We take on Memphis Saturday night for the first of a trio of games against teams with poor records. One of my favorite blogs is 3 Shades of Blue, which features a triumvirate of contributers that churn out Memphis Grizzly content at an obscene rate.(Triumvirate is a cool word. I need to join one.) With the Grizzlies entering a rebuilding mode reminiscent of the what the Hornets did a few years ago(the Dark Days of 1 B.C.P.), I wanted to get their take on the future of their team.
Chip Crain has kindly responded to my questions, after thanking Steve Kerr for allowing Chris Wallace to no longer be lambasted as the worst GM in the league not named Kevin McHale or Isiah Thomas.
Hornets 247: Assuming the cap stays about the same, your team will be 20mil under the cap next year, and 40mil the following. All your important young players are locked up for that stretch. With all that cash, who would you target to take that 4 spot? Josh Smith? Shawn Marion? Or mid-tier guys and rely on the draft to hopefully land you a star or two?
3 Shades of Blue: I think you are using governmental math here. The Grizz have at best $10-12 million in cap space this summer. Enough to make moves on some second tier free agents but not enough to lure the big names like Shawn Marion, Luol Deng or Andre Iquodala. We also have to decide on what to do with Juan Carlos Navarro. Navarro is one of the best rookies in the league this season but at 27 and only 6-3 in shoes how much do the Grizzlies want to invest in him? That is a tough call since they are on the hook for a while with Washington for a 1st rd pick and don’t want to just lose him to free agency. Hopefully he won’t find any major offers this summer so re-signing him won’t be too difficult. With a top 8 draft pick in the future there really isn’t as much cash available as you would expect.
Hornets 247: When the Hornets rebuilt, they kept a few veterans around to instill professionalism in the young guns we were bringing in. Do you think Mike Miller will fill that role? Or is he considered an asset to bring in more youth, and the rebuilding is going to go with all youth wherever possible?
3 Shades of Blue: Excuse me? The Hornets rebuilt in early 2005 with David West (2003 draft pick), Tyson Chandler (free agent signee), Chris Paul (2005 draft), and then added Peja, Mo Pete and BJax the next season. What contributing veteran are you talking about? They played JR Smith for most of the season as a starter for goodness sake. Sure PJ Brown helped but the Hornets went with youth and then added sensible FA signings of vets to blend with their youth. Hopefully Memphis will get lucky and get a team changing rookie in the draft and surround him with quality pieces too. We have Aaron McKie after all so it isn’t like we don’t have someone to act as coach in the locker room. Just last week he was a coach for Philadelphia after all. Mike Miller may be used in a sign and trade deal this summer for a major free agent but he probably won’t be moved this season. Not that I agree with that philosophy. If you want to rebuild then don’t waste time doing it. Memphis is 3 years away from competing and Miller will be over 30 by that time. I just don’t see him in the big picture. However, if that makes it easier to do a sign and trade with Atlanta or Philly for instance I would be for it.
Hornets247: The Grizz always seem to be mentioned as being up for sale. Of course, I've heard the Hornets are always up for sale no matter how many times George Shinn has said it's his family business and will never be sold. So do you think they are on the market? And will the restrictive lease they have ensure they stay in Memphis?
3 Shades of Blue: It just seems Memphis has been for sale forever because of the FOR SALE sign in front of the FedEx Forum. That doesn’t mean they are for sale however because no one in their right mind would pay the asking price unless they attended Duke. And the Dukies wanted to finance it with an IOU. When Heisley stops pricing the team among the best in the league then I will believe we are truly for sale. Right now Heisley is just looking for idiots or trying to scare the local minority owners into overpaying for the team. Either way it hasn’t worked yet and at $400 million with a restrictive lease and a poor fan base it isn’t likely to be sold anytime soon. The lease should keep them in Memphis for a while but if attendance remains low then there is an out clause. That’s what makes the next two years so important. If the city doesn’t start to rally behind the team they could be gone before they are sold. It would really hurt our blog if that happened.
