Checking In
After an August where parenting and vacations squeezed the Grizzlies out of my work schedule, I’m checking in on the latest news and rumors as we get ramped up for training camp to open later this month.
ESPN.com reported yesterday that Grizzlies rookie Darrell Arthur and former University of Kansas teammate Mario Chalmers were booted from the league’s rookie transition program after they were found with marijuana in their hotel room. A fine and suspension will follow.
Though I know Michael Heisley and Chris Wallace have issued disappointed public statements, I really can’t bring myself to get too worked up over this. I can’t imagine Arthur will miss more than two or three games to start the season or that this will be much of a long-range issue unless Arthur gets into further trouble. I don’t know of anyone in the media or in the league who — when being honest — really gets all that worked up over recreational marijuana use among young athletes, which is pretty common.
Nevertheless, this is the first public issue the Grizzlies have had in this regard since the Rodney Buford era.
The Grizzlies signed Iranian center Hamed Haddidi last week to a “multi-year contract,” terms of which were not disclosed and have not leaked out. This, of course, was widely expected once the league got past State Department red tape that at first prevented NBA teams from negotiating with Haddidi.
I spoke to Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace last week about the signing. Wallace said that there are still issues to resolve with regard to Haddidi’s visa, but didn’t indicate that he expected this to be much of a problem and seemed hopeful that Haddidi would be in town well before training camp.
A legit center at 7’2”, Haddidi performed well this summer for the Iranian national team, first in a trip to one of the NBA’s summer leagues in Utah, and then in Olympic competition, where he averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in Olympic competition.
Wallace acknowledged that the only team employee who has seen Haddidi in person is Gordon Chiesa, an assistant coach a year ago who is likely to be reassigned with the addition of Kevin O’Neil. Chiesa watched Hadiddi at the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league in Utah and tipped off the organization to his potential.
Wallace says that he’s only seen Haddidi on film, but that his size and skillset make him an intriguing player. Wallace referred to Haddidi as “a lump of clay to be molded,” and didn’t give the impression that Haddidi would be expected to play a major role right away.
Could Haddidi just be the next Cezary Trybanski? Absolutely, but he has been more productive against better competition than Trybanski ever was. Given the obvious questions about Darko Milicic and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies clearly needed a third-string center on the roster. Wallace pointed out that the team could have signed a more established veteran player to fill the role, but that given where the team was in its developmental stage, he felt it made more sense to take a chance on a player who might have more of a future. I agree with that.
If nothing else, adding the first Iranian player to participate in a major American pro sports league will be a compelling human interest story. I look forward to seeing if Haddidi shares my enthusiasm for the work of Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, and Abbas Kiarostami.
The Commerical Appeal’s Ron Tillery reported on a couple of Grizzlies trade rumors last week, one involving sending Mike Conley to Portland in a deal that would involve forward Travis Outlaw. The other, more widely reported of late, would involve troubled Knicks forward Zach Randolph.
I don’t doubt for a second the validity of Tillery’s sources, but I’ll be surprised if anything comes of either of these rumors, though the Randolph rumor seems to have more legs.
I haven’t been able to get anything noteworthy on either of these fronts from any team sources, but have talked to a league source that had relevant comments on both items.
This source confirmed that a Conley for Outlaw trade was discussed prior to the draft, something reported in multiple places (including here) on draft night. But, this source expressed doubt that Portland would still be interested in such a trade, despite Conley’s friendship with Portland center Greg Oden. After the play of rookie Jerryd Bayless in the summer league and incoming acquisition Rudy Fernandez in the Olympics, he suggested that Portland was more than content with its backcourt situation.
He suggested it made more sense for the Grizzlies because of doubts about Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo being able to thrive together in the backcourt. For what it’s worth, when I asked Grizzlies sources about Mayo before the lottery I also heard concerns about Mayo and Conley being a good fit together.
On the Randolph front, the source, who has interacted with Randolph, expressed doubt that the Grizzlies would want to add his troubled personality to the young roster. My own feeling is that there’s probably some fire behind the smoke of these rumors, but I certainly would not endorse acquiring Randolph regardless of the deal.
