Men's Wearhouse Abruptly Fires Its Founder, Spokesman
Chipotle Reveals Use Of Controversial Ingredient
Of all teams in need of a good scouting staff, the Grizzlies, who have had 10 top-six picks in 14 years of existence, are at the top of the list. The team had five amateur scouts last season (I'm not calling the scouts amateurs, they scouted amateur players). Next season, Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports, the team will have zero scouts. Zero.It's an unbelievable concession, even in this economy. (Insert sad trombone sound.) The Bobcats declining to assemble a summer league squad -- that's unnerving. A team like the Grizzlies decided to detonate the entire scouting staff with the playoffs nowhere in sight? That's abominable.
Of course, given that a real estate mogul, team owner Michael Heisley, makes all the basketball decisions, maybe it's just as well.
Calkins also surmises in his Sunday column that Heisley and Heisley alone decided Hakim Warrick wouldn't be a proper fit going forward. Milwaukee, a cost-containing team in its own right, immediately saw fit to give Warrick the salary Memphis revoked. The basketball side of the operation in Memphis loved Warrick, and saw him as an important bench scorer next season. Heisley saw him as a $3 million paycheck he didn't really want to sign. So Warrick became an unrestricted free agent immediately.
Defenders of Heisley might point to Zach Randolph as an example of the team being willing to pay for talent. Except that without the Randolph trade (the Grizz sent Quentin Richardson's $8.7 million contract to L.A. for $16 million of Z-Bo) the Grizzlies would not have reached the league's minimum salary without signing a high-priced free agent. The collective bargaining agreement requires that teams spend at least 75% of the salary cap level on payroll. For 2009-10, that's just shy of $44 million. Lo! the Randolph trade put Memphis just above $44 million in salary.
This is all to say it's a shame what Heisley is doing to this team, and most importantly, the fans.
Senate Close To Immigration Breakthrough
Obama Climate Change Strategy Coming Soon
'Sopranos' Star Dies At 51
Michael Hastings' Wife Obliterates New York Times For Dismissive Obituary
'Today' About To Undergo Another Overhaul
Atheist Seeking Citizenship Told She Must First Join Church
Geraldo: 'Hard To Forget' Hastings Ruined McChrystal's Career
Paula Deen Allegedly Makes Racist Comments
GOP Candidate: Gov't Programs Have Done More Harm To Blacks Than Slavery
Darden Restaurants Continues War Against Obamacare
Huge Protest At Major MLB Stadium Leads To 10 Arrests
Abercrombie Failing To Show Fired Woman's Headscarf Hurt Sales: Report
Bernanke: Fed Could Reduce Stimulus Later This Year
Is LinkedIn A Stalking Ground?
Microsoft Completely Walks Back Xbox One Restrictions After Gamer Backlash
Ann Coulter's Terrible Advice For Winning The Latino Vote
Which Majors Have The Lowest Unemployment Rate?
Tea Partiers Boo Marco Rubio On Immigration
Having Premarital Sex Now Means You're Married In India
From Child Hero To Murder Suspect
AP CEO Levels Grave Accusations At DOJ
Banks May Face Stricter Mortgage Measures After Big Settlement Fail
Mobile App Allows Users To Report Racial Profiling
Stop Force-Feeding Gitmo Detainees, Democratic Senator Says
Michael Hastings Challenged And Infuriated Journalists, In Washington And Afghanistan
British Girl Scouts Take God Out Of Pledge, Keep Queen
Lawmakers Float Potential Breakthrough On Student Loans Issue
Australian Women Post Breast Pics To Protest Sexism
U.S. Tries To Save Taliban Talks
Federal Funding For Fire Prevention Going Up In Flames
