The Official 2014 Memphis Grizzlies Offseason Thread

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Deciphering the Drama: What Went Wrong?
By Zach Thomas On May 20, 2014 · Add Comment · In May 2014

It’s nearly 24 hours after news broke on Twitter by Marc Stein that Jason Levien and Stu Lash were fired/resigned/let go, however you’d like to state it. After spending way too much of my personal time reading articles, listening to radio interviews and talking to people (none actual sources, just fans & friends), I’ve put together my SPECULATIVE “connecting the dots” theory.

At first glance many seemed to take the side of Jason Levien and Stu Lash, yet as more facts have been released and time has passed, it appears the pendulum has already started to swing back towards the middle in the “blame game.”

Here is what I see happened (again speculation & connecting the dots):

Jason Levien is an agent at heart. He hasn’t rubbed ALL people the right way, but generally he has made many more friends than he has put off. When Robert Pera, his best friend, brought him on to be CEO of the Grizzlies, Levien went right to work. He took his role as CEO seriously and began to control every aspect of the team, including putting together multiple ownership groups with over 30 minority owners. He also was responsible for relegating Chris Wallace from team operations. Pera seemed fine with all of this and the way his friend, Levien, was moving forward. Then the renewal of Hollins’ contract came up & Pera, not being 100% on board, was persuaded by Levien and obliged.

However, when the Grizzlies started off the season 10-15, Pera wanted to meet with Joerger (has been reported he wanted to fire him, but that was refuted by Ron Tillery on Sports 56 Tuesday morning). Levien tried to “roadblock” Pera coming to talk with Joerger, but Pera came anyway. (This could be considered a turning point in the relationship.)

(Enter David Mincberg) Mincberg was a law student of Levien’s. Levien brought him into the organization as a “protege” of sorts and named him general counsel for the Grizzlies. Mincberg however, wanted a larger role in basketball operations. Levien wasn’t down with this and relegated Mincberg to a scout/consultant position from Washington DC. Mincberg then was able to get the ear of Robert Pera. He began to share details to (some have said poison) Pera of what was taking place in his organization by Levien. Pera didn’t seem too thrilled by this.

As Pera began to desire more insight into the team and operations, Levien was unwilling to share everything with Pera and began managing Pera and keeping him at arm’s length from decision making. As time went on, Pera became untrusting of Levien. He felt unable to trust what Levien was telling him about players, coaches and their thoughts on what was going on inside the locker room. Being a passionate basketball fan, Pera decided to speak with players on his own after the season. After hearing things from player interviews, he decided to let Levien go and as a casualty, Stu Lash was let go as well. Levien and Lash are close friends. Wallace still being on contract made easier Pera’s decision to let go of Levien.

As of this morning: Pera has not spoken with Joerger but Pera’s attorney did speak with Joerger. (Weird?) No one’s future is safe at this moment, though currently all is proceeding as it was previously, only Chris Wallace is running operations. Pera has spoken with players and Hollinger about the changes.

It seems like this was 2 friends who got into business together without realizing how the other one operated. They soon realized they were unable to work together and after a series of events and decisions, the trust was broken and they had to part ways. I don’t necessarily think either is completely at fault. I also think this is a usual power struggle that takes place regularly at businesses everyday. No need to isolate this and make it more than it is. They are both seemingly good guys and smart businessmen who were unable to make it work.

End speculation.

Notes:

Maybe the most impressive aspect of this to me is how it all remained “hush hush” for so long.

Chris Wallace put the core of the team together. He made the moves that assembled Conley, Gasol, ZBO, TA together. He has an established relationship with Mike Miller from Mike’s prior stint with the team. If you’re a fan of keeping the core together, Chris Wallace is the guy you want running things. John Hollinger also has been retained and Jason Wexler as COO. Again, Pera has not spoken publicly. Levien was the mouthpiece for the team. Now Chris Wallace is that guy. Many (including us here) like and trust Chris Wallace. There are worse spots to be than with Chris Wallace in charge of your basketball operations 5 weeks before the draft. He’s a humble guy who gets the job done.

Pera still remains largely unknown to the fan base and media. He is passionate about basketball and is a multi-millionaire. He wants to win badly. However, moving forward you have to wonder if he will want a more hands on approach to the team operations, or if he will find a guy, hire him just as he did with Levien and remain hidden from fans and media.

Where do the owners go from here (Levien being one of them)? Levien put together that ownership group and very few of them know Robert Pera. Will they stay? Will they look to sell?