Hornets247: Lastly, do the Grizz have any willing defenders? The offense is fine, but is their defense a product of youth or lack of will?
3 Shades of Blue: Willing defenders aren’t the problem. Capable defenders are the problem. Mike Miller works hard on defense but he isn’t very good. Rudy Gay tries hard and he isn’t bad but you can’t expect a 21 yr old to be the team’s stopper and their leading scorer. Darko is recovering from the thumb injury inflicted on him by the dirtiest player in the league (Tyson Chandler isn’t really the dirtiest player but I thought it would be interesting to go around picking fights with the best team in the league- I’m weird that way). When you add in Kwame Brown and get experience at the point defensively then the team will be adequate, if we sign a stopper then so much the better. The main problem is the youth at the point. Memphis has 4 players who can guard the point and none of them have played 60 games in their career. That is inexperience and they routinely get burned by vets driving the lane which forces our bigs to come up to stop them which leaves their men open and you know the rest. Conley, Lowry and Crittenton can defend they just need more experience. When we can slow down penetration then our defense will improve.
I feel for the Memphis fans. I mean, they might have Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry, Javaris Crittenton, and . . uh . . . Darko to pin their hopes on, but I can't imagine rebuilding without Dan Dickau. They need to trade for him immediately. Dan the Man'll make like aloe and sooth their pain like he soothed ours.
21 glorious comments post your own
Stefan
02/08/08 04:44 AM
I don't like that dude from "3 Shades of Blue" very much
#1
Ryan Schwan
02/08/08 07:16 AM
Chip is a good guy, he and Ron helped me out when I first started blogging.
www.hornets247.com #2
Latilleon
02/08/08 07:19 AM
As posted on the Grizzlies message board: Chip... I really respect what you Zack, Spart, and MX do on 3 Shades of Blue. With your newfound national fame, you have to be more careful about the things you say. I think your response to this question was inaccurate and gives an incorrect barometer of our situation. Where did $400 million come from Chip? Heisley was selling his 70% share for $245 million. Everyone knows he has it for sale, and he'll probably never lower his asking price (just like the locals will probably never increase their offer). Contracts are written to be broken; but the lease explicitly says the team cannot leave Memphis before the 12th season in FedExForum and that Michael Heisley can own the team if it is being relocated. In addition, if the team wants to relocate (after two seasons after the 10th season in FedExForum with average attendance under 14,900 and that includes the 5,000 season ticket commitment local companies have made), the mayor of Memphis has a 30 or 45 day window to find a local to buy the team. The lease buyout does not begin until the 12th year. So the team cannot be gone before it is sold. I also take offense to the poor fan base comment. The Tigers reach into the same pool and sold out the season. The Grizzlies have seen success from the poor fan base. If the Grizzlies are not presenting a product that builds loyalty and customer satisfaction, then any market could appear poor.
#3
Ron Hitley
02/08/08 07:28 AM
Interesting responses. I feel bad for Grizz fans but if their team must suck I'm glad they suck in our division.
www.hornets247.com #4
Thomas
02/08/08 07:29 AM
What a condescending ass this "Chip" guy is.
#5
Chip Crain
02/08/08 08:25 AM
To those who took offense at my comments let me clarify something. I was being tongue in cheek mostly. I don't really believe Ryan uses Governmental math, I wasn't insulting the Hornets veterans who were on the team the year Baron Davis was traded nor those who remained after Chris Paul was drafted. I was poking fun at Aaron McKie about being a 76ers coach last week but he was in fact a 76ers coach last week so I can't see anyone taking offense at that. As for the passages Latilleon took offense to. There is no FOR SALE sign in front of FedEx Forum, that was a small joke. The team does have an out clause that can be triggered by poor attendance and the team is drawing poorly and likely to continue going down this year. That makes the next few years very important to the team staying since no one in City Government, Memphis business or citizens are going to support a losing team. If you consider a fan base that only supports teams that are winning a poor fan base then you will agree with my comments about Memphis fans. We have a few years to turn this around and become competitive but if this effort fails I don't believe the city will be able to hold onto the franchise for another attempt at rebuilding. I apologize to anyone I offended by my comments. They honestly weren't meant to sound mean spirited.
