With the departure of Hubie Brown and the team struggling, the rumor mill is flying that Jerry West could be next to leave the team. Source
I've heard the same reports for about a week now, and frankly I would not be disspointed. I do not like Jerry West as a GM. He has not made one good move that was not blatantly obvious (like the Bonzi Wells trade was). He drafted Gooden over Butler and Stoudamire and then traded Gooden and Giricek away for Miller who has been an absolute bust for us. Then he drafted Robert Archibald over Carlos Boozer and Dan Gadzuric, who even the rednecks sitting behind me at the draft party admitted were the obvious choices at the time. Then he drafted Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones, arguably the two worst first round draft picks of all time. Then he drafted Antonio Burks and Andre Emmett when he already had a full roster. What makes that worse is that he cut Troy Bell, a player who still had some promise, and Bo Outlaw, our lone veteran and defense leader. Meanwhile, he kepts Burks, Emmett, and Ryan Humphrey on the bench. He also made some of the most questionable signing I've ever seen, and I'm not just talking about giving Cardinal and Gasol way more money than they deserve. I'm talking about signing Czezary Trybanski to a long term deal. I'm talking about signing Jake Tsakalidas to a long term deal and when the Grizzlies already had a full roster not even playing him. In fact, if you look at the two best players on our team, Jason Williams and Pau Gasol, you'll realize that they were both obtained by former GM Billy Knight. Knight made some fantastic moves; the type of moves that West hasn't shown us so far. I know the Grizzlies won 50 games last season, but give a lot of credit to Hubie and give a lot of credit to guys like Williams, Posey, and Gasol, but don't give too much credit to Jerry West. West may have added some finishing touches to that team, but when you examine his moves closely, you'll see he's really overrated as a General Manager. I'd be happy if he left. We obviously need change.
You and my dad think alike on the issue that Billy Knight did the work that started building the Grizz franchise. JW just added a few pieces here and there. Bonzi and Bo were the only good pieces he's done so far. Everything else has been filled with questions or gone including Bo.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Bonzi and Bo were the only good pieces he's done so far. </div> I don't even give him too much credit for the Bonzi Wells trade. Who wouldn't have traded Wesley Person for Bonzi Wells? BTW - Welcome to JBB!
I'm one of many Grizzlie fans (now there's an oxymoron) who hailed Jerry West as our savior when he showed up on our collective doorsteps. I'd still like to cling to the belief that everything will turn out fine. I know a person's actions should mean more than the name attached to them, but he's Jerry West.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ezra:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm one of many Grizzlie fans (now there's an oxymoron) who hailed Jerry West as our savior when he showed up on our collective doorsteps. I'd still like to cling to the belief that everything will turn out fine. I know a person's actions should mean more than the name attached to them, but he's Jerry West.</div> He did get Shaq to sign and did trade Vlade Divac for the draft rights to Kobe Bryant. He left the Lakers a 7+ year dynasty. The thing is he's decided not to build around superstars. Therefore the chances of his success with the Lakers probably won't reflect onto the Grizz.
Jerry West has made some questionable moves since he's become the GM of the Grizzlies, but the job of the GM is to get the players the coach needs for their system. In West's situation his job was to build a team with depth for Hubie's 12 man rotation. In that aspect I think he did a great job and the Grizzlies had a fantastic season last year. The Bonzi Wells deal was a no brainer, but give credit to West for being the GM to get such a bargain, I'm sure there were a handful of other GM's who would have offered more. The biggest draft mistake was passing on Stoudemire. A lot of the blame falls on the scouts the Grizzlies had at the time. They screwed up West's scheduling and he never had a chance to work out Stoudemire and meet with him. He only got the reports from his scouts and they were worried about Stoudemire's run-ins with the law. On draft day West went with a conservative approach and took Gooden. Gooden was slow to develop in Memphis, because he was a tweener and didn't play well enough to earn the minutes he needed from Gasol, Swift, and Lo Wright. At the time the Grizzlies needed another shooter, so they made the deal for Miller. I don't think Miller played all that bad, and filled in well last season when Jason Williams was injured, and Miller played PG. He's been slowed by injuries, but he's having a solid season and actually leads the team in FG%. There's no defending is long term deals with Czezary Trybanski & Jake Tsakalidas, those were terrible decisions. I think West's greatest contribution to the franchise was his name and legacy. Having him aboard made the franchise respectable and it enabled the Grizzlies to get Hubie Brown, TV time, and media coverage.
Where were the Grizz before him? No where. Not too add he hired Hubie Brown, I guess that move was just soooo bad. Please...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KleinBaller08:</div><div class="quote_post">Where were the Grizz before him? No where. Not too add he hired Hubie Brown, I guess that move was just soooo bad. Please...</div> Please... I guess you feel like you can just look at the franchise's success and give all the credit to West. Well, you're wrong. Every move that bettered our franchise was essentially made through Billy Knight and not West, with the exception of hiring Hubie Brown. And you can't just take that one coaching hiring and say that West is a good GM because of it. That's just not how it works.
And you know that because?Oh I forgot u were in the Grizzlies organization and knew who made those decisions.You dont know if Billy Knight made those moves while he was there.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">The biggest draft mistake was passing on Stoudemire.</div> True, but 7 other teams made the same mistake so I wouldn't give West a hard time about that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KleinBaller08:</div><div class="quote_post">And you know that because?Oh I forgot u were in the Grizzlies organization and knew who made those decisions.You dont know if Billy Knight made those moves while he was there. </div> What are you talking about? Billy Knight was the GM before Jerry West. He's the one who brought in Gasol, Williams, Wright, Battier, etc.
And look how successful he's being with the Hawks right now... I can't believe you're advocating Billy Knight. The grass is always greener, I suppose ... (But Billy Knight? Wow.)
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Sorry to go off topic for a bit, but what is wrong with Mike Miller again?</div> Are you asking what <u>our</u> problem is with him?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Are you asking what <u>our</u> problem is with him?</div> Yes, that is what I was trying to get at. But aside from his back problems, I thought he was a decent player. Better than Mike Dunleavy jr. that's for sure.
