Vancouver Grizzlies - 1998/99 (2nd year)

[tsmoha]

Welcome to this new story! It's my first story on this site after writing stories on other sites/sports before. I will go for a classic career: starting from 1997-98.. with one of the worst (if not worst) team in NBA history: the Vancouver Grizzlies. Some of you may remember such great players like Shareef Abdur-Rahim or Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. I will give some updates on this career every month (at least for the first seasons I won't report every single game), hope you enjoy.. a season preview will be up soon.

Game: NBA 2k12 (PC)
Difficulty: Superstar
Roster: Inbar's 97-98 Mod
Quarter Length: 12 Mins
Sliders: Leftos Realistic Sliders
CPU Trades: On
Draft classes: Real

G | Damon Stoudamire | 5-10, 171 lbs | Arizona | 3 (experience, prior to this season)
G | Vince Carter | 6-6, 215 lbs | North Carolina | R
F | Shareef Abdur-Rahim | 6-9, 225 lbs | California | 2
F | Michael Smith | 6-9, 230 lbs | Providence | 4
C | Bryant Reeves | 7-0, 275 lbs | Oklahoma State | 3



G | Bobby Jackson | 6-1, 185 lbs | Minnesota | 1
F | Antawn Jamison | 6-8, 220 lbs | North Carolina | R
G | Brent Barry | 6-6, 185 lbs | Oregon State | 3
F | Tony Massenburg | 6-9, 220 lbs | Maryland | 6
F | Bruce Bowen | 6-7, 185 lbs | California State | 3
C | Oliver Miller | 6-9, 320 lbs | Arkansas | 6
F | Sam Mack | 6-7, 220 lbs | Houston | 4



G | Stephen Jackson | 6-8, 218 lbs | Butler County | 1
G | Rodrick Rhodes | 6-6, 225 lbs | Southern California | 1
G | Anthony Carter | 6-1, 190 lbs | Hawaii | R

Grizzlies' transactions (Season 1997-98):

01/11 - Vancouver traded guard Bobby Hurley to Houston for guard Rodrick Rhodes
11/11 - Vancouver signed center Brad Daugherty
27/11 - Vancouver traded forwards George Lynch and Pete Chilcutt to Denver for guard Bobby Jackson
15/12 - Vancouver re-called Chris Robinson from D-League and signed C.J. Bruton
10/01 - Vancouver signed guard Lawrence Moten
27/01 - Vancouver traded guards Blue Edwards and Lee Mayberry to Boston for Bruce Bowen and Boston's 1998 2nd-round pick
05/02 - Vancouver signed guard John Rillie
11/02 - Vancouver signed guard Stephen Jackson
08/03 - Vancouver sent C.J. Bruton to D-League and signed center Marc Jackson

NBA transactions (1997-98):

03/11 - Utah signed Herb Williams
29/11 - Toronto traded Doug Christie to Atlanta for Alan Henderson and Chris Crawford
06/12 - Indiana traded Chris Mullin to Miami for Brent Barry
08/12 - Houston traded Clyde Drexler and Eddie Johnson to Denver for Cory Alexander and Denver's 1998 1st-round pick
07/01 - Sacramento traded Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Otis Thorpe to Boston for Pervis Ellison and Keith Bailey
09/12 - Houston traded Hakeem Olajuwon and Mario Elie to LA Lakers for Elden Campbell and Derek Fisher
21/12 - Houston traded Kevin Willis to San Antonio for Monty Williams and San Antonio's 1998 1st-round pick
23/12 - Washington traded Ben Wallace and their 1998 1st-round pick to Golden State for Erick Dampier
28/12 - Boston traded Walter McCarty to Minnesota for Sam Mitchell and Minnesota's 1998 2nd-round pick
05/01 - Detroit traded Brian Williams to Dallas for Khalid Reeves and Dallas' 1998 1st-round pick
08/01 - Utah traded Adam Keefe and Antoine Carr to Washington for Juwan Howard
12/01 - Houston traded Charles Barkley to Indiana for Jalen Rose and Indiana's 1999 2nd-round pick

