Chapter VI Third Reorganization
Although Battier has not been a Grizzlies star-level player, but he works hard, does not fight for the ball, does not make divisions, has a good cohesion in the locker room, and has very good outside defensive skills, and has a strong personality, as early as 2004, he got a six-year $37 million contract from the Grizzlies, Battier began to be an indispensable outside defensive player for the team, but then was trapped in the rotation of Hubbie Brown, and his tactical status declined, on March 4, 2005, the Grizzlies defeated the Raptors 86-75, Battier scored a career-high 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting, the highest score of his career. On December 22, 2003, when the Grizzlies lost to the Nuggets, Battier scored 15 points and 14 rebounds, including 7 rebounds, which was also the highest number of rebounds and rebounds in the front court.
Battier played for the Grizzlies for five years and ranks among the best in franchise history in a number of stats, currently seventh in franchise history with 4,275 points and 2,000 rebounds, 10th in franchise history with 716 assists, fifth in franchise history with 523 steals and fourth in franchise history with 428 blocks.
Grizzlies veteran Swift doesn't need to say more, focusing on Rudy Gay.
Guy is a player full of honors in college, once voted the best rookie in the United States, 203 cm tall, in the third position, he has excellent physical talent, known as the next Kobe, or the next Maddie, but there are problems with the style of play, although Guy has excellent physical conditions, but Guy did not take advantage of his strengths, but too much indulgence in individual singles, and does not like physical contact, compared to breakthroughs, prefer to shoot long-distance shots, These shortcomings have led to Guy's lack of offensive efficiency on the court, but Grizzlies team general manager Jerry West is very bullish on Guy and believes that Guy is the outside finisher he's been looking for.
In addition to getting Guy in the draft this season, the Grizzlies also selected Kevin Lowry with the 24th pick in the first round, Lowry is 188 cm tall, but he is physically strong, Lowry who has just entered the league has technical shortcomings, he can only break through, and he will not shoot, but the overall situation of the organization is very good, and the Grizzlies do not expect Lowry's scoring ability to be strong, can defend, can organize, and can pass the ball to Gasol, so Lowry was also a newcomer that the team focused on cultivating at the beginning, In the ninth game of the season, Lowry got 16 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals......
Lowry's season reimbursement wasn't the biggest blow to the Grizzlies this season, and for them, it was Gasol who missed most of the early season with a fractured left foot at the 2006 World Championships.
Gasol only played 59 games due to injury throughout the season, averaging 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 blocks per game, and the performance was still comprehensive, Miller was promoted to the starter, averaging 18.5 points per game, and the three-point shooting rate reached 40.6%, last year's rookie Varik has been reused this season, with 82 games in full attendance, including 43 starts, Averaging 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, Gay played the role of the team's sixth man in the new season, averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, shooting 42.2% from the field and 36.4% from three-point range, and was named to the All-Rookie Team at the end of the season.
In the Grizzlies season, Gasol missed most of the pre-season games due to an injury at the World Championships, and Kevin Lowry, who was originally pinned on by the team, was directly reimbursed for the season, the Grizzlies won 49 games last season, but the record of Weiss in the first 30 games of this year was only 13-17, which obviously did not meet the expectations of the management, Mike Flatlow was disgraced, and Tony Baron, who had no coaching experience, took over the coaching whip, and the result was obvious that the Grizzlies played chaotic throughout the season, At the end of the season, the Grizzlies only won 22 games, and the game process was basically one win and four consecutive defeats, followed by one win and five consecutive defeats, and then one win and six consecutive losses, and finally ranked first from the bottom of the league......
After the end of the season, Jerry West was physically and mentally exhausted, resigned and left the Grizzlies, replacing West with Chris Wallace, unlike West, Wallace was not a professional player, in 1997, because Wallace was hired by the Celtics as a scout because of his good selection vision, and became the team's general manager in the 2000-2001 season, and traded Dennie Decker and Rodney Rodgers to the Celtics the following season, The deal allowed the long-lost Celtics to reach the Eastern Conference Finals and draft Paul Pierce with the No. 10 pick in the 1998 draft, who became the backbone of the revival of the Celtics.
The Grizzlies made a few small changes at the beginning of the season, abandoning Atkins and signing a European guard named Juan Navarro, and the No. 4 pick in the first round of the draft, selecting point guard Mike Conley.
