Memphis Grizzlies Thread

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

I saw there wasn't a Memphis Grizzlies thread so I made 1 myself. Grizzlies had the worst record in the West last season. They had the #4 pick in the draft that they used on PG Mike Conley, JR. Conley, along with Pau Gasol(if he stays), Mike Miller , Rudy Gay, Tarence Kinsey, and Damon Stoudamire should form a nice nucleus for them to build and play around. As much as I love him as a player, it doesn't look like they will resign Chucky Atkins , making him a free agent. Gasol's name has been mentioned in a few trade packages. Memphis looks semi-decent for next season.

My opinion is that Memphis gets 35-40 wins, Gasol is an allstar, Conley makes All-Rookie 1st team, and they miss the playoffs again, putting them back in the lottery.

So, what are your thoughts on the #15 team in the west????

[-Young Buck-]

well it doesnt look like they will be able to get in the playoffs, so i say tank another season and get another good player. tank until you feel you have a team that can get into the second round of the playoffs.

[---]

As I said in the Bulls thread I think they are close to a 50 win team again. I'm gonna say 45 wins at least.

C - Pau Gasol
PF - Stromile Swift
SF - Rudy Gay
SG - Mike Miller
PG - Mike Conley
-----------------
6th - Hakim Warrick
7th - Kyle Lowry
8th - Dahntay Jones
9th - Damon Stoudamire

etc.

Looks good to me.

[NovU]

stromile/mike miller as starters still worries me
i think they too weak to compete...
they could be better off the bench, could provide nice boost

& here's my scenario
1) nocioni comes, immediate starter, miller to the bench again...
2) warrick shows improvement, he'll start in stro's spot
3) still needs to improve the roster thru trades and fa market, absence of battier, posey, wells, lorenzo, etc seem still big

but for now i think they r bit short from makin playoffz... a lil adjustment, they'll be ok...

[Gundy]

stromile/mike miller as starters still worries me

Yea... Stromile definitely not starter material at this point but why the hell would you say Mike Miller? Are you aware he averaged 19 ppg, 5 rpg, and 4 apg last season? Not to mention he is one of the most lethal 3 pt shooters in the game.

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

stromile/mike miller as starters still worries me

Yea... Stromile definitely not starter material at this point but why the hell would you say Mike Miller? Are you aware he averaged 19 ppg, 5 rpg, and 4 apg last season? Not to mention he is one of the most lethal 3 pt shooters in the game.

But he chokes. Hes overrated to be honest with you.

[Gundy]

But he chokes. Hes overrated to be honest with you.

Yea...so does Dirk. Who's overrating him? I think he is actually underrated. I haven't watched enough of him to judge whether he chokes or not, but nevertheless, it really isn't a valid reason to deem him not qualified to start.

[Riot]

I'll give you my left nut if the Grizzlies win 50 games next year.

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

But he chokes. Hes overrated to be honest with you.

Yea...so does Dirk. Who's overrating him? I think he is actually underrated. I haven't watched enough of him to judge whether he chokes or not, but nevertheless, it really isn't a valid reason to deem him not qualified to start.

In the playoffs, like Dirk and VC he's faded when his team looks at hhim to shine. He can be a difference make when he wants to be but he seems to get put on lockdown. Against the spurs, they put Ginobili on him, ESPN said he was going to have a good series againt Ginobili, at the time an average defender. 6.5 points. LOCKDOWN. 05: Joe Johnson. 11.5 points. LOCKDOWN. 06:off the bench, Jason Terry and Josh Howard. 7.5 points. LOCKDOWN. Each series h e had chances to hit big shots in the 4th. HE MISSED THEM ALL. He can have it in the Regular season, but that shine is gone in the playoffs. Each time his team has been swept. From Orlando to Memphis. It's not that I dont like him. It's just that I don't think he can take this team past the second round of the playoffs.

Pau Gasols averages in the same 3 Series were

'04: 19.7
'05: 22.3
'06: 21.3

[-BHZMAFIA-]

More than likely I see a 7 to 8-man rotation from the Grizzlies without any signings:

PG - Conley
SG - Miller
SF - Gay
PF - Warrick
C - Gasol

with Lowry, Kinsey and without any major injuries, they can win around 35-40 games with that team. More than likely I see them adding somebody through free agency though whether its Nocioni, Varejao or Darko and there is also a rumor that they may still try to do a S&T for Navarro. If they are able to get 1 or maybe even 2 of these deals done, they will definitely be back in the playoffs this year. I really don't want Darko on the team, but I would love to have Varejao, Nocioni and/or Navarro because they actually bring something to the team that they were missing.

