Stoudamire Officially Signed (+ Trade Article)

http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/relea ... igned.html

Grizzlies Sign Guard Damon Stoudamire

Memphis, Tennessee, August 5, 2005 — Memphis Grizzlies President of Basketball Operations Jerry West announced today the team has signed free agent guard Damon Stoudamire to a four-year contract. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not released.

Stoudamire, a 10-year NBA veteran, joins the Grizzlies after playing in Portland for the past eight seasons. In 2004-05 he produced his best season as a member of the Blazers with highs in points (15.8 ppg), field goals made (457), three-point field goals made (181) and free-throw percentage (91.5%) while averaging a team-high 5.7 assists in 81 games played. He ranked fourth among NBA league leaders in free-throw percentage and tied with Paul Pierce for fifth in triple-doubles with two.

“I’m excited about becoming a part of the Grizzlies and the Memphis family,” said Stoudamire. “I know all of the Grizzlies fans are looking for that first playoff win, and I look forward to not only getting that win, but reaching the ultimate goal and winning a championship for Memphis.”

The 5-10, 171-pound guard, finished his career in Portland ranking second behind Terry Porter on the Trail Blazers’ all-time three-pointers made list (717), second all-time in three-point attempts (1,998) and third all-time in assists (3,018). In eight seasons with the Blazers, he averaged 12.8 points, 5.7 assists and 33.1 minutes in 529 games played.

“Damon is an experienced veteran and proven leader on the court,” said West. “We feel we have added a significant player to our team and know that he will help take us to a different level than where we are today.”

Stoudamire holds career averages of 14.6 points, 6.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 729 career games with Portland and Toronto. Drafted by Toronto in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft, he was named the 1996 Schick Rookie of the Year in addition to being the only unanimous selection to the Schick All-Rookie First Team. He played 200 games with the Toronto Raptors before being traded to Portland 49 games into the 1997-98 season. Stoudamire owns career playoff averages of 11.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 46 NBA playoff appearances.

A press conference date and time to introduce Stoudamire will be announced at a later date.

It's now official so I feel a little bit better now that we got him, now more moves can be done. Also here is another interesting article that I found in the paper that explains the ins and outs of the Grizzlies deal:

Calkins: Griz stuck in the middle with new crew

By Geoff Calkins
Contact
August 4, 2005

pictureI'm here to talk about the trade. Any questions?

Uh, you're not Jerry West.

True.

Where's Jerry West?

On vacation.

How about Mike Fratello?

On vacation.

So you're going to explain this deal to the fans?

Exactly.

You sure the Grizzlies are OK with this?

Actually, no. Fratello is so ticked, he might ban me from the building.

You and Bonzi?

That's the list so far.

Why?

Because Bonzi was poisonous and disruptive and ...

No, silly. Why you?

I didn't do cartwheels in the wake of the trade.

Cartwheels?

OK, that's my word. Handsprings might have satisfied him.

Why would anyone be doing cartwheels/handsprings?

Because the Grizzlies are better today than they were two days ago.

Are they?

Yes, marginally.

Let's break it down by position. Who do you want at small forward, Eddie Jones and Shane Battier or James Posey and Battier?

Jones and Battier.

Right. Because Posey and Battier are too similar and Posey was a lost cause last year. So who do you want at point guard, Jason Williams and Earl Watson or Damon Stoudamire and Bobby Jackson?

Stoudamire and Jackson.

Right again. Because Williams is a proven team wrecker. He went after Sidney Lowe, he turned on Hubie Brown and he got into a public shouting match with Fratello. He also tore into his teammates, most notably Pau Gasol.

So that leaves ...

Shooting guard. Who do you want, Mike Miller and Bonzi Wells or Miller and Dahntay Jones?

Miller and Wells have more talent.

That's true. But Wells was as poisonous as J-Will. He had to go, too.

But didn't West acquire Wells in the first place?

Sure.

Does he deserve credit for getting rid of a guy he gave up a first-round pick to acquire?

You have a good point there. But the team is still better. If you consider chemistry and professionalism, the Grizzlies are more competitive today than they were Monday.

And how about positioning for the future?

They're in a better spot there, too. Eddie Jones is owed more than $30 million over two years but will give the team some flexibility when his contract expires. And getting rid of J-Will's obscene deal was the key to everything.

He was really that much of a liability?

That's what most don't quite understand. You don't try to get value for J-Will, you pay someone to take him.

So does this mean people really should be excited?

That's where I'm dubious. There's a difference between being marginally better and being the Miami Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers. Look at what those teams have done this offseason. They've gone nutso.

West said he hates being in the middle of the pack. For all the Grizzlies' changes, where are they today?

In the middle of the pack.

Exactly. They don't have a big man, they don't have a star and they may or may not have a plan to get to the proverbial next level.

The Grizzlies used to say they were going to package multiple players for one impact guy. That didn't work. So what's the new plan? And how come they're leaving it to me to explain all this to everyone?

Because they're on vacation.

Right.

But they'll spell it all out eventually.

One can only hope.

Did you see the Heat's press conference Wednesday by the way?

Yes. J-Will said he forgot the box of pens he normally gives reporters.

That's funny.

Jason always was entertaining.

And how did the Miami media guys react?

I swear I saw some cartwheels.

Stoudamire and B-Jax? Kind of an undersized PG duo, don't you think... People wil shoot over them...

Stoudamire and B-Jax? Kind of an undersized PG duo, don't you think... People wil shoot over them...

It's all good. As long as they can play.

And Bobby Jackson is 6'1", thats the same as Jwill.

I like what Memphis has been doing.

