Mr.Bottomtooth
11-27-2006, 02:06 PM
Grizzly rumors continue to swirl
West's future, potential Gasol trade hot topics
By Ronald Tillery
Contact
November 27, 2006
DENVER –- Normal procedure for "Going Out of Business" sales is that the franchise actually ceases operation once all inventory is moved or when the predetermined expiration date arrives.
Did Memphians miss something or are the Grizzlies closing up shop around Friday?
That's only supposed to be the deadline for the current local ownership group to decide whether they will match an outside offer to purchase the team.
Of course, the Griz are contractually bound to live in Memphis past December and for years to come. You just wouldn't know that judging by the team's trifling ticker that continues to scroll across our lives for all the wrong reasons.
Personnel rumors are a part of every NBA team's season. But the Grizzlies are experiencing more than a fair share.
One week it's team president Jerry West's future. The next it's head coach Mike Fratello's job security. And then there's the revelation that prospective owner Brian Davis' business plan calls for slicing payroll.
Sandwiched in between is constant speculation about players changing addresses and the season is just 28 days old.
So much for the standings with a team that's qualified for the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
Perhaps the perception around the league is that the Griz, in arguably their most unstable state, are on the verge of starting from scratch and can be had.
The latest buzz created by a New York report is that the Boston Celtics have offered everyone on their roster in an attempt to acquire Pau Gasol. Think they're the only ones trying to steal the 7-foot Spaniard?
Part of the rationale has to be based on what's making the rounds around the league: Privately, Davis has long articulated his intention to rebuild without West and Gasol.
Davis is said to have expressed that Gasol is overpaid and lacks fan appeal. As for West, there isn't a confidant who believes he'll return next season even if majority owner Michael Heisley still owns the team. That lifetime contract Davis offered to West was strictly a public relations maneuver.
So, too, apparently is Heisley's routine contention that West still can wheel and deal as he sees fit.
Who knows for sure?
This is for certain: All that runs smoothly for the Griz is the rumor mill.
No player seems immune, either.
Well-placed league insiders say the Grizzlies could do a deal that would send Mike Miller to the Los Angeles Clippers for Corey Maggette. Figuring that Miller's game hit a ceiling in Memphis coupled with poor playoff performances, the Griz would love to add Maggette's dogged offensive ability.
The Clippers need a deft perimeter shooter, which Maggette is not.
Team insiders believe that under normal circumstances 35-year-old Eddie Jones and his nearly $16 million contract would have been bought out by now. That would allow Jones to join a contender while the Griz still reap the benefits of his absence -- playing younger guys and having his salary create more room under the cap next summer.
But don't expect so much as a tremble from the Grizzlies' roster.
At least not until Davis' bid to buy is confirmed or choked.
Even the small deal they need to make apparently can't make it past the bean counters. It doesn't take many dollars or much sense to add another point guard now that rookie Kyle Lowry may be out for an extended period with a broken wrist.
So circumstances such as these leave players and coaches to read with interest constant speculation hovering over the team.
Prediction: There will be more rumor headlines than Western Conference wins for the Grizzlies by January.
Anyone who doesn't think this situation is having an adverse effect should have seen a bewildered yet amused Damon Stoudamire walk out of the visitors locker room at Houston's Toyota Center last weekend.
Stoudamire was aware of a report that the Miami Heat may have him on a list of possible targets to improve their point guard situation.
Of course, the season of insanity began with Christian Laettner supposedly walking out of his performance-induced retirement into a Grizzly uniform.
This is what happens when a potential sale goes public too soon and with a closing about as iffy as winning the Powerball.
Just when you thought it was safe to ride the Grizzlies into the land of NBA respectability, they take you back to those laughingstock days.
And this has zero to do with the team's 3-10 record.
Fratello passionately coaches his hard-working troops even as they all look over their shoulders and sigh.
But the franchise, even with compelling talent, seems unhealthy. Perhaps more so than it's ever been.
