Stoudamire To Sign With Memphis

Stoudamire To Sign With Memphis

30th July, 2005 - 3:04 am

Houston Chronicle - The Houston Rockets will have to alter their search for a veteran guard once their top target, Damon Stoudamire, agreed to a 4 year, $17 million deal with the Memphis Grizzlies .

The deal can't be completed and officially announced until the league lifts its "July Moratorium," which prohibits trades and free agent signings from happening until the salary cap is set.

Stoudamire, 31, appears to be a good fit for the Grizzlies, who are bracing for the loss of Earl Watson. Memphis reportedly is pursuing a sign-and-trade deal for Watson, who spent three seasons backing up point guard Jason Williams.

Stoudamire averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 assists with Portland last season.

Now this doesn't make sense at all. They already acquired former 6th man PG Bobby Jackson and now acquiring Stoudamire ?! Maybe they are looking to trade Jason Williams.

I thought Houston was gonna get Stoudamire but i was wrong. Maybe they'll Jason Williams to Houston.

LMAO! The Rockets took Swift from us and we took Stoudamire from them. I guess this mean Jwill and Watson are definitely gone. Stoudamire will most likely move to the starting spot and BJax will back him up. Now we got two solid PG's for the season with Burks as the 3rd string. Now I'm just waiting on us to get a big man. I guess the two PG's switch was for playoff experience and more of a leadership role. Williams best suitors are the Knicks, Celtic and Heat.

Jason Williams for Juwan Howard !! HAHA

I suppose this all but confirms the Grizzlies' plan to send J-Will and Watson packing. Getting Stoudamire for their trouble isn't such a bad move though I'm surprised to see them so eager to part ways with Williams and Watson after the success they've had the last couple of years, easily the two best seasons in franchise history.

I liked Damon Stoudamire in Portland. I'll have to agree that Memphis are keen on getting rid of Jason Williams and Earl Watson..

Well I know why they would want to get rid of Jwill, mainly because of his attitude with the team since he has been in Memphis. He has been in an altercation with every coach that the Grizzlies had from Lowe, to Hubie to Fratello. Even though he was our best player during the playoffs last year, you can't really go by the performances in those 4 games we loss. I think Jwill is a good PG though and I kinda hate to get rid of him mainly because he brought alot to this team as far as exciting plays and it always exciting to watch every game thinking what he will do next, but I think Jerry West is going with the more experience veteran group of PG's now.

Stoudamire and Jackson have both been in the playoffs numerous of times so they should be able to carry the load if the team is able to make the playoffs this season and if the Magloire deal ends up happening, there is no doubt that Memphis can't become a 5th or 6th seed this season if they stay healthy. As for Watson, he is a great defender and leaper for a PG, but his offensive game is just purely bad. I can't see him becoming a starter on any other team unless its a team that REALLY needs him like say the Hawks. He may be able to blossom in Atlanta, but as far as running the point in Memphis, he needs to work on his shooting a little more. One thing though, when Jwill was in the game, he handled the ball so much better on the break, but when Watson was in, he either loved to take it to the rack or he would slow it down which I didn't like because Williams could easily give a team 2 easy points on the break. With Stoudamire, I think the Grizzlies are definitely going to be back to their running ways and Jackson is just that scorer off the bench to replace Bonzi. Things will be looking good this upcoming season especially if Magloire comes intact with the team. It's also interesting how this thread isn't getting as much attention as it probably would if the Rockets signed Stoudamire Oh well, I guess I'm still the only big time Grizz fan on this board.

Other reports are saying nothing has been finalized...

Other reports are saying nothing has been finalized...

Exactly. I recently read Houston is still Stoudamires first choice,despite what numerous sources were indicating.

Edit:

By Clutch
Copyright 2005 ClutchFans.net

According to a Houston Chronicle report on Saturday, free agent guard Damon Stoudamire had agreed to sign a 4-year pact with the Grizzlies.
Not so fast, says Mr. Stoudamire.

Local Fox news in Houston spoke with Damon at Tracy McGrady's celebrity softball game on Saturday and the 5-foot-10 point guard stated that he has not spoken with the Grizzlies and that his agent has interacted with them just once.

Stoudamire went on to say that the Rockets are his number one choice and have been for a while.

He also spoke with Channel 2 News in Houston, adding that Portland was "trying to block everything I'm doing", likely alluding to sign-and-trade attempts by the Rockets.

The fact that Stoudamire did say good things about the situation in Memphis could suggest that the the Grizzlies have in fact put an offer out on the table, but the guard likely is holding out hope that Houston and Portland can come to an agreement on a trade.

They can get a pretty good big man with Watson and Williams. West has a bunch of moves up his sleeve, but what I've been seeing so far, he's been able to replace pieces quickly. The guy's crafty.

The reason why it's not finalized because the Grizzlies are trying to make a deal to get rid of Jwill before the new CBA rule comes into tact. If they sign Stoudamire with Jwill's 25 million still on the cap, then the team will have to pay the luxury tax. Every deal West makes, he is trying to lose cap space, which is the main reason why Jwill may be traded sometime during this week. Judging by what the paper said today, West did have interest in Stoudamire and he isn't the only person he is interested in.

Griz eye Stoudamire

With Williams likely on way out, team seeking replacement

By Ronald Tillery
Contact
July 31, 2005

If everything goes according to the Grizzlies' summer plan, Jason Williams no longer will be their main man.

The point guard is close to being traded in a three-team deal that would include Miami, according to an NBA source familiar with the Grizzlies' dealings. It is not known where Williams would land in the proposed deal.

Griz president Jerry West already has Williams's replacement in the starting lineup on the radar.

Although Damon Stoudamire is atop the Grizzlies' wish list, West downplayed a Houston Chronicle report that the Griz and Stoudamire have agreed on a four-year, $17 million contract.

"We have interest," West said Saturday. "We're exploring a lot of options, and he's not the only one. We have interest in a lot of people."

West has aggressively shopped Williams and is prepared to lose Earl Watson after agreeing to trade Bonzi Wells and watching Stromile Swift sign a free-agent deal with Houston.

The Griz intend to send Wells to Sacramento and receive veteran guard Bobby Jackson (along with three players from Utah) when the league's moratorium ends this week.

Undoubtedly, the Griz would have to move Williams and the more than $25 million left on his contract before signing Stoudamire. If not, they risk having to pay the league's luxury tax.

Stoudamire's agent, Aaron Goodwin, confirmed that he began discussing a potential deal with the Grizzlies once negotiations with the Houston Rockets fell apart.

"But it's just conversation at this point," Goodwin said when asked about a reported Grizzly contract that would start at less than the midlevel exception or about $4 million.

Stoudamire, 31, played for Portland last season, and averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 assists. He would add leadership and clutch play to a Grizzlies team that is lacking in those areas.

A Grizzly insider also confirmed that the team has stepped up its intent to do more than tweak the roster. The consensus after recent internal discussions is that the Grizzlies' roster of the past two seasons went as far as it could in the Western Conference standings.

The goal is to improve while remaining a playoff team that doesn't pay the luxury tax. The Griz want to create financial flexibility moving forward as they consider potential deals.

-- Ronald Tillery: 529-2353

Judging by the way this article writes, Stoudamire will be a Grizzlie.