Varejao brings hustle and rebounding, Nocioni brings shooting, toughness and rebounding. Navarro is another shooter that they can add because they really only have one shooter on the team in Miller. There was a rumor that Memphis only offered Nocioni a little over the MLE, and that he was going to stay with the Bulls. I would consider that pretty dumb and a waste of time if GM Chris Wallace was going to just offer him that much knowing he would have to up the ante a little bit to get him to leave Chicago.

They are also still looking at Fisher which I would love to have him on the team. So, lets say Memphis just gives Nocioni around 8-9 mil a year and give Fisher the veteran minimum. They would then have to make a S&T with Cleveland to get Varejao and they could possibly offer Warrick (even though I wouldn't really want to do that) along with maybe Stoudamire for Varejao. If the Grizz can sign Nocioni, Varejao and Fisher in the off-season they would definitely be back in the playoffs more than likely making it to the 2nd round. If they only sign one, I still see them in the playoffs it just depends on how strong of a team they are if they can make it to the 2nd round. Lineup with the 3 players signed:

PG - Conley/Lowry/Fisher
SG - Nocioni/Miller/Fisher
SF - Gay/Miller
PF - Gasol/ Nocioni
C - Varejao

I would rather just take Nocioni and call it a day and be a good team next year, but if he can't sign then go after Varejao and maybe still try to pull Fisher.

[NovU]

Are you aware he averaged 19 ppg, 5 rpg, and 4 apg last season?

IMO he shouldn't be getting those big # or MPG. in previous 5 years when his team reached the playoffs, his role was significantly less important. on any good winning team, u dont expect miller to average 19ppg 5rpg 4apg.
so imo, he could be a good starter but best off the bench. and whether he starts or not, i expect grizz to give less tasks to miller. bring more depth to the position...

[Air Zoom Kobe I]

I would rather just take Nocioni and call it a day and be a good team next year, but if he can't sign then go after Varejao and maybe still try to pull Fisher.

Fisher needs to go back to the lakers

[[Q]]

i just watched the China/Grizzlies game on NBA TV and i gotta say that was a pretty fun game to watch despite being a summer league game. the Grizz will be a fun team to watch with 3 quick PGs in Stoudamire, Lowry, and Conley along with the Suns style offense.

[Fitzy]

do you think they have enough to share the offensive load? Or will it be up to Gasol

[1CenT]

Ever since they lost battier.. i don't think they will win more than 45 games this season..

Their guys are too young, Conley, Lowry, Gay, Warrick..
Swift makes a lot of mistakes... bad 1 on 1 defender..
Gasol is avg at best on D...

They can really use sum1 like Varejao...

Damon, Miller, Gasol, r good...

I think they will win half their games.. depends on injuries...

45 games is a good estimate.. hard to be more than that... since they haf hmm... a lot of good teams in the West already...

Spurs, Mavs, Suns, Jazz, Rockets, (4 of these teams are 55+ win teams)
Then you got the Nuggets, Warriors, Lakers....
Warriors and Lakers are prob gonna only be .500 teams...
Hornets, Portland and Memphis.. should have 40-ish wins..

They're be fightn for teh playoffs at best (45 wins)

[-BHZMAFIA-]

With the Grizzlies being able to take care of 2 of their 3 needs so far this off-season, the upcoming season is looking pretty bright. They have probably obtained the best big man in FA this year in Darko and arguably the best PG in the draft.

The 3rd need would be a shooter or a perimeter defender. I believe they are looking to make some deal for Navarro or possibly sign Udoka. I would prefer Udoka over Navarro because he can play defense and shoot the 3 and he is more a Raja Bell type player which is who Memphis needs. Navarro is also pretty undersized to play the two guard. I believe with the remaining cap space the Grizz have, they could pick up Udoka depending on who else makes a run at him like the Spurs. Given that the Grizzlies do trade for or sign one of these players, they will easily be in the playoff hunt and I would get them an A+ for their offseason grade.