-- Ronald Tillery: 529-2353
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_5172231,00.html
West's future, potential Gasol trade hot topics
By Ronald Tillery
Contact
November 27, 2006
DENVER –- Normal procedure for "Going Out of Business" sales is that the franchise actually ceases operation once all inventory is moved or when the predetermined expiration date arrives.
Did Memphians miss something or are the Grizzlies closing up shop around Friday?
That's only supposed to be the deadline for the current local ownership group to decide whether they will match an outside offer to purchase the team.
Of course, the Griz are contractually bound to live in Memphis past December and for years to come. You just wouldn't know that judging by the team's trifling ticker that continues to scroll across our lives for all the wrong reasons.
Personnel rumors are a part of every NBA team's season. But the Grizzlies are experiencing more than a fair share.
One week it's team president Jerry West's future. The next it's head coach Mike Fratello's job security. And then there's the revelation that prospective owner Brian Davis' business plan calls for slicing payroll.
Sandwiched in between is constant speculation about players changing addresses and the season is just 28 days old.
So much for the standings with a team that's qualified for the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
Perhaps the perception around the league is that the Griz, in arguably their most unstable state, are on the verge of starting from scratch and can be had.
The latest buzz created by a New York report is that the Boston Celtics have offered everyone on their roster in an attempt to acquire Pau Gasol. Think they're the only ones trying to steal the 7-foot Spaniard?
Part of the rationale has to be based on what's making the rounds around the league: Privately, Davis has long articulated his intention to rebuild without West and Gasol.
Davis is said to have expressed that Gasol is overpaid and lacks fan appeal. As for West, there isn't a confidant who believes he'll return next season even if majority owner Michael Heisley still owns the team. That lifetime contract Davis offered to West was strictly a public relations maneuver.
So, too, apparently is Heisley's routine contention that West still can wheel and deal as he sees fit.
Who knows for sure?
This is for certain: All that runs smoothly for the Griz is the rumor mill.
No player seems immune, either.
Well-placed league insiders say the Grizzlies could do a deal that would send Mike Miller to the Los Angeles Clippers for Corey Maggette. Figuring that Miller's game hit a ceiling in Memphis coupled with poor playoff performances, the Griz would love to add Maggette's dogged offensive ability.
The Clippers need a deft perimeter shooter, which Maggette is not.
Team insiders believe that under normal circumstances 35-year-old Eddie Jones and his nearly $16 million contract would have been bought out by now. That would allow Jones to join a contender while the Griz still reap the benefits of his absence -- playing younger guys and having his salary create more room under the cap next summer.
But don't expect so much as a tremble from the Grizzlies' roster.
At least not until Davis' bid to buy is confirmed or choked.
Even the small deal they need to make apparently can't make it past the bean counters. It doesn't take many dollars or much sense to add another point guard now that rookie Kyle Lowry may be out for an extended period with a broken wrist.
So circumstances such as these leave players and coaches to read with interest constant speculation hovering over the team.
Prediction: There will be more rumor headlines than Western Conference wins for the Grizzlies by January.
Anyone who doesn't think this situation is having an adverse effect should have seen a bewildered yet amused Damon Stoudamire walk out of the visitors locker room at Houston's Toyota Center last weekend.
Stoudamire was aware of a report that the Miami Heat may have him on a list of possible targets to improve their point guard situation.
Of course, the season of insanity began with Christian Laettner supposedly walking out of his performance-induced retirement into a Grizzly uniform.
This is what happens when a potential sale goes public too soon and with a closing about as iffy as winning the Powerball.
Just when you thought it was safe to ride the Grizzlies into the land of NBA respectability, they take you back to those laughingstock days.
And this has zero to do with the team's 3-10 record.
Fratello passionately coaches his hard-working troops even as they all look over their shoulders and sigh.
But the franchise, even with compelling talent, seems unhealthy. Perhaps more so than it's ever been.
-- Ronald Tillery: 529-2353
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_5172231,00.html