supposed to be our Chris Paul and David West? I guess not because we are not even considering making a move to hire any free agents this year. Now I am not saying it is a must to spend our cap room this summer but I think a team with a plan would at least be looking...that is unless year one of the plan involved saving money and having anothe sub 30 win season.

Hopefully, for Grizz fans sake, Heisley is just trying to recoup some cash before he sells the team. Between the lower payroll, cash via trades, and cash from the teams paying the luxury tax this season I suppose the Grizzlies have been profitable or at least break even for the first time in Memphis and this year will likely lead to an eight figure profit. Maybe at this point Heisley will finally be able to find a buyer with the cash to purchase and the sense to understand that Memphis can be a profitable market if the fans are given a worthwile product to follow.

Chico's Bail Bonds anyone?

A Brief Introduction to the Summer Time Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies announced their Summer League roster on Wednesday to a rather universal blah. Outside of Mayo, Crittenton and Conley there are very few big names included and no outstanding bloggers that we know of yet (we still miss you Rod Benson).

Here is a quick rundown of every player invited to play from their height, weight and college or international experience.

Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo - 6-4.25 SG/PG Rookie USC
-If you don't know who this is yet what are you doing on this website? OJ Mayo was the main attraction in the big late night draft trade that sent Mike Miller and #5 pick Kevin Love to Minnesota. A combo guard Mayo provides big name exposure, full court awareness and a nice outside shot to a Grizzlies team that was sorely lacking an identity after the Pau Gasol trade last season.

Mike Conley - 6-1 PG 1 yr exp Ohio State
- Conley's rookie season was filled with injuries that limited him to 53 games last season but he still started 46 of those games. Once established as a starter, Conley averaged double figures in points in three of the last four months. Assists are supposed to be Conley's forte and yet he only averaged over 5 assists per game in one month (not coincidentally the last month Pau Gasol was on the team). His shooting was sporadic as it is for most rookies but he finished strong and is working to improve his shot over the summer.

Javaris Crittenton - 6-4.75 SG/PG 1 yr exp Georgia Tech
- JCritt is the one player who could help himself the most in the summer league. The one player demanded in the Gasol trade (outside of Kwame Brown's expiring contract) JCritt struggled to find a place in the rotation as he tried out as SG most of his time in Memphis. JCritt is extremely young, not turning 21 until Dec 31 so there is a lot of hope he will develop. However it was rumored (and apparently confirmed by video) that he was offered to Philly in exchange for their #1 pick in the 2008 draft. JCritt will probably need a roster adjustment (read trade) to get a chance to play consistently unless he blows away people in the summer league.

Darrell Arthur - 6-9 PF rookie Kansas
- When Memphis last saw Arthur play he was wrecking havoc on the inside in Kansas' OT win in the National Championship game. His 22 pts and 10 rebounds were critical in keeping Kansas close enough to make the last second charge. Arthur was supposed to be a late lottery pick in the draft but rumors of a kidney problem (not real) caused him to drop and Memphis made the move necessary to acquire him with the 27th pick. Frequently players who fall in the draft like this make big splashes early as they feel they have something to prove. Arthur will need to put on weight and muscle to compete at PF but he seems to have the frame to support that growth and the attitude to do what is necessary.

Malick Badiane - 6-11 C/PF Saint Vallier (France)
- Many people have forgotten about the trade deadline acquisition of Malick Badiane's rights for the rights to Sergie Lishuk and his visa problems. Originally drafted by the Houston Rockets out of Senegal Badiane has spent four years in Europe and has played on the Senegal National basketball team. Only 24 Badiane is still a work in progress and with a 7-5 wingspan and 32" vertical there is a lot of potential in his game. However he is still considered very raw by NBA standards and would benefit most by upgrading to a more competitive league in Europe.

Alan Anderson - 6-6 SG/SF Michigan State Vitrus Bologna (Italy)
- A converted PG from college Anderson has struggled to find a spot in the NBA after being waived by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006. Anderson was MVP of the Spartans his senior season after leading the team to the NCAA Final Four. His last season was spent in the Italian league (one of the most competitive in Europe). His NBA career has consisted of 53 games (with 7 starts) and a 5.8 ppg average. Being that Anderson turns 26 before the start of the season this may be his last opportunity to make an NBA squad and should be well motivated to give a good showing.

