<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nynj2k7 @ Jan 21 2007, 01:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Carter? the Nets should really trade Jefferson</div>Yeah, Jefferson is a homoid watch nets games if Pau was apart of the team.
For the guys who said this is hurting Grizzlies fans, it's not. Pau is our best player, but not really all of our favorites. Pau really hasn't done anything in Memphis. Memphis hasn't accomplished anything. It's time to move on and part with the old pieces and try new things. I would love to bring in Gordon or Deng and the Knicks pick for Gasol. Moving Gasol is a step in the right direction for Memphis.
I've lost a lot of respect for Pau Gasol...after signing a big contract he just turns on them? Instead of fighting through problems and giving a little time he ditches. Classy. Definitely not the leader I thought he was.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Jan 22 2007, 12:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I've lost a lot of respect for Pau Gasol...after signing a big contract he just turns on them? Instead of fighting through problems and giving a little time he ditches. Classy. Definitely not the leader I thought he was.</div>The Griz are an awful franchise. If I were him I'd be running too. They're in the middle of a sale that's been going on forever and the entire time Jerry West has been unable to do anything. They also gave up a class act and all around excellent player in Shane Battier for two guys with motivation problems in Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift, who never wanted to be there in the first place. The front office has given Gasol nothing back in exchange for him committing to them. Mike Fratello just recently got fired as well. The entire organization is in chaos, and Gasol probably just realized his own mortality coming off a serious foot injury. As for possible destinations, I'm really surprised nobody has mentioned the Suns. Kurt Thomas, Marcus Banks, and the Hawks lottery pick seems plausible. Phoenix is definitely a contender, and they could use him inside. I'd love to see the Celtics get Gasol as well, but I doubt that's going to happen. I think the C's are better off just playing out the season and giving the young guys time to show what they're made of. Then in the off-season make the necessary moves to become a contender. They're stacked with young talent and more than one team will be willing to make a deal come draft day.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Living_Legend33 @ Jan 22 2007, 01:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The Griz are an awful franchise. If I were him I'd be running too. They're in the middle of a sale that's been going on forever and the entire time Jerry West has been unable to do anything. They also gave up a class act and all around excellent player in Shane Battier for two guys with motivation problems in Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift, who never wanted to be there in the first place. The front office has given Gasol nothing back in exchange for him committing to them. Mike Fratello just recently got fired as well. The entire organization is in chaos, and Gasol probably just realized his own mortality coming off a serious foot injury.</div> Thats all good and fine...but you don't f*cking sign a giant contract and then ask to ditch the team after a small bad stretch. I could see this if Gasol was in his 4th year of the deal...
wow...your completely wrong about anything and everything. Suns is NOT a contender, hes probably not going to a western conference team. Stromile was completely a filler for the trade...Gay does NOT have motivation issues, Stromile didnt want to be in memphis cause of Mike Fratello, and several other players didnt want Frat there as well. Memphis has been an excellent and extremely classy franchise until things got shaky this season, which ALL teams go through. So I would appreciate it if you didnt talk so rudely about Memphis cause of a bad season. We are going through alotve changes and you should respect that. Not be a dick about it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Jan 21 2007, 11:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Thats all good and fine...but you don't f*cking sign a giant contract and then ask to ditch the team after a small bad stretch. I could see this if Gasol was in his 4th year of the deal...</div>well, it's not like the grizz are still going to have to pay him after he leaves. I don't see anything overwhelmingly wrong with this. Memphis put him in a bad situation, too. They could never bring him a suitable #2.
we have 15mill in cap this offseason(something like that) so we couldve brought in Rashard Lewis or Chauncey Billups. AND we traded for Rudy Gay who can develop into that player. AND we're going to have a lotto pick...so he wouldve had the 2nd option by next season for sure.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Memphis Fan @ Jan 22 2007, 12:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>wow...your completely wrong about anything and everything. Suns is NOT a contender, hes probably not going to a western conference team. Stromile was completely a filler for the trade...Gay does NOT have motivation issues, Stromile didnt want to be in memphis cause of Mike Fratello, and several other players didnt want Frat there as well. Memphis has been an excellent and extremely classy franchise until things got shaky this season, which ALL teams go through. So I would appreciate it if you didnt talk so rudely about Memphis cause of a bad season. We are going through alotve changes and you should respect that. Not be a dick about it.</div>I never said Phoenix was a contender, all I said was I could see them making a decent offer that the Grizz would have to consider. We're all just speculating at this point because every team is interested in acquiring a player of Gasol's ability. The knock on Gay during the draft was that he had motivation issues, and even though he hasn't played badly he's not exactly lighting it up every night to completely dispel that belief. Until he reaches his potential that will always be a question. Time will tell whether that's a valid criticism or not. Whether it was because of Fratello or not Swift didn't want to be there. Why would you trade for a guy who couldn't wait to leave the a year earlier, especially when it's for your team leader? It's not like they planned on getting rid of Fratello before the season started. In trading Battier the Grizz took a step back in order to hopefully take two steps forward sometime in the future. That doesn't exactly endear management to it's star player. The Griz have never advanced past the first round and have one of the worst winning percentages of any franchise over the past decade. Add that to their current ownership who has done nothing but hurt the team by handcuffing Jerry West until a still pending sale is completed and you have one bad situation. The reality is that not many players would want to go to Memphis right now because of the things I just listed. The Grizz being a historically troubled franchise doesn't reflect badly on the cities of Vancouver or Memphis, it just means that their management has been incompetant. I love the Celtics but you'll never catch me defending moves like trading for Vin Baker or the trade that sent Antione Walker to Dallas. You need to have a more realistic view of your team and not defend it no matter what. Stop taking things so personally; sports are just entertainment.