3shadesofblue.blogspot.com #6
Reality
02/08/08 08:33 AM
Not only should you apologize for your tone, but perhaps you should apologize for your deliberate distortion of the facts. $400 million? http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/category/grizzlies/2007/01/16/deadline-passes-for-memphis-grizzlies-sale/ It's long been suspected, but now it's confirmed: Brian Davis and Christian Laettner's attempt to buy the Memphis Grizzlies is dead in the water. Monday was the deadline majority owner Michael Heisley gave the duo to at least show significant progress toward completing the sale, but they simply couldn't get the rest of an ownership team together to pony up Heisley's asking price of $252 million. http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/10060771 North Carolina real estate developer Brian Davis, who failed late last year to raise the $252 million Heisley wants for his majority share of the team...
#7
Ryan Schwan
02/08/08 08:50 AM
Actually - it's not much of a distortion. Heisley owns 70% of the Grizzlies. He's asking for 252 million. That means he believes the franchise to be valued at 360 Million Dollars(252M being 70% of 360M) - which isn't that far short of Chips statement.
www.hornets247.com #8
Reality
02/08/08 08:53 AM
It is a distortion. The asking price was $252, not $360. Heisley was only selling his share of the team. His share is $252, not $360.
#9
Anonymous
02/08/08 09:00 AM
Think about it for a minute. When you value a fractional interest you *always* have to base it on what you believe to be the value of the whole shebang. 70% of 360 *is* 252.
#10
Reality
02/08/08 09:08 AM
Think about it: all shares of the team were not for sale; only the majority share was for sale. Therefore, once the 70% is determined, the value beyond the 70% is irrelevant. Heisley was only selling his share. The value of his share - his asking price - was $252. That's it. Not $360, not $400. The total team value is irrelevant to what any potential buyers needed to raise. They needed to raise $252, not $360, not $400.
#11
Ron Hitley
02/08/08 11:39 AM
Okay, but then there's three men, and they go to this hotel. There the manager tells them that there is only one room left and so the three dudes share that room for thirty dollars, each paying ten dollars. Later the manager realizes that the room is only 25 dollars. So he calls the bell boy and tells him to give the 5 dollars back. The bell boy decides that you can't divide 5 dollars by 3 people, so he takes 2 for himself and returns to each person 1 dollar. So each person paid 9 dollars and the bell boy has two dollars. That's 9 x 3 = 27 plus the bell boy's 2 dollars, equals 29 dollars. Where is the extra dollar?
www.hornets247.com #12
Mikey
02/08/08 11:46 AM
Chip, you didn't even mention how the University of Memphis, who is currently No.1 in the land, affects the Griz attendance as well. Anyway, I hate to break up the Chip Crane love-fest, but what's everyone's thoughts on the temporary deal done by Charter and Cox to show the next 3 games on the Northshore. I hope its not just a teaser for those folks living north of the lake, but the long journey to bring the Hornets broadcasts to St. Tammany has to start with one step. Now lets hope that the powers that be can pull their heads out of their respective arses, and at least get a deal done thru the remainder of this year.
#13
Latilleon
02/08/08 11:59 AM
Okay, but then there's three men, and they go to this hotel. There the manager tells them that there is only one room left and so the three dudes share that room for thirty dollars, each paying ten dollars. Later the manager realizes that the room is only 25 dollars. So he calls the bell boy and tells him to give the 5 dollars back. The bell boy decides that you can't divide 5 dollars by 3 people, so he takes 2 for himself and returns to each person 1 dollar. So each person paid 9 dollars and the bell boy has two dollars. That's 9 x 3 = 27 plus the bell boy's 2 dollars, equals 29 dollars. Where is the extra dollar? It's part of the $25 paid to the hotel.
