Sports Frog

Classic case of one franchise bending over to allow another franchise to have its way. Awesome. As ususal, I am the fan of the franchise doing the bending.

Pau Gasol to the Lakers for cap relief. Swell. I'll buy tickets tomorrow. As Commercial Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins captures very well:

"Later this year, Dick Hackett -- or whatever poor sap accepts the job as the Grizzlies next president of business operations -- will have to approach FedExForum suite holders and ask them to renew their leases. It's hard to imagine how that will go.

Poor Sap: "Renewing your lease will allow you to continue to watch the exciting Grizzlies."

Lease Holder: "Really. Why would I want to do that?"

Poor Sap: "We have lots of cap room."

Lease Holder: "I'm paying tens of thousands to watch cap room?"

Poor Sap: "We might spend it this summer."

Lease Holder: "Might?"

Yea, cap room!

So many thoughts, here's the best I can do in terms of organizing them:

1. Pau Gasol---He's remarkably flawed and miscast as franchise anchor. He's soft. He is not anywhere within range of the term "leader". He can be indecisive with the ball, disappers when the game is on the line, and gets m a y b e one tough rebound when the team needs one a month. But none of that will matter on the Lakers, where they have a franchise anchor (Bryant, obviously, and maybe Bynum in a year or three), plenty of toughness, teammates who won't let Gasol hold the ball and look confused, and grown-up NBA players to get rebounds. In short, Gasol will be able to bring to LA what he DOES do well, which is score in bunches and provide decent off the ball defense. He's a perfect fit for the Lakers, and should have no problems with being the second or even third option. It fits his personality perfectly.

As for getting him out of Memphis? Bonus. The fanbase here had grown to loathe him. Booed every time he touched the ball of late. Too many years of whiny pleading Euro-looks to officials when he didn't get a call. Too many years of flopping, too many years of, well, back to Calkins:

"That Gasol can't be the best player on a good team? That he's as soft as a throwed roll?"

Yeah, that. So, it's good that he's gone. Past due. But that brings me to the main problem I have with the Grizzlies franchise right now.

2. The Return for Gasol---As much as I hammered the Twins earlier this week for over-playing their hand and waiting too long to deal John Santana, it is ironic that one of the teams I root for trumped them so magnificently in franchise malpractice. One year ago, when Jerry West was running the show, they could have had a good haul from Chicago, but held out for Luol Deng, and ended up with nothing. (Side note here: both the Bulls and Grizzlies screwed up in not making that deal). This past off-season, new GM Chris Wallace came in and decided they were building around Pau Gasol, and failed to deal him when he still had value. Then after eight more months of dreck, he moved him for cap relief.

Unreal. This is where I get mad. Technically, the Grizzlies began to tear it down and rebuild when they dealt Shane Battier in 2006 to the Rockets for Rudy Gay. That was a deal I suported at the time, and still do. Battier was more accomplished, but Gay represented a chance to find your way to an All-Star at some point and was the kind of talent infusion you need if you are going to re-build. Then, the team stopped. Instead of finishing the tear down and rebuild by dealing Gasol, Mike Miller, and whatever else might be useful at that point, they tried to make it work. And, between Gasol's ankle injury and the team shutting down on Mike Fratello (hard to blame them, he was a dick), the season was lost.

Problem was, new GM Chris Wallace came in last summer and perpetuated the mistake. Instead of dealing Gasol, Miller, and whatever else had value for young pieces to fit new coach Marc Ivaroni's system, he decided to build around Gasol, calling him a superstar. Go, Geoff Calkins:

"When I came here, my first option was to give this thing a chance and see what everybody could do," Wallace said. And then what? You learned what any fan in the upper deck could have told you at the end of last year?...Wallace and Iavaroni are supposed to be savvy basketball professionals. Gasol has been in the league for seven years. So they needed all these months to decide that he's not a legitimate All-Star? While his stock continued to plunge? And then, having waited until Gasol's value has been obliterated, they're suddenly in a hurry to trade him away?"

Ridiculous mistake from Wallace. This was a particular path that this franchise could not afford to tread. Instead of building around Rudy Gay and Mike Conley with young pieces from, say, the Bulls (Nocioni, Thomas or Noah, picks and expiring contract) and taking their lumps this year, they are building around Rudy Gay and Mike Conley with, well, NO additional pieces. Crippling error.

So now they have to sell "cap relief". Good luck. I understand the concept. I also know that teams like Memphis (and in markets like Memphis) are not in the first 29 or so choices for your average NBA free agent. And if you want a superstar via free agency? Good luck finding one that hits the market in his prime, or that would choose Memphis. Whole thing blows.

3. State of the Grizzlies in Memphis---Huge trouble. The lease with the FedEx Forum makes them unlikely to move in the immediate future (say, the next 7-10 years) due to some punitive clauses, but the franchise is deeply wounded, and it may prove fatal. That has everything to do with the horrible ownership of Michael Heisley who has strip-mined the business operations side of the franchise for years, and is now doing the same to the basketball side. He's had the team on the block for three years, with no buyers, because he is asking a crazy price for the team and no sane person with that kind of money is willing to pay it. In the meantime, he's fielding a team based on we'll-be-good-someday in a poor town during a recession. You want to hold a private meeting where no one will see you? I would suggest the FedEx Forum in Memphis during a Grizzlies game this March.

4. What now---Since I am a fan, I guess I will try to find the good thing in the professional malpractice exhibited by ownership and management. It almost surely can't get worse. In the meantime, Rudy Gay, who has already taken a large leap this year (averaging right at 20 ppg) needs to take another leap. He needs to become the face of the franchise immediately (if he wasn't already). And he needs to be even more aggressive with the ball. 25+ ppg the rest of the season is what I would like to see from him. Conley also has to continue to develop. When he plays (which isn't as often as one would like, as he seems forever hurt) he has shown that he was worth the 4th pick in the draft. He makes great decisions with the ball in his hand, setting his shooters up in the right spots to succeed, and attacks the rim surprisingly well for a guy with his height. He's going to be very good. He, along with Gay, needs to seize this team by the throat. Even though those are the two youngest players on the team, there is no reason to be deferential to any of the veterans left. Mike Miller is a nice player, but he is likely gone soon for expiring contracts himself and even if not, has been even less of a leader on that team than Gasol was. Other than that? Not much else to watch for in Memphis with regard to pro basketball. Wait for the draft, I guess. Hope for a shot at Michael Beasley. Hope the team institutes a one-of-the-four-fans-at-the-game-gets-to-lace-it-up-and-play-the-4th-quarter promotion for the April home games.

Beyond that? Nothing much.

And Tiger basketball. Thank G-d for that.