FanHouse Preview: Grizzlies

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The Grizzlies are not a joke. They are the punchline. That's where they've fallen to. They aren't even the setup for the joke. They're just mentioned as the end point.

A little under two years ago, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (and by that, we mean owner Michael Heisley) traded Pau Gasol for cap room and some loose junk. The only valuable component they got out of the deal was Marc Gasol. The move elicited everything from mockery to outrage from pundits and even league personnel. Things have not improved considerably since.

From there, the management team put together a three year plan to get the Grizzlies back to contention. They drafted O.J. Mayo, plugged in Marc Gasol, and went with youth. The results were what you'd expect from a young team rebuilding. But after frustrations over defense never improved, Heisley fired coach Marc Iavaroni and installed new old coach Lionel Hollins. The results were not considerably better, though underwhelming point guard Mike Conley seemed to flourish.

The plan had been built on the foundation of improving through the draft, developing a foundation of young players. Apparently, Michael Heisley made the decision that meant trading for older players with histories of being combustible for chemistry. Going into the offseason, the Los Angeles Clippers thought they'd need a miracle to get rid of Zach Randolph's contract. The Grizzlies, much like they were for the Lakers, were their salvation. Then they followed that up with Allen Iverson, who despite a storied legacy had been essentially blackballed from even workouts with other teams.

It's hard to know for sure what the plan is now in Memphis. Randolph and Iverson surely don't represent the future, and considering their performance in the last few years, it's hard to think that they'll capture lightning in a bottle. But we know the negative side. Let's imagine how it would be if things did come together. The big plug for Randolph, Memphis fans say, is that he's a 20-10 guy. Which is defintely true. In fact, if you just look at Randolph on paper, he's just what the Grizzlies are looking for. A low-post scorer who can produce points. Of course he can also produce this.

Is there any need to spell out what Iverson can bring? Iverson can be the kind of playmaker who knows how to win that the Grizzlies have been looking for. He can also be a huge headache who goes off in pursuit of his own agenda and is known to put his own desires ahead of that of the team, and I'm not just talking about practice.

The question of course is where these two fit in? The Grizzlies invested their #2 overall draft pick in Hasheem "Really Tall Guy" Thabeet, and also feature Gasol, who was arguably their second best player last season behind O.J. Mayo. So Randolph is going to create a situation in Memphis where something's got to give. A similar situation exists in the backcourt. The Grizzlies made a serious commitment to Mike Conley at point guard last year, trading back-up Kyle Lowry to Houston for peanuts. And O.J. Mayo is probably the best player the Grizzlies have, on pace for record rookie PER before hitting the wall in March. For now, Iverson says he has no problem coming off the bench, but we heard the same noise last year in Detroit.

With promising rookies Sam Young and Demarre Carroll, the Grizzlies have the potential to make significant strides this season. It's hard to see them competing for a playoff spot, but maybe they'll defy expectations and at least be in contention for a spot. The worst-case scenario is much darker. Randolph's history of locker room cancerous behavior follows him to Memphis and combusts with Iverson to create an inferno that not only results in losses which compound frustrations, but stunt the growth of Gasol, Conley, and Mayo, opening the door for Rudy Gay to attempt to escape Memphis when his contract is up. The Grizzlies will need a lot to go right, and a lot of people's expectations to go awry, to come out of this season feeling good.

Last Season By the Numbers

Record: 24-58 (11-30 under Marc Iavaroni, 0-2 under Johnny Davis, 13-26 under Lionel Hollins), finished 5th in Southwest Division, tied for 11th in Western Conference.

Offense: 103.5 points per 100 possessions, 28th in NBA. Finished 23rd in shooting, 27th in turnover rate, 20th in offensive rebounding, 9th in free throw rate.

Defense: 109.5 points per 100 possessions, 21st in NBA. Finished 26th in shooting defense, 7th in opponent turnover rate, 16th in defensive rebounding, 19th in opponent free throw rate.

Top Performers: Rudy Gay scored 18.9 points per game, and rookie O.J. Mayo scored 18.5 points per game. Marc Gasol led the team with 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Mike Conley led the team with 4.3 assists per game and 40.6% shooting on three-pointers. The team leaders in PER were Hakim Warrick (16.9), Gasol (16.7) and Gay (15.3).

All statistics via Basketball-Reference.com.

Player to Watch

FanHouse's Matt Moore and Tom Ziller preview one player to watch from each team. Here's a snippet of Moore's post on Memphis center Marc Gasol.

Gasol's post work is actually one of the stronger parts of his game. He shows the same kind of footwork and touch that his older brother does, but combines it with a physical approach that you could call downright nasty. His passing from the high block could be huge this season. ... [U]sing Gasol as a lynchpin would provide a wrinkle that accentuates the strongest components of the Grizzlies' offense.

This is all contingent on Grizzlies' management and coaching realizing what they have in Gasol, which is not evident after picking up both Thabeet and Randolph. The more likely scenario is that the Grizzlies will look for Gasol to provide a body on defense and as a complimentary piece. Which is, honestly, a huge waste of his potential, and perfectly within the guidelines of Grizzlies policy.

See Moore's full post on Gasol.

Offseason Tracker

IN: Zach Randolph (trade), Allen Iverson (free agency), Hasheem Thabeet (draft), DeMarre Carroll (draft), Sam Young (draft).
OUT: Darko Milicic (trade), Hakim Warrick (free agency).

See FanHouse's full NBA Offseason Tracker.