#14
Ron Hitley
02/08/08 12:47 PM
Well if three dudes are sharing one hotel room, a missing dollar would be the last thing I'd worry about. I like that temporary deal, Mikey. It's a step in the right direction as you say, and much better than a complete blackout. Now let's just hope we can sweep these three games and give folks good reason to attend in future.
www.hornets247.com #15
Bob Loblaw
02/08/08 01:00 PM
what is this "extra dollar" you speak of?
#16
Joe Dazzi
02/08/08 02:11 PM
Uh, Darko is 22, which is 3 years younger than Chandler which means he still has plenty of that extra time which is given centers and I see him being a regular 10-10player within the next year. (Dont forget the derision when Chandler left Chicago.) He has had injuries this year but has been more solid on D than I thought he was. We kept hearing that he was a young euro shooter who didnt play D and here he is known as having a weak offense and blocking shots and playing solid D against the western bigs like Duncan and Yao. He is not a top 10 center in the league but definitely falls in the 11 to 20 category. And his outburst this summer against italian referees showed me that he cares about winning. In a scary way, he seems to care as much as Sheed (and Rasheed never layed into someone in an interview like Darko did). Show me a good loser and I'll show you Wince Carter. Show me a guy who is that pissed off and I want him protecting my rim. (yes, yes, I know,...some sponsor somewhere wrote the Grizzlies a memo probably) I've watched carefully at how Toronto cleared the decks after getting rid of their VC parasite, how NO mixed a great draft (CP), trade (Chandler), FA signing (Pedja) and other complimentary pieces after getting rid of Baron Davis and how the Blazers got rid of their 20-10 player Zack Randolph for Philip J. Frye and the honor to give Steve Francis millions of dollars in return of a promise to never step foot in Portland. (btw, I'll put the Gasol trade up against the Zack Randolph any day. Prove me wrong.) But the Blazers did the right thing? If you look at most big names traded in the past few years, most could be considered steals. I have no problem if the moves are made to follow the NO,Portland,Toronto recent model. If its done to help Heisley make more money, then Im not it. The Grizz DESPERATELY need a PF though and get rid what they have now. Gay will never be a franchise player (so we have to resist the temptation to pay him like one later) but will fall in the Rashard Lewis 'almost all-star' category which I have no problems with especially since he didn't impress many people during his rookie season. I like the fact that he has worked hard to improve his 3pt shooting this year and that puts that kind of effort this summer with hist ball-handling and learning different ways to get his shot off better. Id rather be Memphis than I would the Knicks and Nets. While it isnt much, at least we have hope.
#17
sparks
02/08/08 08:05 PM
why are memphis fans arguing here? i wonder when they are going to discuss the memphis attendance? at least the hornets don't lie about our attendance!
