They have way too much talent to be without a win so far this season. Especially considering they have played both Denver and Golden State. Granted they have played Sacramento twice, San Antonio, Portland, Detroit and Dallas as well, but still they should have won at least one game by now. So what gives? Is it the coach (ESPN have suggested it is previously, which would explain alot) ? The players just don't care (I find it near impossible to believe that this is the case) ? Or they're just not good enough to win (I don't think so, they already have 1 ROY, and also the early fav. for this years ROY) ? If they fail to make the playoffs again this year (almost a certainty) and pick up LeBron, that would virtually assure them of 3 straight ROY winners. Would they have enough talent to make the playoffs if they got LeBron next year? Imagine a lineup of: C Stromile Swift PF Drew Gooden SF Pau Gasol SG Lebron James PG Jason Williams Very talented starting 5 on paper. What can be done to improve the Grizzlies? I would start by hiring a new coach and go from there.
I hope they don't erase Vancouver from the record books...it's great having a spot in the books...even if it's for losing 21 consecutive games.
true...i AM a rockets fan. and i don't care for the grizzlies...but i like having the VANCOUVER grizzlies in the record books.
Jerry West is probably salivating all over his 3 chins at the thought of Lebron in Memphis this time next year. He'll probably stick with Sidney Lowe all the way thru this great tank season.
Unless the Grizz get the #1 overall pick this year, it goes to Detroit. lol, for freaking old ass broken down Otis Thorpe. If the Grizz pick last year had fallen out of the top 5 it would've belonged to Detroit. Dumars is looking like a stinking genius now. They need to improve their team D imo. They have some pretty good one-on-one defenders, but as a team they suck ass. That probably is the coach's fault. Also, they should yank J-Will in the 4th and put in Brevin Knight, kinda like they used to in Sactown.
They have a blah coach, and they are young. In the NBA, you have to learn how to win. Obviously, the Grizz don't know how to win. They have a lot of offensive firepower, but severely lack role players who do the little things that they are missing right now. Not to mention that they play piss poor offense. Drew Gooden is looking like Kevin WIllis, in the sense that he doesn't ever pass the ball out of the double team. When you double team Gooden, it just means he'll be more rushed to throw up a hook or turnaround.
dang that sucks, what if they get the 2nd pick and lose it to detroit for Otis Thorpe. And Detroit ends up getting a really good player. Then again what if they get the first pick get Lebron James, they also will be getting the Rockets pick this year and they have a lot of very very very good PGs coming out this year. They could then have Lebron James Good PG not Jason Williams Pau Gasol Stromile Swift Drew Gooden Bench Michael Dickerson Shane Battier That could end up better then the Rockets it all depends on where the balls fall Thats how we got MING
The j*zz...er, Grizz...have a lot of duplicate talent. Jerry West could put together a decent trade when the time comes. Don't think he won't try. Swift is coming along nicely. It'd be nice to have him on the Rockets (his favorite team, if I remember correctly). Not at the expense of EG, of course.
They should take that Sactown imitation to the next step - trade Williams. Sooner or later, the West Virginia roots shared by West and Williams are going to run thin. West wants to win and is smart enough to know that Jason Williams isn't the answer. After Williams, Memphis has two other problems. One is experience - which is a self-correcting problem over time. And last but definitely not least - Sidney Lowe is a poor coach.
I totally agree with your assessments. I think West is going to use the majority of this season for evaluation purposes and not be concerned much with winning. I expect the big improvement from the Grizzlies to come next season possibly. I really like Pau Gasol. This guy reminds me of a shorter Ralph Sampson skill wise. This guy is VERY well rounded and fundamentally sound. He has the turnover bug this year but I think that will even out as the season progresses. I think they are making a mistake trying to put him at the 5 from time to time. Gooden is going to have to learn to play the 3 on a consistant basis if that tandem is going to work. In my eyes, Swift is not a center. The guy is 6'9'', 225. However, I think the guy deserves to start until he proves hes not worthy. I would like to see Memphis package Williams and Swift together for Andre Miller. That gives you: PG Miller SG Battier SF Gooden PF Gasol C Wright (not a bad starting center) Backups Giricek Person Dickerson Knight Not a bad little team! Although they would need to find a good backup 4/5. Depending on what Miami does, I can also see West giving his old coach Riley a call. Riley would be a good coach for this team IMO. One other note .....is there anyway West can convince Duncan to come to Memphis????????????????
Memphis looked like they were going in the right direction in the summer league and the pre-season but maybe they will fix the problem.
Problem is Gater, what team would like to take on JWill, esp now that he has a fat contract? Maybe Cleveland, to put fans in the seats, but maybe not even. Whatever deal they make with Jwill, they'd probably be getting less in return. I think most teams have found out by now he will never be an ideal starting point, even though he has the talent to be one. They do have good trade bait, but I can't think of any good return they could get, at least right now. There's no real young stud player out there who is on the trade block.
Maybe Memphis X could come in here and educate everyone on the Grizz situation, he would be more knowledgeable on Memphis...afterall he predicted the Grizz as having a better record than the rox this season.
It's not as if Jason Williams hoodwinked Jerry West. West believes in Williams and is counting on him to be good. He may later discover that Williams hasn't turned out as he had hoped. For now though, West has seen everything we've seen about Jason Williams and much more -- and has come to a very different conclusion about his ability to run the point. I'm not one to ride West's jock -- I don't believe he has the Midas touch -- but I think he'll know if Williams is or is not the answer before I will.
You just get the feeling that West is going to pull Lebron James out of his hat. It really wouldn't surprise me.