Levien is not the only guy around who can run a successful franchise. There are other options. So while this is shocking and unwanted, it isn’t the end of the franchise.

Most all of the rumors brought up about Grizzlies trading for guys were former Lash/Levien players. Most of the guys signed to the Grizzlies this season were former Lash/Levien guys. One plausible theory into Pera letting Levien go was that other agents around the league did not prefer to work with him or he only went after his former guys.

There are still a litany of unanswered questions and decisions to be made. Unfortunately, most fans (myself included) are unsure of where things will go from here. For now, we wait.

Decide who you will trust, and realize we here at 3 Shades of Blue are doing our best to follow what is going on and bring you the best coverage of the organization moving forward. We also will let you know when something is sourced and when it is not. In this case, it is all speculation.

 

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Memphis Grizzlies Front Office Fallout: The Dominoes that could Fall
By TheRealHrdlicka on May 21 2014, 8:30a 7

Joe Robbins
What the recent shakeup means for the Grizzlies as the NBA draft, and other critical offseason issues, approach.

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Before the playoffs began, I suggested the Grizzlies were becoming a model NBA franchise. Even a few days ago, that idea seemed plausible. Then Monday happened, the Grizzlies front office power structure was stuffed through a meat grinder, and no one knew when the bleeding would stop.

For now it appears the situation has stabilized, with only Jason Levien and Stu Lash being the victims (which is sort of like saying there was only one lizard in "Godzilla."). We may never know what happened, and this post won't delve into speculation concerning why Levien - who at one point ran both basketball and business operations, had corralled a myriad of owners and was even - and his running mate Lash were both told to shut the door and take a seat. And frankly, I don't want to even consider what Levien's absence (a part owner himself) will do to the Grizzlies' ownership structure. Instead, let's look at how the recent shake up will affect the key events in the upcoming offseason.

The NBA Draft
Chris Wallace has returned from what appears, on the outside, to be an extended paid vacation. It is unclear how much time, if any, he has spent around the team, reading scouting reports, and doing things GM's do.

In related news: the NBA draft is a month away.

Opponents to Wallace's drafting acumen will point to the fact that only one Wallace draftee - Mike Conley - remains in a Grizzlies jersey today. Wallace fans will counter that other Wallace picks - Demarre Carrol, Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez - rounded into solid rotation players once they moved into more nurturing situations.

Opponents will counter that Wallace's track record in the lottery, where you pick from a narrow range of ultra-talented players is still questionable. Hasheem Thabeet and Xavier Henry flopped; OJ Mayo, rather than becoming a star himself, will always be better known for the star Memphis traded away to acquire him, Kevin Love. Wallace fans will counter that Wallace labored under a meddling owner who never let Wallace truly make his own picks.

And that's part of the problem, right? The same quality that allowed Wallace to linger in Memphis this long is perhaps his biggest weakness: when push has come to shove in the past, Wallace has bent. Sometimes keeping your job is more important than standing up for what you believe. There is zero shame in that. There is also zero credit. It may be that Wallace's fans are right to have faith in him. I sincerely hope they are right, but faith, rather than evidence, is exactly what it would be.

Toggling over to John Hollinger, we know even less about his drafting acumen. I direct you, instead, to a fantastic piece Chris Herrington wrote nearly a year ago, in which he compared ESPN's John Hollinger Draft Rater to actual Grizzlies picks.... made by Chris Wallace. Long story short: many Wallace picks were identical to Hollinger's simulated picks, however Hollinger's Draft Rater performed as well or better than Chris Wallace in every instance.

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Hollinger has evolved beyond his ESPN Draft Rater, so that is far from definitive. My sense is - despite Wallace's ostensible strength as a talent evaluator - given that Hollinger has been prepping for the draft for months while Wallace is just entering the fray, Hollinger should have the majority of the say in the Grizzlies draft. My other guess is that it is more likely now that Memphis sticks with the status quo and simply selects a player at 22, rather than entertaining any meaningful trades. Strategy that had been laid out to this point will at the very least be re-thought now that new voices are being brought in. We shall see.

Randolph's Extension
Even before Levien and Lash were dismissed, the Grizzlies offseason revolved around what to do with Zach Randolph. I had been gravitating towards certainty that Randolph would opt out and sign for more years, but less money per year. This scenario is beneficial for both parties: Randolph secures his future on a good team he is comfortable with, while the Grizzlies gain a bit of salary flexibility to add players and make the team stronger.