Anthony Leon Tucker - 6-5 SF Texas 1 yr exp
'P J' Tucker played for the Texas Longhorns alongside LeMarcus Aldridge and some said he actually had a better final season than the eventual #4 pick. He was a Wooden Award finalist and was voted Big 12 all-defensive team his last year at Texas. Size has always been a big concern for Tucker who doesn't have the ball skills or agility to play SG in the NBA. A 2nd rd draft pick for the Toronto Raptors Tucker was eventually released to make room for Luke Jackson after bouncing back and forth between the big club and the D League. Last season Tucker was voted MVP of the Ligat Winner (Israeli Premier League) while leading his club to the Championship and dethroning 14 yr champion Macabi Tel Aviv in the process. Only 23 Tucker has an outside shot to make the team as a backup to Rudy Gay thanks to his defensive ability.

Steve Burtt, Jr. - 6-0 PG Iona Ashkelon (Israel)
- Son of former NBA player Steve Burtt Sr, Burtt is known as a smooth scorer. Learning the game on the streets of Harlem, Burtt followed his father's footsteps to Iona and now hopes to follow him one step further into the NBA. Burtt was the Iona teams captain and was second team all MAAC after finishing 3rd in the conference in scoring (25.2 ppg). His main drawback at his size has been the lack of assist production (3.3 apg as a senior). Being primarily a shoot first PG on a team deep at PG isn't promising for Burtt. Burtt was a main contributor on Askelon last season playing with former Tiger Chris Massie.

Ebi Ere - 6-5 SG Brisbane, Australia
- Ebi is in the USA trying to find a team...literally. Ebi's former team, Brisbane Bullets turned their license back into the league at the end of the season. Ere was a leading scorer in Australia this past season averaging 27.2 ppg. Born in Tulsa and actually playing on the Sooner basketball team for one season (2002) when the Sooners made the NCAA Final Four Ere has been described as an athletic wing player who can create his own shot and score points in bunches. With the overload of PG's on the team this could be an excellent opportunity for Ere to garner some attention. Like Tucker he has an outside chance at finding a roster spot on the Grizzlies.

Aaron Pettway - 6-10 C Oklahoma State SIG Strasbourg
- Strasbourg was Pettway's third European club. The 2006-07 season he played in Poland averaging 9.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots and was named to the Polish League All-Star team. Born in Mobil, Alabama Pettway only played 2 seasons at Oklahoma State and didn't distinguish himself there in very limited minutes. Pettway has been described as an athletic freak who can block shots, rebound on both ends of the court and run the court well. Of course there are concerns about the level of competition he has faced in garnering this type of praise.

Brent Petway - 6-8 SF Michigan Idaho Stampede (NBDL)
- Petway is long and lean. At only 205 pounds he is not effective inside and yet doesn't appear to have 3 pt range which limits his NBA effectiveness. Petway, not related to Aaron by the way, is an efficient scorer however shooting 54% last season in the NBDL mostly on dunks but only averaged 7.2 ppg as well. His size and quickness could make him an effective defender however as he averaged 1.5 bpg and 0.8 spg. The blocks in particular are impressive as the league isn't known for their defensive play. Petway won the D league dunk contest this season and afterward challenged NBA Slam Dunk Champ Dwight Howard to a competition. The boy has some moxie. Nicknamed Air Georgia, Petway has shown the ability to unleash massive dunks during games as well and ought to be very exciting to watch in the summer league.

Hector Romero - 6-8 SF New Orleans St Montepas (Italy)
- Venezuelan Hector Romero played in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Romero isn't considered a real threat to be on the Grizzlies roster this coming season after averaging only 5 mpg in the Italian league last season. That is surprising since Romero did draw some attention at the 2006 Vegas Summer league playing for Portland. There is some question about his height (sometimes described as being closer to 6-5 than 6-8) but he is a tough player who can score inside and out, rebounds well and rarely gives up on plays. He plays smart and makes the right pass, is in the right position defensively and can score.

Blogging at the Forum

Well tonight I finally got to see what the media sees all the time when covering the Grizzlies. I was got to see the inside of the Don Poier Media Center. It was a very interesting and informative experience. And like any rookie put on the big stage I started off with a fumble. When we were called into the media room to hear Chris Wallace and Marc Iavaroni's comments about the drafting of Kevin Love I forget my pen and failed to hit the record button on my recorder. Boy did I feel stupid.

Of course no one is interested in what I thought of the media center or how I made a fool of myself. Well some people may like reading that but most people want to know about the draft picks and what the Grizzlies thought about their night.

First off Chris Wallace wasn't high fiving anyone when he came into the media center. He was rather subdued in fact. He spoke matter of factly about the selection of Love and what he means for the team. Wallace feels Memphis has a player that is going to be a great rebounder, an excellent outlet passer and who has a lot to learn about playing defense in the NBA. While he did say Love has to learn a lot he also made a very intriguing comment which really stuck in my head. Wallace said that Love is ready to function in a team defense philosophy. He will be where he is supposed to be on defense and not just 50% of the time but every time. That says a lot about Love's basketball intelligence and also a lot about what he felt about some of the people who were supposed to be playing defense for the Grizzlies last season.

