<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Former Duke basketball player Brian Davis has reached an agreement to purchase Michael Heisley's 70 percent majority share of the Memphis Grizzlies, a source familiar with the deal told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. According to the newspaper, the NBA is expected to review the agreement this week. The source told the newspaper that the contract to sell the Grizzlies estimates the team's value at $350 million. Local ownership, which combines for a 30 percent share of the team, has the right to match the offer to purchase the team. The newspaper reports that Heisley's limited partners have 30 days to respond to Davis' offer from the point they receive official notification. The Commercial Appeal, citing team insiders, reported that the Grizzlies lost more than $40 million following the 2005-06 season, spurring Heisley to try to sell his majority share. If he is successful in purchasing the majority share of the Grizzlies, Davis reportedly plans to eliminate team president Jerry West's position in a cost-cutting measure, according to the newspaper.</div> Source I know Jerry West hasn't made any blockbuster trades or stole the best player in the draft, but he did bring credibility to the franchise. He's probably the most recognizable figure on the team after Pau Gasol. If I was buying a team, I would keep Jerry West around to learn from him. He's always been a professional and understands the ins and outs of the NBA. He is the industry insider you want in your corner especially as a first time NBA owner. Why buy the team and begin an immediate downsizing? If the new owner can let go of one of the all time great GMs to save money, you have to wonder how stable this roster is going to be for the next couple of years. Welcome back to the lottery Memphis.
How much is Jerry West's contract per year? He's assembled a pretty good roster, so I don't know why they would want to get rid of him.
Jerry West's original contract was believed to be worth $5 million per year for 4 years ($20 million total). His previous contract with the Lakers was $3.6 million per for 4 years ($14 million). He then signed a 2 year extension which wasn't disclosed but likely it's in the $6 to $7 million range, especially with West desiring to retire. West knows a lot, but I don't think he's personally done very well in terms of drafting. (Drew Gooden, Dahntay Jones, Troy Bell, and Hakim Warrick.) On the other hand, he's been great evaluating current personnel, making some errors but fewer than most other GM's. Really though, as long as they can keep Pau Gasol, the Grizzlies will always be able to rebuild if they go down.
The least you could do is sign a young Assistant GM to be tutored by West, before you completely axe him. You really stand to set back the franchise a few years if you come in and think solely about cost-cutting.
Good riddance. I've been waiting for this day since they first hired West. The Grizzlies' current success really has nothing to do with him but rather current Hawks general manager Billy Knight, who truly built this team through the acquisition of players like Gasol, Battier, and J. Williams - the players who actually helped our team win ball games. All West has done is bring in a bunch of cancers like Chucky Atkins, Damon Stoudamire, and Stromile Swift. Should we really applaud him for drafting Robert Archibald over Carlos Boozer and Dan Gadzuric or drafting Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones? How about bringing in Brian Cardinal and Jake Tsakalidis for ten times their worth, or trading away Shane Battier for a rookie with a history of attitude problems? West is overrated as hell. He's built his whole career as a V.P. of Operations off of one player - Kobe Bryant. Take him off our hands, please. No one in Memphis wants the guy.
I agree with Voodoo Child. What the heck happened to West with all these mediocre drafts and the overpaying of guys who will probably be end of bench players later on. I mean I'm glad for Brian Cardinal making out like a bandit, but damn... GM shouldn't go nuts on a limited role player that had a good year. One thing GMs have to understand about Brian Cardinal is that he's very slow at SF, and he's very undersized at power forward. And he needs guys who can drive and kick to him or guys who can pass out of the post. That's what Dampier, Claxton, and Nick Van Exel did for him. Cardinal just shot wide open J's and was hitting them. He occasionally would take the ball up, lookin for contact and would get it. That's how he earned additional points at the line. He also hustled, played very smart as a passer, and did the dirty stuff like guys like Aaron Williams or Brian Scalabrini would do. But look at where those guys are now. There's bigger and better players to be had somewhere down the line that's bigger, stronger, and taller than 6'8 240 lbs, no matter how aggressive and gung-ho.