That scenario is less certain now. Randolph could decide he'll play the season out for $17mm, and see how things go. He could decide, with Levien and Lash gone, he's lost confidence in the Grizzlies' direction and simply opt to play elsewhere. Installing Chris Wallace as GM is a hedge against both scenarios. Wallace provides stability and a familiar hand to a negotiation that - despite everything Randolph has said - could get prickly in a hurry (tends to happen when you ask one of the best at what they do to take a pay cut).

And to an extent, that's what worries me. No matter who is negotiating the contract, a good agent pounces on instability. Losing most of your front office is one thing.... as long as the team comes back intact. Losing most of your front office AND one of your signature players is not a situation fans will take kindly to. The pressure isn't on Raymond Brothers (Randolph's agent) to bring Z-Bo back - Brothers already gave him $17mm reasons to come back. The pressure is on Chris Wallace to bring Z-Bo back at a reduced price.

And that reduced price just went up. Randolph has made it clear he would take less money to stay in Memphis long term, but it is still unclear what "less money" means to him. If the Grizzlies hoped to get Randolph to take a $7mm pay cut next year - and getting anyone to take a 41% pay cut isn't easy - it isn't likely to happen now. Randolph could sign for something like what David West got - 3 years $39mm, which would clear up about $4mm in cap space for Memphis and allow Randolph to appear like the magnanimous veteran who sacrificed money for the greater good. There's just one problem.

Randolph isn't worth that much. He won't get that much from any other team (okay, maaaaaayyyyybeee the Lakers). Signing Randolph to a longer contract with anything less than a significant decrease will severely handicap the Grizzlies ability to add talent. Worse, it would prove Rust Cohle right and land Memphis in the exact same place they were in during Rudy Gay's last days.

And the bigger problem is this: all evidence from Wallace's reign as GM suggests he would gladly sign Randolph to that contract. His M.O. under Heisley was to lock up guys, regardless of the price, and kick the can down the road a bit.

Again, Hollinger could help here. Hollinger has gone on record saying that salary cap optimization (i.e. paying as little as possible for talented basketball players) is the most important job of a GM. During his tenure, no Grizzlies player was given a troublesome Player's option year on the back end of their deals. Meanwhile, Wallace handed out player's options to Rudy Gay (ostensibly under a mandate from Heisley), Randolph (understandable), and Marreese Speights (....wut?). During Hollinger's tenure, the team has instead managed to tack favorable team options onto minimum salary players like Jon Leuer and Nick Calathes, creative solutions to filling out a roster with role players.

And there's another, very large, very Spanish elephant in the room adding pressure to the Randolph situation, and that is....

Marc Gasol is a Free Agent Soon
On the surface, everything is fine. Gasol grew up in Memphis. He loves the city, the team, the fans. We've never heard a whisper of him wanting to play elsewhere, and the Grizzlies have been really good lately.

All of that can change next year. Losing Randolph will likely mean taking a step backwards, and that isn't something you want to do right before the best player in franchise history becomes a free agent. Gasol is eligible for an extension sometime during the next season, and the Grizzlies will want to lock him up as soon as possible.

But what if Randolph is gone and the Grizzlies are scuttling along outside of the playoff picture (you know, like they were for most of this year). How certain are we that Gasol wants to be here? How quick do writers like Bill Simmons and Chris Broussard start dreaming up Gasol to Lakers or Celtics or Mavericks scenarios? The answers are, respectively, "not 100%" and "as fast as they can type."
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Gasol's extension is just one more factor that could bend Wallace with its gravity. You can give Wallace the benefit of the doubt that he will sign Randolph to a contract more favorable to the organization than to the player, but doing so would, ignore nearly every contract he ever negotiated. Only two contracts - Darrell Arthur's extension (which had one of those pesky player options Wallace loves so much) and Tony Allen's original contract - were instances where Wallace managed to capture a player below market value at the time they were signed. Conley's deal was signed with the idea that he would play up to it, and he has done so and more. But that doesn't happen most of the time. Most of the time mistakes follow you - most of the time Javale McGee never becomes Serge Ibaka; Josh Childress never becomes Andre Iguodala; Conley rarely becomes Conley. And just because it happened this once, does not mean it is sound negotiating strategy.

If this sounds like doom and gloom, that's because it is. Levien, Lash, and Hollinger had more or less proven they were the perfect team. They were measured, thoughtful, and decisive. In trading Rudy Gay and moving on from Lionel Hollins they had given long term success precedence over short term status quo and had, more or less, pwned every move they made.