you forget to mention the fact the Grizzlies franchise has only been around for 11 yrs..unlike Boston...or really any team side Minnesota and Toronto.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nba dogmatist @ Jan 22 2007, 01:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>well, it's not like the grizz are still going to have to pay him after he leaves. I don't see anything overwhelmingly wrong with this. Memphis put him in a bad situation, too. They could never bring him a suitable #2.</div> Again, the Grizzlies gave him a huge deal, he was expected to be the leader. I believe this is his second season of the contract. He knew this team was not going to be a title contender and it was going to take time...I just don't like it when guys pull this sh*t. Sucks for Grizzlies fans but at least they rid themselves of a quitter.
Whoever said the Suns were not a contender can be banished from ever talking basketball ever again. Dumb comment.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Memphis Fan @ Jan 22 2007, 05:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>how are they a contender? Please explain....</div> Because anyone with a brain realizes the Suns are a contender. They have a lot of firepower.
are you talking contedner for a memphis trade or being championship contenders?Im talking Memphis-Pau Gasol trade contenders...
Hahahaha I'm talking for the NBA title. But I'm sure they could dangle Leandro Barbosa infront of Memphis and the Grizzlies could bite.
Memphis could use a young PG, but not Barbosa. Rumor is the Grizzlies might now ask for Hinrich as well to see what kind of deal they can pull. I'd be happy with Hinrich. He gives Memphis a young, true PG with a lot of talent. Stoudamire and Atkins are old and won't be around much longer. Lowry still has a lot to prove. Hinrich would be a good deal to bring to Memphis.And, to the one who said Memphis is an aweful franchise. Whatever. I'm not just backing my team here. Sure we made some questionable moves, but we did what we thought was best. Every team makes questionable moves. Lakers trading Shaq was questionable, are they a aweful franchise? no.Reason we traded Battier for Gay was because we needed a superstar to go along with Pau. Gay has the potential to turn into a great superstar. Battier was the only player the Rockets wanted. Sure, Battier is a great, classy guy, but teams have to part with some of their favorite players sometime. Doesn't make them an aweful franchise. Since coming to Memphis, the Grizzlies have done pretty good overall if you ask me. Sure, we haven't won a playoff game, but we've made the playoffs 3 times, which is more than a lot of teams did those 3 years.And right now, we're just going through changes, every team goes through changes at some point. The thing with us, is all the changes are happening at the same time. Not really our fault.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GrizzFanTaylor @ Jan 22 2007, 05:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And, to the one who said Memphis is an aweful franchise. Whatever. I'm not just backing my team here. Sure we made some questionable moves, but we did what we thought was best. Every team makes questionable moves. Lakers trading Shaq was questionable, are they a aweful franchise? no.Reason we traded Battier for Gay was because we needed a superstar to go along with Pau. Gay has the potential to turn into a great superstar. Battier was the only player the Rockets wanted. Sure, Battier is a great, classy guy, but teams have to part with some of their favorite players sometime. Doesn't make them an aweful franchise. Since coming to Memphis, the Grizzlies have done pretty good overall if you ask me. Sure, we haven't won a playoff game, but we've made the playoffs 3 times, which is more than a lot of teams did those 3 years.And right now, we're just going through changes, every team goes through changes at some point. The thing with us, is all the changes are happening at the same time. Not really our fault.</div>What have the Grizzlies ever won? Their first 8 years in the league they were a perennial bottom 5 team yet somehow managed to never get better despite having high draft picks. In the past 3 years they finally became respectable, but decided to blow the team up this past off-season. If that's not bad I'm not sure what is. The expansion franchise tag isn't an excuse either. The Heat and Hornets were expansion franchises, and they both became annual playoff teams in their 4th and 5th seasons of existence. The Raptors likewise became a contender in the East during their 5th season. It took the Grizz 3 more seasons to make the playoffs than those teams, and they exited in the first round each year. Sorry, but the Clips and Warriors are the only other franchises that can compete with the Grizz for incompetency. And yes, it is the Grizzlies fault. If it wasn't for the ownership situation being publicly in limbo I'm sure Gasol and many other players wouldn't have any problems being there. This sale has been handled poorly and it's hurting the already maligned franchise. Leadership starts from the top of the food chain; not from the best player, and right now the Grizz don't have either.