#1 - November 1997 (Recap)
#2 - December 1997 (Recap, 5-23)
#3 - Abdur-Rahim "Player of the week" (January 8-14, 1998)
#4 - January 1998 (Recap, 8-33)
#5 - Mid-season report #1 (Standings, leaders, rookies)
#6 - Mid-season report #2 (Grizzlies stats, Kings special)
#7 - Vote for a trade (January '98)
#8 - '98 All-Star voting finished...
#9 - '98 All-Star Game recap
#10 - February 1998 (Recap, 13-45)
#11 - March 1998 (Recap, 18-54)
#12 - Regular season report #1 (Standings, leaders, Grizzlies stats)
#13 - Regular season report #2 (MVP, awards, All-star teams)
#14 - 1998 Playoffs recap + Finals preview (Sonics vs Knicks)
#15 - 1998 NBA Finals (Sonics vs Knicks)
#16 - 1998 Draft Lottery
#17 - 1998 Draft - Warriors take Pierce with 1st pick!
#18 - Off-season Part I - Bulls' breakdown
#19 - Off-season Part II - Rockets add Divac, Bulls depth
#20 - Off-season Part III - McDyess a Sixer, Nash a Blazer
#21 - Off-season Part IV - Grizzlies add Stoudamire/Barry/Miller
#22 - Off-season Wrap-up - Part I (Top-seeded teams)
#23 - Off-season Wrap-up - Part II (Grizzlies' special)

[tsmoha]

Player (Rating)	Position (Age)	Salary 98-99	Contract
Shareef Abdur-Rahim (85)	SF/PF (22)	2,300,000$	1 year
Bryant Reeves (76)	C (26)	6,840,000$	4 years (31.46mil)
Damon Stoudamire (76)	PG (26)	7,094,000$	3 years (23.40mil)
Vince Carter (76)	SG (21)	3,200,000$	2 years (6.60mil + 2yrs TO)
Bobby Jackson (76)	PG (26)	799,000$	2 years (1.75mil)
Brent Barry (75)	SG (27)	5,430,000$	2 years (11.15mil)
Tony Massenburg (73)	PF (32)	900,000$	1 year
Antawn Jamison (73)	PF (22)	2,200,000$	2 years (4.60mil + 2yrs TO)
Michael Smith (74)	PF (27)	2,150,000$	1 year
Sam Mack (72)	SF/SG (29)	595,000$	1 year
Stephen Jackson (68)	SG/SF (20)	685,000$	1 year
Oliver Miller (67)	C (29)	3,000,000$	1 year
Bruce Bowen (72)	SF (28)	2,000,000$	4 years (9.40mil)
Rodrick Rhodes (62)	SG (26)	635,000$	1 year
Anthony Carter (58)	PG (23)	775,000$	2 years (1.60mil)

* re-signed
** currently in D-Leauge

Year	Record	Conference (NBA)	Playoffs	Achievements/NBA Champions
1995-1996	15-67	-	DNQ	-
1996-1997	14-68	-	DNQ	-
1997-1998	25-57	15th (29th)	DNQ	Abdur-Rahim (All-Star Game, All-NBA 2nd Team) - Bobby Jackson (All-Rookie 1st Team) - NBA Champions: Seattle SuperSonics

[tsmoha]

Before the season starts, the Grizzlies announced the first trade: guard Bobby Hurley is traded to the Houston Rockets for rookie guard Rodrick Rhodes (24 years old, Houston's first pick (24th overall) in 1997's NBA draft). Rhodes isn't expected to get that much minutes within Grizzlies' rotation, but the team's hoping for him to develop well.

[Radioman]

I always love to see retro stories. 97/98 was a great year looking forward to this one. Good Luck!

[tsmoha]

Thanks, Radioman! Here's a short preview on Grizzlies' season:

The Grizzlies face a tough season after finishing with a 14-68 record in 1996-97. There's a good chance to improve, but will they reach 17 wins? They won a total of 29 games in their first two years in the NBA, and if they fail to win 17 this year, they'll break the league record, set by the Mavericks of 1991-92, '92-93 and '93-94, for fewest wins in a three-year period. Is there any reason to hope? Well...

...they do have Shareef Abdur-Rahim, a 6'10" small forward who is coming off a terrific rookie season (18.7 points per game). Someday it may be agreed upon that he, not Allen Iverson, should have been the No. 1 pick in the 1996 draft, because Abdur-Rahim has a chance to develop into another Scottie Pippen. Seven-foot center Bryant Reeves can score (16.2 points a game last season), but he's not a prime option offensively... the Grizzlies also got rookie point guard Antonio Daniels (4th pick overall), who should have some positive effect on the struggling offense (second to last scoring - 89.2 ppg - last year).. here's the starting lineup:

[Radioman]

It will be tough with all those great teams in the West of this era. The Jazz, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers, Trailblazers and KG and the Timberwolves on the rise. But i am optimistic you can make the 17 wins.

