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The Memphis Grizzlies were two of the NBA great northern expansion in 1995. The move north into Canada made the NBA an international organization. Unfortunately, Vancouver proved to be a less than hospitable city for the Grizzlies. The front office did not help matters when their first choice in the 1995 draft, the player to build the team around, was Bryant Reeves. Reeves actually had solid numbers his first two seasons, He proved to a good scorer, but was only a passable rebounder. He proved not to be the player the team thought he would become.
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About The Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies first draft was awarded a hug contract at the time, but injuries and a weight problem that ran rampant. Vancouver’s basketball floundered when he began his downfall after the promise of a Shareef Abdur-Rahim front court became an obvious fantasy. Draft picks Antonio Daniels (1997) and Mike Bibby (1998) could do little to turn around a team that had so embraced the losing ways of an expansion team that they annually threatened to finish with the worst record ever in the NBA.
Vancouver’s sports fans stopped going to games and the team was forced to move. The Grizzlies chose Memphis as their new home and played their first game there in 2001. The team came with a new big man from the draft, Pau Gasol. Gasol won the NBA Rookie of the Year award that season, but the team loaded with young talent continued to lose. Finally, in 2003-04, with a new head coach, Hubie Brown, the Memphis Grizzlies turned things around.
Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year as he was able to take Gasol, Shane Battier, Jason Williams, James Posey, and Mike Miller (pick ups of General Manager Jerry West) to a 50-32 record. For the first time the Grizzlies went to the playoffs. The team was swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Brown left the coaching position and Mike Fratello jumped in and the team finished with a 45-37 record and a trip back to a first round sweep.
Memphis then unloaded much of the roster, letting Bonzi Wells, Jason Williams, Stromile Swift, and James Posey go. They replaced them with Damon Stoudamire, Bobby Jackson, Hakim Warrick, and Eddie Jones and earned another playoff berth with a 49-33 record in the 2005-06 season. The third straight playoff appearance led to the third straight sweep.
The third straight early exit destroyed the team. Battier was traded in the 2006 off season for rookie Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift. Gasol had pressure on him to be the focal point of the team, but an injury spent the team into a downward spiral. The season ended with a 22-60 record. The next year (2007-08), when more of the same was apparently on its way, Gasol was traded. The trade was criticized for the lack of talent the Grizzlies received. The move appeared to be nothing more than a fire sale to cut the salary cap to prepare the team for its entry onto the market.
Gasol went to the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis received Kwame Brown, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenton, and Marc Gasol (Pau’s little brother). The Grizzlies also received first round draft picks in 2008 and 2010 though, and now the next attempt to a build a winner for the Grizzlies is underway at FedEx Forum.
The front court is full of potential. Rudy Gay appeared to be on his way to stardom at the end of last season and the Grizzlies will need that inspired play to do anything again this season. Hakim Warrick and Darko Milicic have so much possibility, but it is getting close to the time call them what they are, role players. Having Antoine Walker on the bench will give the Grizzlies plenty of chances to run rebounding drills during regular season games this season. Perhaps this will give Marc Gasol a chance to excel at something his brother could not do. Marc will probably suffer through an NBA career of being told why he is not his brother. He may also end up as the starter given Milicic’s inability to put together two good games in a row.
The Memphis Grizzlies come into the season with a stable full of talent…again. The question is will this talent do anything more than serve as trade bait when contract time comes up, but that is a few seasons down the road. Mike Conley is a good point guard who has been forgotten because he plays for one of the worst teams in the league. Marko Jaric is a great player to have as a backup guard, but he is not an NBA starter. He is holding O.J. Mayo’s spot until he can learn enough about professional basketball to take over later this season.
The 2008-09 season is not looking great for the Memphis Grizzlies, but with a load of talent on the squad the team could make a surprise run at a decent season like the Kings last season, especially if they truly identify with Coach Kevin O’Neill’s focus on defense.