Speaking of which, the Grizzlies are also unlucky, no matter how bad the Grizzlies' record is, they have never been able to get the top pick.
Many years later, whenever the media or pictorial was selecting a player who had All-Star strength but was never selected as an All-Star, Conley would always be on the list, which shows what kind of player Conley is.
Conley is 185 cm tall, is a very comprehensive and steady point guard, except for a slightly shorter height, he does not have any obvious shortcomings, many people have a misunderstanding that Conley is not good physically, but in fact, Conley's body side data is very good, and his vertical bounce is even better than Russell Westbrook, who is known for his explosive ball style! It's just that Conley is relatively low-key, doesn't like to show his head, has no desire for the status of the team, as long as he meets the identity, the team leader can also do it, the starting No. 1 position is OK, and the style of play is very good, and he has been selected as a moral model in the league for many years. Wallace's selection of Conley also gave the Grizzlies the No. 1 pick for the next 12 years.
Navarro wants to emphasise, 192 cm tall, serving as the first and second positions, Spaniard, he was selected by the Wizards in the 11th pick of the second round in 2011, but did not land in the NBA, his personal ability is very strong, known as the Jordan of Europe, the small throw after the breakthrough is very accurate, known as "* Navarro", before landing in the NBA, Navarro has almost won all the honors that can be obtained in Europe, Navarro, the king of Europe, in Europe he has no desire, And Navarro and Gasol are not only teammates in the national team, but also very good friends, Navarro agreed to the signing of the Grizzlies and came to the NBA, but Navarro in the NBA did not show his dominance in Europe, the fierce physical confrontation made Navarro suffer, and Navarro, who could only play privileged ball, could not adapt to his position as a role player in the NBA, for various reasons, Navarro only played in the NBA for one year and left the NBA. And in this short year, Navarro dedicated himself to the Grizzlies this season, averaging only "10.9 points" per game.
This season, the Grizzlies competed for Lowry and Conley at the No. 1 position, although Conley held the title of No. 4, but the character of not fighting and not grabbing made Conley's style of play not competitive at all, and there is a statistic that can tell a more than one problem, Conley played a total of 1384 minutes in his rookie season, and there was no block...... In contrast, Lowry's style of play is more aggressive, although the consistency is not as good as Conley's, but he has obviously won the trust of the new head coach Mark Jafaroni in the second half of the season, replacing Conley as the team's starter.
McMiller is still the team's No. 2 pick, averaging 16.4 points per game and shooting 43.2 percent from three-point range. The No. 3 position was the Grizzlies' biggest discovery this season, and Guy lived up to his potential and became a reliable scoring force for the team. can average 20.1 points per game, the fifth position is the team's new signing of 3 years and 21 million US dollars this season Dali Milicic, Milicic was once a disappointing show, but in the past few years, although the offensive end is still unreliable, but on the defensive end has shown strong energy, his performance in the past three years, is also completely worthy of the value of these three years, this season average 7.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, and the fourth position, to say Pau Gasol.
The Grizzlies won only five of the team's first 15 games of the new season, which made the management realize something, and before the trade deadline in February 2008, the Grizzlies played 45 games and had a 13-32 record, so Grizzlies general manager Wallace decided to rebuild.
As for why the Grizzlies chose to trade Dajia, well, Pau Gasol has been a key figure in the team's revival since the day he came to the Grizzlies, he is the first player of the Grizzlies to be selected as an All-Star, and he has been in the Grizzlies for 6 and a half seasons, basically maintaining a level of 20+10 per game, although the personal data is gorgeous enough, but the ability to lead the team is never high, and the 12 defeats in the playoffs are not only an embarrassing record for the Grizzlies, but also the most humiliating record in the early part of Dajia's career, What's more, Dajia has been hit by injuries in recent years, which has seriously affected the stability of the team, and Dajia's contract is also a big burden for the Grizzlies.
In this way, the Grizzlies traded the big plus and the 2010 second-round pick for the Lakers' three expiring contract workers, Kwame Brown, Gavaris Critanton, and Allen McGee and Marc Gasol, as well as the 2008 and 2010 first-round picks.
Kwame Brown didn't get a contract extension from the Grizzlies, Kwame Brown moved to the Pistons, Critanton was sent to the Wizards in exchange for a 2011 second-round pick, and the 34-year-old Aaron McGee was no longer capable of playing and didn't play all season, but sat on the bench to coach young players, ending his career.