I believe they've evaluated their options very well and didn't take the first thing given to them. They could've easily went the other route and drafted Brewer, spend tons of money on trying to bring Mo Williams in and making a trade for a big man, but that would've been alot harder to do IMO. I'm very interested to see how well Darko plays out because this is the year for him to prove himself with him more than likely starting at center beside Pau. If he can put up around 12-15ppg, 7-10rpg and 2bpg, I would definitely be happy that he is making the improvements. If Memphis is able to sign Udoka, they would have added 3 quality players to their roster without even moving anybody.

Lowry, Conley (final decision probably won't be made til' the end of the preseason)
Udoka, Kinsey
Gay, Miller
Gasol, Warrick
Darko, Swift

Pretty good if you ask me. They have some very promising PG's, a good defender and shooter in Udoka, a hungry player in Kinsey, all-around athlete in Gay, one of the best shooters in the league in Miller, an all-star PF in Gasol, an improved player in Warrick and then there is Darko and Swift Swift can put in some good minutes here in that I'm hoping, but I'm really thinking that Darko will step up this year.

[[Q]]

I don't understand why they cut Alexander Johnson. he was a promising big man that could crash the boards and is a different type of PF than the others on the team. Swift & Warrick are too skinny to be effective rebounders. The Signing of Darko really helps though.


when was the last game Swift played in??? did he play this last season?

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I don't understand why they cut Alexander Johnson. he was a promising big man that could crash the boards and is a different type of PF than the others on the team. Swift & Warrick are too skinny to be effective rebounders. The Signing of Darko really helps though.


when was the last game Swift played in??? did he play this last season?

I was a fan of Johnson's hustle, but his basketball IQ is very low. He had virtually no type of offensive game and I believe thats the reason for Memphis not going after Varejao. I believe Memphis was looking for more of a big man who could score, block shots and rebound. Another thing about Johnson was that he was undersized and waiving him may open up a trade to bring in either Navarro or sign Udoka. Swift and Warrick are skinny to be effective on the boards, but they also have their athleticism to make it for that. Swift did play last year, but only 54 games. He finished out the season pretty well by looking at his stats he averaged around 12-13ppg and 5-6rpg if I'm not mistaken. After the coaching change he had a period of where he was really playing well until he got injured.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

From the Commercial Appeal, looks as if the Grizzlies are inquiring about Barnes and Udoka. Just what I like to hear:

Memphis has inquired about free agent swingmen Ime Udoka (Portland) and Matt Barnes (Golden State) as options in those areas. Both players are unrestricted free agents, meaning they can sign with any team without their former team having a right to match the deal.

...Barnes is similar, given he connected on 106 3-pointers last season.

Wallace spoke with Barnes' agent, Dan Fegan, extensively last week during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Fegan also represents Cleveland free agent Anderson Varejao.

[cyanide]

I'll give you my left nut if the Grizzlies win 50 games next year.

Oooh, I'm gonna remember that. Last time Jugs said something similar, he ended up eating his own shit. Him actually doing that, though, is debatable, but Riot, you are a man of your word!

[Sauru]

next year you can feed riots left nut to someone who makes a guarentee and fails

[-BHZMAFIA-]

24.07.2007 Jacobsen changes from Bamberg to Memphis

Picture OF OUR editorship member Klaus Groh

Bamberg - Casey Jacobsen does not return to the German master after Bamberg. The basketball-national league loses one its absolute notices signs. The 26-year-old wing player fulfilled itself its dream and returns into the NBA where he graduated already 234 games for the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Hornets. How Bambergs manager confirmed Wolfgang Heyder yesterday, the "most valuable player" of the Finalserie signed a contract in the Memphis Grizzlies.

"The subject settled itself for us unfortunately. That is would damage naturally very, but also a certain honor for us. Casey wrote me a very nice enamel and specifically was thankful once again, present might itself that it here on a crazy platform", sees Heyder the decision with a laughing and a crying eye. "that is already a crazy thing. It did not receive any Try-out, but rather a firm contract in the NBA. That is for a basketball simple the largest", knows Heyder.

In search of a center and how does it go now in the Brose Baskets further? The Bamberger of responsibles want to invest that now freigewordene money into a strong center after the team already considerably was reinforced on the small positions according to Heyder with the new accesses Demond Greene, mark Dickel and Predrag Suput. "we need under the basket correctly quality that costs to be sure also much money. We seek financially are sat down a robust center, but also boundaries", emphasize will be supposed to become yet reinforced become Heyder, that the search for the suitable candidates not easily however also on the position of the Power Forwards the team in order to be able to offer the high-carat competition in the Euroleague Paroli.