[tsmoha]

Yes, the Western conference is a bit over-powered But there's also some weaker teams like the Nuggets, so 17 wins should be possible. But don't expect us to be that succesful in first seasons: it's all about grabbing some nice picks in the draft and then building a Grizzlies' "golden era"

Btw: I've now updated the first post, with our current roster and some new headers. First part of November's summary will be up soon.

[tsmoha]

Vancouver signs former All-Star and Cleveland-legend Brad Daugherty

Brad Daugherty, a five-time All-Star center aged 32, retired from pro basketball in season 1995-96. Daugherty's career in the NBA was cut short at the age of 28 because of recurrent back troubles. He's one of the greatest players in Cavaliers' history: he averaged nineteen points and ten rebounds per game over eight seasons in the NBA and retired as the Cavaliers all time leading scorer (10,389 points) and rebounder (5,227).. and now, Daugherty feels ready to play again: "There will be some people, who don't understand this step", he said. "But I felt good last year and had some good talks with Grizzlies' coach Brian Hill. I want to help this young franchise, that's all."

Daugherty signed a 1 year contract and is expected to back up Grizzlies' starting center Bryant Reeves.

[Radioman]

Daugherty was a great player, nice to see you bring him back in the NBA.

[tsmoha]

November Part #1: Vancouver Grizzlies vs Toronto Raptors
Loss, 75-93

One of the Grizzlies' highlight games in November as they face the 2nd Canadian team. Vancouver has only one win so far this season (against the new built Bobcats).. the team looked good in first half, building a narrow lead. But in second half, the Grizzlies (again) began to struggle in both scoring and defense and they were 21-31 in 3rd and 16-27 in 4th quarter.. Man of the match was Raptors' Tracy McGrady (15 pts, 7 Reb), his teammates Chauncey Billups (15 pts, 6 Assists) and Gary Trent (18 Pts, 12 Reb) had good games, too. Grizzlies' Abdur-Rahim had 18 pts, 10 Reb and Antonio Daniels had 8 pts and 9 Assists, but also turned the ball over 7 times..


One of the new faces in Vancouver: Rodrick Rhodes had 7 points in 1st quarter, when the Grizzlies' had a great start.. he couldn't add some more points later..


Vancouver also added 5 time NBA All-star Brad Daugherty (Center, 32 years) to their roster. Cleveland's 1st overall pick in 1986 did retire in 1996 because of back problems, but decided to come back from retirement.. he had 7 points in 13 minutes against the Raptors and looked like a good backup for struggling starting center Bryant Reeves.


Raptors' rookie guard McGrady had a strong second half and helped the Raptors beating Vancouver by almost 20 points..

[megarover]

I haven't been or posted here in over a year and was just looking around but this looks like it could be pretty good.

[tsmoha]

@Radioman: Thanks! It may be a strange move by Daugherty, but I always liked him and as he's not too old with 32, I thought I drop him in

@megarover: Well, one year?! Then a special thanks for posting here. Hope you'll enjoy this story!

I've played around with an idea of the good old "trading cards". It's just for fun, but I will maybe share some of them. I do have templates for "standard season-cards", rookie cards, legends and top prospects.. I thought it would be a good way to update some trades, player movements and stuff like that. Here's a first try on Reeves, tell me what you think:

[weechees]

where did you get that nbc scoreboard?

[tsmoha]

@weechees: It's part of Inbar's 97-98 Mod! But there may be a single download as well, I'm not quite sure (I know there's a new "classic" TNT Scoreboard made for the 98-99 Mod though, you may check it there).

[megarover]

Are you using real life draft classes?

