What do you think of the Grizzlies recent moves? - traded 'Reef for #3, B.Knight and L.Wright - drafted Gasol at #3 - drafted Battier at #6 - drafted Tinsley at #27 - drafted pg Solomon at #33 Reportedly, they are still seriously shopping Bibby, and with them picking up 3 PG's, all indications point to something happening. Dickerson is not a lock to be a Grizz next season either. With all that young talent this team has had, I guess management said its time for a shake up. This team certainly has potential. Here's what their roster currently looks like: *subject to change. C - Reeves, Austin PF - Swift, Massenburg SF - Battier, Gasol SG - Dickerson, E.Strickland PG - Bibby, Knight, Tinsley, Solomon Azim da Dream ------------------ "Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease." - Geroge W. Bush, commenting on the troubled continent, to reporters in Sweden
really depends on the impact Gascol has! Also rumours are flying of a Bibby for J Williams trade, surely they can get better than that for Bibby but Williams does sell tickets. ------------------ "The things I enjoy most, I suck at: 1) Sex: everything's fine until she makes noises." - Achebe Smegs Mock Draft
The thing I don't understand is why BOTH Gasol and Battier? I guess they expect Gasol to be a 4? Or Battier to move to a 2? I really don't think they're done moving at all. I dunno, maybe they think they can keep Gasol coming off the bench at first, then move Battier when Gasol is ready to be the full-time 3? ------------------ CC.net's most courteous driver Oh yeah, and I'm looking for a job right now, so hire me please
They should have taken Diop instead of Battier. I bet Gasol plays the 4-- that's where Rudy thought he belonged. Swift/LoWright may become an active 5! ------------------ "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak. Because someday you will have been all of these."
They are still weak up front. Wright showed some improvement last year, but between him and Reeves, they are one halfway decent at best center. I think Swift will be good in a couple of years, but he and Gasol need to live in the weight roomif they are going to be full time NBA 4's. j ------------------ Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!
I think Pau Gasol will play the 4 for the Grizz - but surely Bibby MUST be going elsewhere! Will they try and ship him off for a 5? I find it hard to believe that they would be comfortable going into the season with Reeves and Austin as their 2 center prospects - maybe Wright will log time there, who knows? ------------------
Bibby is officially a King. Maybe Jason Williams can step up his game in Tennessee. ------------------
Bibby and SAR both gone and they still have Big Country on the payroll? What are they thinking? Mango ------------------ Get it right or just don't do it! Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated. Start more Webber threads!
Gasol wouold get embarassed at the four and Battier is too slow at two. They are merely creating mismatches for the other teams. Unfortunately for Mepmphis, both are natural 3's. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
I think the Grizz might be okay next year I don't think their playoff material yet but there good. Reeves,Wright Gasol,Swift Battier Dickerson,E. Strickland Williams, Night ------------------
Battier & Gasol combo didn't make sense to me. The only think I could think of is that Gasol will spell relieve for Battier (he will start because he is more NBA ready than Gasol) at 3 and Swift at 4. But you don't take a #3 pick to play backup, so why? I think Swift is a natural 4, you can't just move him to the 5 spot. Now that JW is on board, I would expect the Grizzlies to move Knight, maybe to Boston. ------------------ 15 years later... Zoom
Yeah, I don't get Battier AND Gasol when you've already got Swift and Wright...AND other holes to fill...I get Battier from a personnel standpoint, ie; they needed a leader for that gutted team, but they sure do seem like a fairly redundant team now, to me..Unless Swift on the block, and I can't see that being the case...Bibby for J-Will only makes sense from a ticket-selling standpoint. ------------------
When Van selected Battier, I really believed we were going to trade something for him. But the Gasol pickup confuses me! I think either of those will be traded, and I surely don't think Gasol will be good as SAR. ------------------ "Bada Bing!"
I agree it sounds like, the Grizz are just "padding the deck". BTW are they going to change their stupid name? The Memphis Grizzlies? How 'bout the Elvis'? ------------------ www.expage.com/saveourunis
How about the Memphis Moonshiners. They sure have been hitting the bottle hard lately. With the upward moves of the Clips and Sac, (even w/o Webber), with Denver standing still. They will have no, I mean zero, competition for the low end of the lottery in the West. They traded there best two all-around players and have a questionable PG and 2 rookies arriving. In the short term they will be just aweful.
Young ones, don't you all know that teams don't name their franchise according to area or regional interest anymore. This is the NBA, and it has spoken. The commerical exploitations of the NBA have deemed the Memphis franchise -- the express. Three guesses as to where that moniker came from. ------------------ I am an invisible man. [This message has been edited by kbm (edited June 28, 2001).]
Hmmm...now let's break this down and see this for what it is. Gasol was the 3rd pick of the Hawks not the Grizz, so to make the deal for 'Ref more solid they told the Hawks who they wanted (Gasol) at the 3rd pick and Wright and Knight. Now to get the quality 3 and leader to step in now that you have for the next 3-4 years you take Battier at the 6th spot. He is a winner that has defense, scoring ability, good passer, floor leader, and most of all HEART. Gasol was used to 20 minutes a game anyway and really you can find him 20 minutes off the bench. Jason Williams is the back up to Knight or my boy CHRIS JACKSON!! He is a shooting guard that can't shoot and point guard that shoots too much. So to sell tickets and have him for offense off the bench it maybe worth it for them. They still have to solve the post defensive presense, but if you have Swift at the 4 as a weak side shot blocker he should be enough to help Big Country (who they could not unload because he has NO trade value) they are in the East!! They don't need a center right now, because they are only a 30-40 win if they gel next season anyway. You plan for the move and the playoffs now...you plan to run for the Championship after you learn to win in 3-4 years. This team can't expect to be a force until then anyway, so you gather a few scorers and make a run in the EAST. Build your team to get free agents on do the road like what Dallas and Orlanda did, but first you have to win or at least head that direction. They have a team that can make a playoff run in the East now for the 8th spot, so who knows. ------------------ "Basketball is truth, and J-Dub is a lie..." I know basketball and most GM's don't...sometimes the best rooster move is no move at all. What makes your team successful is truly knowing when it's time to make a change and who is the player to help you do it.
Are the Gizzards, Moonshiners, or whatever, going to the east? Would another team join the West? Rahim and Bibby are proven, very good and good players, respectively. They also were league babies (going to get better still), the two best players on that team, and each has 10 more years of production left. Two rookies and Jason Williams (not as good as Bibby plus 3 years older) cannot replace that. They are in the toilet, and have to hope Gasol becomes an all-NBA player to ever get over 20 wins in a season--at least in the West.
The Grizz will stay in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. ------------------
Well that's even worst if they will stay in the West. 23 wins... ------------------ "Basketball is truth, and J-Dub is a lie..." I know basketball and most GM's don't...sometimes the best rooster move is no move at all. What makes your team successful is truly knowing when it's time to make a change and who is the player to help you do it.