This is somewhat of a translation break down from freetranslation.com

www.fraenkischer-tag.de/cms/index.php id=1235&MappeCID=...nk=artikel_1_2

Well, if this is true I'm guessing Jacobsen is a littler more cheaper than Udoka and Barnes. I wish Memphis could have pushed a little harder for Udoka, but with the defending champs going after him, it would be hard to sign him. They were really looking for an outside shooter and Jacobsen fills that need. I'm thinking Iavaroni knows something about him that alot of us don't since he took the bold step of signing him. I'm not that excited about this signing, but at least they did upgrade in shooting the 3-ball.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

Grizzlies add shooter Casey Jacobsen

By Ronald Tillery
Contact
July 23, 2007

The Grizzlies finalized a deal Monday with sharpshooter Casey Jacobsen, a guard who last played in the NBA during the 2004-05 season when he split time with Phoenix and New Orleans.

An NBA source confirmed that Jacobsen was in town Monday to sign the contract and visit with Griz personnel. Jacobsen signed a one-year contract.

Jacobsen, 26, adds perimeter scoring the Griz sought in order to bolster their guard rotation. He came out of Stanford in 2002 and played 2 1/2 seasons with the Suns before being traded to the Hornets.

Jacobsen played in 78 games, making 13 starts with Phoenix during the 2003-04 season, where he averaged six points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range. During his three seasons, Jacobsen was a career 37 percent shooting from the 3-point line, averaging 5.9 points a game.

-- Ronald Tillery: 529-2353

Iavaroni obviously thinks CJ is a good fit for the system. I am very interested to see how this team comes together and how this system looks with these pieces.

Only time will tell if Milicic, Brown, Jacobson and Conley were good moves. I really love each players upside though.

[cyanide]

I liked Jacobsen when he played with Phoenix. He seems to be a good fit within the Suns' chemistry, so it should be interesting how it goes with Memphis.

[-BHZMAFIA-]

Navarro decision due today
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Deadline nears on trade for Spaniard
By Marlon W. Morgan
Contact
August 3, 2007
Today is the day Pau Gasol will learn if his best friend, Spanish guard Juan Carlos Navarro, will be his newest Grizzly teammate.
The Washington Wizards, who hold Navarro's NBA rights, have until the close of business today to strike a deal to trade Navarro. That's the deadline imposed by Navarro's current team, FC Barcelona, which has agreed to let him out of his contract for a buyout of about $2 million if a deal can be reached by today.


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Talks between Washington president Ernie Grunfeld, Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace and Navarro's agent, Alex Saratsis, lasted until Thursday evening and are scheduled to resume first thing this morning, Saratsis said.
''There's nothing that concrete to report today,'' Saratsis said. ''There's definitely been discussions. I wish I could give you something that was concrete.''

Saratsis said a handful of NBA teams are interested in dealing for Navarro, but the Grizzlies remain the strongest possibility for the 6-3, 27-year-old shooting guard set to make his NBA debut.

''At this juncture, obviously with the deadline approaching, there's still a few options out there,'' Saratsis said. ''I think one of the most appealing ones is Memphis because of the ability to play with Pau. Anyway you look at it, he'd basically be coming for the chance to prove that he can play in the NBA and play with his best friend. ... There's other teams that are continuing to have discussions, but I think the strongest possibility right now is Memphis.''

During the last month, Gasol and Navarro, who have played together for FC Barcelona and on the Spanish National Team, have expressed through the Spanish media their desire to team up in the NBA. But Wallace said reports that Gasol offered to pay Navarro's buyout are untrue.

''We've had ongoing talks with all sides involved in this,'' Wallace said Thursday morning as he boarded a plane for Memphis. ''In this one, I wouldn't say we've reached a deal until we've reached a deal. If that ever happens, I'd feel comfortable. It's a unique situation.''

The Wizards, who according to the Washington Post are over the salary cap with about $64.7 million committed to contracts next season, have been trying to trade Navarro's rights. There have been reports that Grunfeld has been trying to include center Etan Thomas, who is owed about $20 million over the next three seasons, in the deal.

Wallace would not say which players, or possible draft picks, have been mentioned in the trade discussions

If Memphis is able to acquire Navarro without giving up anything major, they will be in very good shape next season. It seems like Washington messed up by trying to get too much for him and they might end up having to take whatever they can get for him now.