Mark Gasol is the younger brother of Pau Gasol, the 48th pick in the second round in 2007, but the Lakers did not sign with Gasol that year, but his signing rights were retained until he was sent to the Grizzlies, although he is only a player at the end of the second round, but his achievements in the NBA are far higher than this pick, Gasol is 216 cm tall, compared to his brother Gasol Da, Xiao Gasol's body is stronger, and his style of play is more tough, although he does not have a delicate basket technique, However, Xiaojia's ability to defend on the inside is something that Dajia does not have, Dajia can play the fourth or fifth position, but Dajia can only play the fifth position.
Miller played five and a half seasons in the Grizzlies, most of the time as the Grizzlies' starting second position, Miller is a historical three-point shooter, but his shortcomings are also obvious, he has no ability to hold the ball and self-help offense, which also leads to Miller being repeatedly targeted in China in the playoffs, Miller's top seven career scoring lists, are all achieved in the Grizzlies, including February 21, 2007, Miller's career highlight, the Grizzlies lost to the Warriors 115-118, Miller scored a career-high 45 points and hit a career-high nine three-pointers. When Miller left the Grizzlies, he scored 5,982 points for the Grizzlies, second only to Big Plus and 844 three-pointers, the most in franchise history.
In the 2008 draft, as the team with the lowest record last season, the Grizzlies only tragically drew the fifth pick, and the Grizzlies selected Kevin Love in this pick, and then they traded up, and the No. 5 pick Lefou, plus Mike Miller and Cardinal, who had been reduced to a garbage contract, were sent to the Timberwolves in exchange for OJ Mayo, Marco Yarizzi and Greg Bagner, who were the No. 3 pick in this draft. It's clear that the latter two players are just the sweetness of the trade, and the Grizzlies are really targeting Mayo.
Mayo was a famous talent player in the United States in high school, 196 cm tall, as a scoring guard, Mayo is proficient in all offensive skills, the range is far beyond the three-point line, the template of the draft is Kobe Bryant, but Mayo's shortcomings are not strong enough, easy to be eaten by the strong No. 2 position, more importantly, Mayo's private life is not self-disciplined enough, drug nightclubs are complete, but although Mayo has a lot of shortcomings, but in the 2008 draft, The fact that Mayo can fall to the third pick is not that Mayo can't do it, but that the first two are too good.
In addition to Mayo, the Grizzlies also added a forward to the draft, Darrell Arthur.
At 206 centimeters tall, Arthur is a strong, short, interior defensive interior player, a typical interior cannon fodder type role player, Arthur was the 28th pick in the first round of the 2008 New Orleans Hornets draft, and was then sent to the Trail Blazers, then to Houston, and then to the Grizzlies by Houston to the Grizzlies for the 28th pick in the first round of this year, Dante Green.
In this way, Arthur did not play a game, but was tossed to four teams.
Arthur contributed 15 rebounds to the Grizzlies in the first game, breaking the record of 13 rebounds in a single game for Benjamin for the Grizzlies for the first time 13 years ago.
There is one more person who has to be mentioned, Hamad Haddadi.
Haddadi is 218 cm tall, Iranian, in 2004, 19-year-old Haddadi signed up for the NBA draft, but he fell behind Sun Shan, in the 2007 Asian Championships, Haddadi as the core of Iran, led Iran all the way to the finals, in the face of the powerful Lebanese men's basketball team, Haddadi almost single-handedly defeated Lebanon, led Iran to the first Asian Championship in history, which got the attention of the NBA, and was signed by the Grizzlies in 2008 for 2 years and 3 million US dollars.
In general, Haddadi is the first Iranian star to enter the NBA, in Iran was once comparable to Yao Mingxiang, but the wheel ability, Haddadi is still a big step away from Yao Ming, Haddadi's inside attack has a good threat, but there is no range, and the defensive end is not flexible enough, in the United States, Haddadi is not the best one, Haddadi played five seasons in the NBA, four and a half of which were spent in the Grizzlies, played a total of 152 games, and did not play a start, He averaged only 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
This year, the Grizzlies have formed a potential player who has always had infinite brightness, No. 1 Conley, No. 2 Mayo, No. 3 Gay, No. 4 Arthur, No. 5 Gasol Jr., and on the bench are Varik, Lowry, Milicic and other young talents, and the Grizzlies ushered in the third reorganization in team history after Reeves Raheem and Gasol Mike Miller.