Next Wallace left to return to the draft room as Marc Iavaroni took the mike. Iavaroni was clearly excited about the selection of Love. He talked about his strength of charecter, his desire to be great and his intelligence. Marc is clearly thrilled to be having a leader like Kevin Love with the team.

That isn't to say that Wallace isn't excited. Wallace just looked like he had more work to do. Judging from his selection of Donte Green at 28 I think Wallace knew someone was going to slide in the draft and he wanted to make sure the Grizzlies were ready to pounce when that opportunity came up. Wallace also dealt with the trade rumors about attempting to move up to get Beasley and why Memphis wasn't interested. Miami wasn't asking for Mike Miller plus the pick and point guard. They wanted Rudy Gay! Beasley may be a star in the making but there is no way Memphis should give up that much for the right to find out.

My personal feelings are that Love was the smart pick and the right pick. Love will be contributing right away. He has a learning curve of course but he won't be the type of player who hurts the team when he is on the court. Love will immediately improve the team's pick and roll plays as he can set a mean pick and hit the perimeter shot if his man tries to cover the cutter. He will be the best rebounder Memphis has ever had and will ignite the running game with his outlet passes. There may be other players who have better careers but there won't be many and Memphis couldn't afford to miss with this pick. He should team up well with Rudy Gay and Mike Miller to make the team stronger both physically and mentally.

Donte Green is nothing short of a steal. No one expected, myself included, to find a player with this much potential that late in the draft. Green will step right into the hole that was Casey Jacobsen last season and should be a huge improvement immediately. Unlike Love however Green will need much more maturing to reach his full potential. He has a long way to go on defense (don't all Syracuse players) and his shot selection needs to improve but he should have time to do that backing up Rudy Gay. Most importantly he will need to get stronger.

Speaking of stronger, Mike Conley has developed guns. He is ripped. I got a chance to talk to him as the draft was starting and Conley admitted that he had been lifting a lot of weights while taking a class at Ohio State. I asked Mike about his newfound muscles and he said that he worked for a week with Mike Curtis, the strength and conditioning coach and also Kevin O'Neill. That means Mike realizes he needs to improve his strength and defense and is working on it. He also has been playing phone tag with shooting coach Mark Price and is planning on getting together with Mark to work on his shot in Atlanta during the summer. Mike also admitted being a little concerned about all the trade rumors about him but was very grateful to hear Chris Wallace say Conley was not being discussed in a trade. He likes being with the Grizzlies and doesn't want to go anywhere.

Kyle Lowry was there and he told me that he was planning on spending most of the summer in Philadelphia but he too is going to be working on his shot with Mark Price. Kyle didn't get the trade assurance that Conley did and he said he understands this. It's a business and it wasn't harder this year than it was last year hearing the Grizzlies wanted Conley in the draft. I got the impression that Kyle isn't going to let these things bother him and he will come to camp ready to win the starting job. He just seems to have the attitude that he is using these things as motivation.

Last season started with a front line of Gasol, Gay and Milicic. Backing that line up was Stromile Swift, Casey Jacobsen and Hakim Warrick. Next season it looks to be Gay, Love and Milicic with Donte Green, Hakim Warrick and Marc Gasol backing up. That is a huge improvement on paper. Now it will be wait and see if the paper translates onto the court.

ADDENDUM: Learned another lesson tonight. Don't leave before the Grizzlies tell you the night is over. I left before the news of the Mayo-Love trade and the Greene-Arthur deal was announced. Instead of being in the meeting with the team hearing how they feel about the deal I am lying in bed wondering why I thought it was so important to get home and get some sleep! I guess this shows you are never to old to stop learning.

Links: Catching Up on the News

Hoopsworld.com says that the Grizzlies are definitely not looking to move Mike Miller.

Ira Winderman (South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com) with his own trade proposal that has Miami and Memphis swapping draft picks.

Speaking of eye-catching rumors, Matt Steinmetz (Examiner.com) has a doozy: Grizzlies targeting Monta Ellis this offseason.

Boston Globe: Chris Wallace responds to criticism over Gasol trade.

Dustin Starr has some news on Grizz (Eric McMahon) over on m3mphis.com. It's good to know that Eric is continuing his recovery right on schedule.

At least someone who is currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies will be associated with the Finals. Timekeeper Bob Young worked Game 3 in Los Angeles last night and will also man the clock for Game 4 on Thursday.