#18
Apple
02/08/08 09:35 PM
Hi y'all, I may be mistaken but I think that when the Hornets started seriously shaking up the team they not only had PJ Brown's experience but Mark Jackson, Aaron Williams, Jackson Vroman, Stacy Augman, Lee Nailon, Mash, Steve Smith, David Wesley, George Lynche and of course the Birdman. Not all at one time and they weren't stupendous additions...but they did instill some confidence in the younger guys...even when they didn't play. Eventually they were all replaced but they did their parts...even if it wasn't every night. One guy (I know... I'm going back a little bit) who really made a difference when playing and when sitting on the bench. He was always "coaching" and cheering on...and that man was Darrell Armstrong. I'd still love to have that man on our team...in some role or other. I'll be happy to pay for all his coffee and sugar. But, let's face it...the best of the older, wiser warriors I'd like to see back on our team is the venerable Mr. P. J. Brown. If we had him and we have Peja, Bobby Jax,the energizer bunny, Mucho Janero Pargo, Mo Peterson with one of the prettiest long shots next to Peja, Melvin "Eli's Comin'". He can make his dent; Hilton checks in and if he doesn't try to be a hero and make the highlight films he'll register some really good plays...blocks,boards or tip ins... that don't get plastered on ESPN but make the other team think real hard when they see him in front of them again. With some of these guys it's a flash in the pan and they all high-5 but that instills confidence! You throw big Tyson Chandler in there, and tough as nails and half as quiet David West, and the incredible, omnipresent brainiac Chris Paul and there's a supercharged team. If Rasual Butler gets hot we're blessed. If Adam got playing time we might be able to assess his +/- ratio, but I'm not giving up on him, either. Vinicius gets to occasionally exhibit a kernel of genius...but again...so little time. Ju Ju Wright is quick, smart, loooong arms and talented. And apparently he is open to any good advice he hears. When Coach gave him a few chances earlier in the season the kid was obviously so excited being in an NBA game everything in his head flew away. Catch the ball and shoot it...never mind running the play. Street ball was the order of the day. When we had an opportunity to chat with him Larry mentioned his overstimulous. JuJu looked at him with his mouth open and an intent look in his eyes and was nodding his head. Larry suggested that he relax, put the "opportunity" out of his mind and run the play...and don't just try to make the NBA's 10 Plays of the week. Well, call it a coincidence, call it nice player/fan relationships, call it a kid who listens...but that night when he got another chance he went to work like he was supposed to do...didn't try to create his own shot and ended up with a blocked shot and a shot of his own. The voice of experience (in this case Larry's and I'm sure several others) made a difference to him. And the voices of experience from older and longer in the teeth teammates and coaches sometimes just need an opening from a different and unexpected venue. A new sound that breaks through the barrier of a young man's hard head that makes an impression. This is the argument for older more experienced players on the team. Phoenix got Shaq...because he's pretty? Well, okay...he's pretty. But it's not the only reason. He's the large harder body. The Hornets need a large, hard, SMART body. We need P.J. Come on, Collier! Make up your mind. If you rejoin the Hornets we have a definite shot to win the whole SHABANG! The bling! The bragging rights! I'll bet Bower and Shinn would jump at the chance of signing you. Come on, Ron! Come on Ryan! Start a "Triumvirate" of people dedicated to the signing of P. J. Brown. We need that on court coaching presence. He'd be perfect! Boy, this started as one thing and wound up something else. Excuse my rambling...but read it. You might even agree. Cheers, Apple
appleita.blogspot.com/ #19
Ron Hitley
02/09/08 01:35 AM
Haha, I read it Apple. PJ would be a nice addition, especially with Hilton Armstrong's slow development. I'd imagine the Hornets have already inquired about PJ's availability. They must have, right? And if he was to return to the NBA I'd like to think we have a better chance than anyone else of being his employer.
www.hornets247.com #20
Anonymous
02/09/08 05:40 AM
The Grizz made the right decision getting rid of Pau, yes they got nothng for him, but did we get anything for Mashburn and Davis the year we traded them. NO, all we got was 2 big expiring contracts in Glenn Robinson and Dale Davis, and Speedy claxton. Everyone critzized the move, but in the end it was the right thing to do. Then we made a vairty of smaller moves(David Wesley to houston for nachbar and jimmy jacskon. Jimmy jackson to pheonix for Jacobsen, Lampe and Jacobse, Darrel armstring to dallas for dan dickau, and picking up Butler and snyder in the 5 team trade for nothing. Through this process we dumped the old players with bigger contacts and got a variety of younger plays. Many of them did not pan out but eventually their contract expired. Than we used all that cap room to trade for Tyson, and sign Peja, and we came up big in the draft with Paul. We coupled those guys with our most promiing young player and now we have a team that is competing for 1st place the west. Memphis has to follow a similar pattern, they have to dump everything and hold on to Conely, Gay and Crittenton. Suck it up this year and get top 5 pick. draft michel bsly. than use cap room and make a play for a big, ie marion if he opts out. pg-conley/crittenton....sg-gay.....sf-beasley......pf-marion........c-darko
#21