I've been a big fan or EJ's. BJax could be really good if he stays healthy.

I haven't seen much from Damon Stoudamire since he's been lost in Portland, so maybe this could be a breakout year.

Sounds like spin. The Grizzlies are less talented. Having less talent with a better attitude doesn't necessarily mean wins...otherwise they should just play 12 nuns.

Sounds like spin. The Grizzlies are less talented. Having less talent with a better attitude doesn't necessarily mean wins...otherwise they should just play 12 nuns.

What you mean by less talented? Do you really think they are that much worse than last season? IMO its basically the same team, and we ended up replacing the things that we use to have. Such as Swift, we replaced him with Warrick who is younger and had more experience in college than Swift. We have a new PG rotation that has more veteran leadership and offensive power. If you put Jwill and Watson together, I don't think their offense could matchup with the offense of Stoudamire and Jackson when they are healthy. Now defensive wise, I don't know because Watson was a great defender, and I don't think Stoudamire can do as great as Watson did on the defensive end. Posey was replaced with Eddie Jones and even though Jones is old, he still is a better offensive player than Posey all-around. He can just about create his own shot which was something Posey couldn't do and we already had Battier so there was no need of holding on to Posey even though I still wish we would've kept him. I can keep going on and on, but just about everyone thinks the Grizzlies aren't as good as they were, but what I think is that we have a better attitude and the same type of talent and depth. Many people thought the Grizzlies weren't going to make it to the playoffs last season, but even with all the injuries they had late last season, they still were able to hold on.

hmm i don't think you can say warrick matches swift. it's irrelevant that warrick has more college experience since he hasn't established he has a nba position in his time in syracuse.

the pg rotation is deeper, but the new guys are scoring first, pass 2nd mentality. also it's debateable whether either of the 2 are starter caliber at this point of the careers. i agree with you about the pg defense

i too would say warrick is about the same as swift but hope swift explodes in houston anyways memphis probably wanted some cap room for 2007 so they could go after top free agents so thats probably why they trade for jones(not to mention he brings a much needed veteran presence with poseys skill level)... now bjax and mighty mouse it is a risk(undersized backcourt, oft-injured, lack of defense, shoot first mentality). but i agree, this shortens up their rotation to

5: wright
4: gasol
3: miller
2: jones
1 : b-jax
with the important players on the bench being mighty mouse, warrick, and battier with developing rookies though i heard wright is unhappy and wants out.. in that case i think memphis would package wright w/ a rookie or a draft pick and trade him for magloire.. that puts on a memphis team that is almost completely overhauled might lead to a good playoff run but probably never a championship

yea you really can't compare Swift with Warrick. Warrick's college experience is really nothing compared to Swift's NBA experience, after all you get college exp to get prepared for nba. Moreover, Swift is more of a pure PF and a little C, where as Warrick is more of a SF than a PF. Warrick is not strong enough to be an NBA PF. They are both extremely athletic. Other than that the trades were pretty evenly done. EJ is a pretty good defender and a good score like Posey. And as for JWILL, he maybe be a good basketball player, but bad attitude leads to nothing. Jackson is just as good and the signing of Stoudmamire will more than make up for Watson's place.

The main reason I said I would compare Warrick to Swift because Swift only completed 2 years of college when he entered the NBA. Warrick is 22 and Swift is 25, when Swift came into the league he was 20. I just expect Warrick to step up enough to where he would have the same or close to the same impact that Swift had. Also can't forget about Lawerence Roberts who averaged 14ppg and 11rpg in the summer league and is the same size as Ben Wallace which he could possibly end up being affective off the bench when giving time.

but warrick seriously needs to bulk up or grow a lot taller for him to play to pf position effectively... lawrence roberts is bulky but warrick is just plain skinny

Haha love the quote about J-Will: 'You don't try to get value for J-Will, you pay someone to take him. '

The main reason I said I would compare Warrick to Swift because Swift only completed 2 years of college when he entered the NBA. Warrick is 22 and Swift is 25, when Swift came into the league he was 20. I just expect Warrick to step up enough to where he would have the same or close to the same impact that Swift had. Also can't forget about Lawerence Roberts who averaged 14ppg and 11rpg in the summer league and is the same size as Ben Wallace which he could possibly end up being affective off the bench when giving time.

why yould you use swift's numbers from his rookie year as a comparison?

warrick, as you say, is replacing the swift of this past year, not his rookie year

Grizzlies have done a great job by getting EJ, Bobby Jackson and Damon Stoudamire

The main reason I said I would compare Warrick to Swift because Swift only completed 2 years of college when he entered the NBA. Warrick is 22 and Swift is 25, when Swift came into the league he was 20. I just expect Warrick to step up enough to where he would have the same or close to the same impact that Swift had. Also can't forget about Lawerence Roberts who averaged 14ppg and 11rpg in the summer league and is the same size as Ben Wallace which he could possibly end up being affective off the bench when giving time.

why yould you use swift's numbers from his rookie year as a comparison?

warrick, as you say, is replacing the swift of this past year, not his rookie year

Who said I was comparing Swift rookie numbers to the Swift in his rookie season? The rookie season wouldn't have mattered because Swift was in Vancouver in his rookie season. I'm pretty sure if Warrick gets the same time as Swift did in the previous seasons in Memphis, he would put up numbers close to Swift. You can't expect Warrick to be a monster off the bench in his rookie year playing behind the best player on the team. But I know he will be affective either way it goes given the oppurtunity.

maybe i read it wrong...

why wouldn't swifts rookie numbers matter if he played in vancouver? was vancouver just a bad nightmare? hehe

you're the only mentioned monster and warrick in the same sentence