[tsmoha]

Yes, I do use real life draft classes. I've made some on my own for the years 1998-2002 (or something), and as far as I know, there are some more real classes for the years after

[megarover]

Yes, I do use real life draft classes. I've made some on my own for the years 1998-2002 (or something), and as far as I know, there are some more real classes for the years after

Then if you manage to stink it up this year there are a couple big time players in the draft. Off the top of my head I remember Dirk, The Truth and whatshisface VINCE CARTER

[SuperHueyNewton]

Not a bad trading card. i do have a question. Because i wasn't old enough to remember my own name around this time, weren't most basketball cards centered around the player in the picture barely showing another one? Again, I'm not sure. Never collected any type of card in my life, just asking.


I am following also

[tsmoha]

@megarover: Yeah, there's definitely some All Star-potential in upcoming draft Pierce, Dirk, Vince.. and not to forget the 1998 No 1 pick... Olowokandi

@SuperHueyNewton: First of all, thanks for following! And as for the cards: well, yes, most of the cards have been that way, centered around the player. But there were also cards with a player in background, as far as I remember My card-designs won't be 100% original, it's more about the idea itself. Btw, here's an examples for those 90's trading cards, that I had in mind while making the Reeves-card:

http://cdn.sportsmemorabilia.com/sports-product-image/kennard-winchester-rockets-autographed-trading-card-26-t1135504-500.jpg

[Radioman]

Olowokandi

If the Bucks still mind they traded Nowitzki for ... Robert Traylor?

Nice idea with the Player Cards, i really like them.

[tsmoha]

Traylor... yes... Well, at least in this story, the teams can do better.

Here's a review of November 1997:

November 1997 - Results

A bad start into this season for the Grizzlies.. only two wins against the Charlotte Bobcats [btw, there's both Bobcats and Hornets, it's impossible to play a career with only 29 teams as in 1997, so the Bobcats are there I'm still thinking of moving this team to another city, but first need a jersey to be done] and several blow-out-losses even against struggling teams like the Pistions (3-12). There's a lot of things to improve in Vancouver, that's for sure. And the management already did react, a trade will be announced soon (so stay tuned).

November Part #2: Some impressions..


A huge loss against the strong Jazz. An impressive run in 3rd quarter (30-18) gave the Jazz the crucial lead and the Grizzlies had no chance to fight back. Karl Malone (26 pts, 11 Reb) and Jeff Hornacek (24 pts, picture) were Utah's strongest, while Abdur-Rahim had 20 pts and Bryant Reeves a double-double (11 pts/11 Reb).


The Grizzlies' worst match so far came against the Lakers: 68-100. Abdur-Rahim scored 29 pts, but the Lakers were simply too strong. Kobe Bryant (24 points), Shaq O'Neal (21 Pts, 10 Reb, 6 Assists), Eddie Jones (20 pts, picture) and Robert Horry (14 Reb) all had huge games here.


Bryant Reeves dominated the Bobcats in Vancouver's 2nd win this season: 30 points and 10 Rebounds. The Grizzlies had a comfortable lead in early 4th quarter, when they suddenly stopped scoring and went 18-28 in this final 12 minutes. But Reeves made two free throws 20 seconds before final whistle.. Abdur-Rahim added 19 pts and Sam Mack (9 pts) was 3-6 from outside.

[megarover]

Wow to lose a tied game against the Mavs on the 16th . Thats funny stuff.

[Radioman]

I like the screenshots bringing back some feelings from this era of basketball.

Big Game by Big Country

[tsmoha]

@all: I've updated the 2nd post with roster ratings and contract details.

@megarover: Yeah, pretty close, wasn't it? (Tbh, it's a display bug, we lost by 10 ...)

@Radioman: Thanks for the feedback! Yes, it feels good to "revive" that era.

Trade: Vancouver gets rookie guard Bobby Jackson for Lynch

VANCOUVER trades George Lynch and Pete Chilcutt
to DENVER for Bobby Jackson

What the Grizzlies get: Jackson (25 years old), 23rd overall pick in 1997 Draft, is a scoring point guard (13 ppg, 6.4 Reb, 3.5 Ass this season). He has a 3 years-contract with a total of 2,400,000$. He is likely to replace rookie guard Antonio Daniels as the Grizzlies' starting point guard.

The Nuggets get: An expiring contract of former Lakers-Forward George Lynch, who struggled to do anything good for the Grizzlies so far (4,7 ppg). Chilcutt is strong from outside and has 2 years left in his contract.

Also, here's a short update on our players' stats in November:

[SuperHueyNewton]

Tough start, I do like how you present this. Can't say anything about nostalgia because I was a year old lol