***SPORTSCENTER BREAKING NEWS***
Stuart Scott and Dan Patrick reporting the breaking news...
Scott: Hi, I'm Stuart Scott and welcome to Sportscenter. We would like to start off with some breaking news that has happened in the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies have pulled out 2 sets of trades.
Patrick: The trades we're with the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers. Lets get more information on the trade by going to David Aldridge. How's it going David?
Aldridge: I'm doing just fine. Jerry West was finally able to pull the trigger on getting Ron Artest from the Indiana Pacers. He was doing things behind closed doors, so no one could see this trade coming. We did know that he does most of his dealing during the season though. The Grizzlies sent
G/F Bonzi Wells,
F Brian Cardinal and
F Bo Outlaw to the Pacers. The Pacers sent
Ron Artest and
Jamison Brewer to the Grizzlies. Both teams have been discussing making an Artest for Bonzi type deal since the 2004 NBA Draft. The Pacers wanted Bonzi Wells to come to Indiana because he is a native from Indiana. The Grizzlies finally get a star-caliber player in Ron Artest.
Scott: Ok, enough on the Grizzlies-Pacers deal. What is up with the Clippers and Grizzlies trade?
Aldridge: Well this trade would've never happened if the Grizzlies didn't do the Artest deal. We all know Hubie Brown loves to use his 10-man rotation and after trading 3 bench players in the other deal, he had to get a forward back because he traded both Outlaw and Cardinal. So, West pulled the trigger on this deal that sent
G Dahntay Jones and
G Jamison Brewer to the Clippers for
F/C Chris Wilcox. This trade now gives the Grizzlies a very athletic frontcourt to backup Erick Dampier and Pau Gasol. Chris Wilcox and Stromile Swift will work great together with their amazing jumping ability.
Scott: Thanks David Aldridge for the news update.
Aldridge: Your welcome.
Patrick: We will now hear from the Memphis Grizzlies president of basketball operations, Mr. Jerry West.
Patrick: How are you today Mr. West?
West: I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking.
Patrick: So can you tell us how did these 2 deals come about and what made you want Ron Artest?
West: Well the deal came along when the Pacers called us about Bonzi. We didn't know how interested they we're, but we did know that we wanted Ron Artest. At the time, Larry Bird and Ron Artest weren't getting along at all. Of course, Bird didn't want that kind of chemistry around him which I could understand. So, after we found players to make the salaries work, I pulled the trigger and that's how it happened. As for me wanted Artest, he will be a great force for the Grizzlies. Posey and Artest will probably be one of the best 1-2 defensive punch out there. Both work extremely hard on defense and Artest is also an all-star. We need an all-star on this team to go alongside Pau. I'm glad we made the trade and it should work out just fine from here on out.
Patrick: Can you tell me a little more about the Wilcox trade?
West: Yes I can. He was one of the big men we wanted during the off-season if we couldn't get Dampier. We love his athleticism as a player and putting him along with Stro will make us very dangerous on the bench. After acquiring Artest we would now move Mike Miller to the backup SF position to give us more of a scoring punch off the bench. We would then move our rookie Andre Emmett to the SG spot. He really showed us he could play during the summer league and we think he will fit well in the 2nd unit. So you can expect our 2nd unit to feature Wilcox, Swift, Miller, Emmett and Bell.
Patrick: Alright thank you for your time Mr. West and we hope you and your team have a great season.
West: Thank you.
Scott: Well that is it for now hoop fans. Here are the two trades the Memphis Grizzlies pulled off today. We will see you later on. Peace.
Grizzlies send:
G/F Bonzi Wells
F Brian Cardinal
F/C Bo Outlaw
Pacers send
G/F Ron Artest
G Jamison Brewer
2nd trade
Grizzlies send:
G Dahntay Jones
G Jamison Brewer
Clipper send:
F/C Chris Wilcox