David Booth, a scout for the Grizzlies, is hosting a basketball camp in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois.

Speaking of basketball camp, Mike Conley hosted a few of his own.

Where Sport and Thought Interact takes a look at what he thinks the Grizzlies should do this offseason.

Preetom Bhattacharya (Hoopsworld.com) says that the plan should be to rebuild around Rudy Gay.

For the 2nd year, the Memphis Grizzlies will share the Dakota Wizards as their NBA Developmental League team with the Washington Wizards.

MemphisX's Fave Five at Five

Well, luckily for me I distanced myself a bit from the Rose vs. Beasley debate because I did not want to feel the great disappointment that I felt last year after the NBA Draft Lottery. Although I was still disappointed, it was nothing like last year's groin kick. So like Chris Wallace and the rest of the Grizzlies staff, it is time to work without being given the easy road to talent and ticket sales. Fortunately for Grizz fans, this is not the 2007 NBA Draft. The talent gap between the top 2 and the field in 2007 was much wider than the talent gap of the top 2 and the field in the 2008 NBA Draft. I am positive that a future All Star will be available when it is the Memphis Grizzlies time to select a player. Now it is no coincidence that T-Mobile picked two of the best number 5 picks in NBA history, Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade, to represent them in their ad campaign. I am hoping that the Grizzlies selection in the 2008 NBA Draft enjoys similar success, both on and off the court, as Barkley and Wade.

1. Ovinton J'Anthony "O.J." Mayo - 6'5 PG/SG University of Southern California (USC)


O.J Mayo is probably one of the most polarizing figures in this draft. Much like Kobe Bryant, fans either love him to death or do not want him anywhere near their team's roster. I am of the former group. I think the biggest knock on O.J. Mayo has been that after all the hype, casual fans expected to see some Micheal Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant hybrid player that was going to revolutionize NBA basketball. Mayo is not that player. Add to that the fact that Mayo was played out of position by Tim Floyd at USC and taken off the ball for the first time in his career and the results were mixed. Mayo started off the college season very slow but had turned himself into the best shooting guard in college basketball by the end of the season. I don't think people have grasped the difficulty of this feat.

Why the Grizzlies should draft Mayo: Mayo is a big point guard that comes into the league with an advanced three point stroke and an ability to either score at will or get his teammates involved. Even at his size, Mayo has shown the capabilities to play shut down defense at both guard positions. Mayo also would bring a swagger to the Memphis Grizzlies that has not been here in the entire history of the organization. On the court confidence has been a big problem for the Grizzlies. Drafting Mayo also increases the value of one of our other assets: Juan Carlos Navarro. It is a struggle to play Navarro next to the smaller Conley or Lowry but next to the 6'5 Mayo, Navarro would be able to see more court time without being such a liability on defense. Mayo also allows the Grizzlies to keep Mike Miller and deal Conley for some much needed help on the inside.

Why the Grizzlies should NOT draft Mayo: Mayo's best NBA position is point guard and this would mark the 3rd year in a row that the Grizzlies will have drafted a point guard. Although Mayo is capable of playing the two, I think his best and most effective position will be at the point with the ball in his hands causing mismatch problems off the pick and roll. Drafting Mayo probably means trading both Conley and Lowry. I think one has to be traded anyway this summer so I guess it is not that big of an issue. Another issue is Mayo's image. Initially some of our fans will be turned off by the image of Mayo: selfish, arrogant, me-first player. I think this is all hype backlash. One thing I know about perceived bad guys, when you win the fans come out in droves...but if you are losing, he will get the brunt of the blame.

Draft Express O.J. Mayo Workout report

Draft Express O.J. Mayo Interview

ESPN's Chad Ford O.J. Mayo Interview

2. Anthony Randolph - 6'11 SF/PF Louisiana State University (LSU)


Anthony Randolph is probably the one player that is flying to low under the radar. Due to how bad the LSU Tigers were this season and their lack of TV games, most people have not seen him play in games. I did catch a few of his games this season because DraftExpress had him coming out early in the college season before it was known to most. So it really was not a shock to me when he declared. He had to deal with his coach getting fired mid season and a team that just seemed to be out there "balling" for most of the season.

Why the Grizzlies should draft Randolph: Randolph is going to be a nightmare for opposing power forwards on both ends of the court. Although he is very skinny, his length and athleticism will allow him to compete with bigger players until his strength catches up. He has a very long wing span with great ball anticipation and good lateral quickness that should make him able to guard every position except center. His ball hawking allows him to be a great off the ball shot blocker in the mode of Andrei Kerilenko of the Utah Jazz. On offense his ball handling ability and lethal first step will allow him to get to the rack against most power forwards while his length and mid-range jumper will keep him effective even against other hybrid forwards like Josh Smith and Lamar Odom. For a team that wants to run, having a power forward that can grab a rebound or blocked shot and lead the break himself is invaluable. Most power forwards simply wont be able to run with him and the quicker players won't be long enough to stop him from finishing. Did I mention he won't turn 19 until a month after the draft?

Why the Grizzlies should NOT draft Randolph: He is scrawny. Looking at his pictures, you can see he needs a lot of work in the weight room and the dining table. He will never be the bruiser that most Grizzlies fans are wanting after Pau Gasol's departure. However, he is very tenacious and competes on the inside. Randolph has not developed a 3pt shot. In fact, he was horrible in college from long range and probably is 3 years from being effective as a 3pt threat. Might struggle to play power forwards in the league on defense due to lack of strength.

3. Eric Gordon - 6'4 SG Indiana University


Eric Gordon was probably a lock for the #3 pick in January. He was simply sensational coming out of the gate for Indiana. However, he injured his wrist at the end of January and his shot left him. Shortly thereafter, his head coach Kelvin Sampson was dismissed and his fall was complete. For people who did not evaluate Gordon before the injury, it is understandable that they are not high on the kid. However, he was dominant prior to being injured and the two events (wrist injury/shooting slump) were to close not to be related. So I will believe what I saw early in the season and give him the benefit of the doubt.

Why the Grizzlies should draft Gordon: Coach Iavaroni has harped on our need for more shooting and Gordon is the best shooter in the draft. He has range out past the NBA three point line and shoots without effort. Gordon is not one dimensional. He was able to get to the free throw line at a very high clip do to his physical nature and his willingness to drive into contact. He shot 83% from the line. Gordon also has the athleticism to make up for his lack of true SG height. He is 6'3ish with very long arms. Gordon also was an AAU teammate of Conley.

Why the Grizzlies should NOT draft Gordon: He is not the prototypical size for an NBA shooting guard. Even with his athleticism, he might struggle to translate his game from college to the pros. The Grizzlies have a plethora of small guards and the need for another, despite his great stroke, is not that great. Is he that much of an upgrade over Navarro to warrant passing on some interior help?

4. Danilo Gallinari - 6'9 SF Armani Jeans Milano


Danilo Gallinari plays the same position as our best player Rudy Gay but at #5 you take best player available and it could be this Italian import. Unlike other young European players, he comes into the NBA after being the #1 option on his team at the tender age of 19. He is a capable ball handler and scorer that thrives off the pick and roll. More scorer than shooter, he has some point forward capabilities.

Why the Grizzlies should draft Gallinari: Gallinari has a history of being the big dog on his team and should not shrink from big moments. His ability to handle the rock from the wing would be very valuable. I like his fire and his will to compete. Measuring at a length to play power forward would be a plus.

Why the Grizzlies should NOT draft Gallinari: He plays the same position as Rudy which means it will be a struggle getting him minutes. He does not have a lethal shot from long range nor does he have a great rebounding ability. Would thrive in our system but likely only at SF and even then it is a question if he will have the athleticism to defend. Can the Grizzlies sell another Euro at a high pick to the Memphis fans?

5. Jerryd Bayless - 6'3 PG/SG University of Arizona

Originally I had DeAndre Jordan in this spot but I decided to switch because there is a chance that Jerryd Bayless will be available at five and I prefer him over Jordan despite our need for a center. Jerryd Bayless is very similar to OJ Mayo but unlike their reputation, Bayless has more of a scorers mentality. Bayless has the same explosive athleticism of Monta Ellis but he has legit NBA 3 point range to go with his stellar mid-range shot. I think he is more shooting guard than point guard but he has a lot of NBA in his game already. Very adept at getting his defender off balance with freezes and hesitation dribbles. Attacks relentlessly. Has star presence.

Why the Grizzlies should draft Bayless: Bayless would be a better alternative to over paying Monta Ellis in free agency. He is undersized as a shooting guard but in the right system, he could be very effective. He is a big time scorer and his ability to get to the free throw line will help his game translate to the NBA. Turmoil at Arizona hurt his college season but he was still the best player on that team easily. Has the aggressive mentality that the Grizzlies lack on the offensive end and should be able to close games out.

Why the Grizzlies should NOT draft Bayless: Just like Eric Gordon, at the end of the day, Bayless is still just 6'3. Even with his athleticism, he will have a transition period for being an effective scorer. Not particularly bulky nor is he a great defender. However, for anyone wanting to sign Monta Ellis in free agency, he is a lower risk proposition and should be just as effective. Bad fit with our point guards.