Only a third of that troika remains, and big decisions loom. Hollinger and Wallace may be able to recreate that success, but it will be a tall task. Despite how much I love Hollinger and his analytic mind, I am also realistic about how much is possible for someone to achieve just 18 months on the job. Ditto for Wallace, a basketball lifer, who has apparently been in some form of exile for the same amount of time. I think that, long term, it would be highly valuable for the Grizzlies to seek to bring in a third voice, either a player evaluator, or an astute negotiator of contracts, to help augment these two incumbents.

And, after all my doom and gloom, there is a part of me that is genuinely excited to watch it unfold. How unthinkable is it that John Hollinger, less than two years removed from writing for ESPN, is now one of two voices running an NBA franchise? How much more unthinkable is it that Chris Wallace, went from basketball exile to the same position? Above all, the last forty-eight hours is a reminder that the NBA is made up of an extraordinarily diverse group of actors, and each one of those actors is human, and humans are extraordinarily unreliable. But that's part of the reason why building anything great is so, you know, great. It's really freaking hard, and should be cherished.

The Grizzlies aren't starting from square one. The roster is good already, and Wallace and Hollinger have a chance to do something that is really great.

 

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Report: Memphis Grizzlies give Dave Joerger permission to interview with Minnesota, relationship with Front Office soured
By Chris Faulkner @FaulknerMemphis on May 21 2014, 10:34a 1

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

And the unexpected free fall continues.

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A-Pera-ntly no one is safe in Memphis. In fact, it's starting to become hard to tell exactly who is still wanted or wants to be apart of the Grizzlies organization anymore.





This is reaching a full boil, folks. The kind where things start randomly popping out of the pan and burning people.

Chris Wallace had relayed that Joerger was "in place as coach" and getting in touch with the players to control the wildfire; that matters not anymore. Dave Joerger, a man who has firmly planted his family life in Shelby County, is now wanting out of Memphis according to Mr. Zgoda and it sounds like Robert Pera initially cultured the sentiment leading to this new debacle.

So we're left with Chris Wallace as GM and John Hollinger as... the last remaining Twitter account to follow for the Grizzlies FO? Can we even say we have a Front Office at this point?

One hopes that a fresh trickle of solutions starts babbling through the rocks, because so far all we have to mull over is the continued rage-fest of Robert Pera, doing his best impression of Lord Sauron as he tears through the battlefield that is the Memphis Grizzlies.

We will keep you updated here on GBB as this story develops.

Also, check out The Chris Vernon Show here at 11:00AM CT. He's got the story for us.

 

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Report: Grizzlies attorney David Mincberg pushing for front-office role; Lionel Hollins might return

Chris Battaglia
@cbattaglia
May 19, 8:07 PM

The turmoil surrounding the Memphis Grizzlies' front office caught many by surprise, but the situation might get even crazier before the dust settles.

Sam Amick of USA Today cites a source who suggests team attorney David Mincberg has slowly become more and more involved in running the franchise and he may have been the catalyst for the shakeup that cost CEO Jason Levien and and assistant general manager Stu Lash their jobs.

Amick reports Mincberg was involved in the decision to remove Lionel Hollins as head coach after last season and replace him with assistant Dave Joerger. Now, rumors are surfacing that Memphis is considering bringing Hollins back.

Adding to the confusion, Amick reports Grizzlies owner Robert Pera conducted end-of-season meetings with players - a job that typically falls to the team's head coach and general manager.

[h/t: hoopsrumors.com]

Feature photo courtesy of USA Today/Nelson Chenault

12:07 PM
NBA
Report: Grizzlies prepared to make substantial offer to Kentucky's John Calipari

Gino Bottero
@GinoBottero
12:07 PM

This can't come as good news to Dave Joerger, who is currently employed as the Memphis Grizzlies' head coach, but Brian Getzeiler of HoopsCritic.com is reporting that the Grizzlies are gauging interest from Kentucky head coach John Calipari in making a return to Memphis to coach the Grizzlies.

Calipari's name regularly gets mentioned when an NBA opening comes about (and sometimes when the job is still occupied), so maybe it's a little early for Grizzlies fans to get overly excited.

With Calipari set to field arguably the most talented team in the nation this upcoming season in Lexington, it doesn't seem that the stars are quite aligned on this move, but it's still fun to speculate.

Feature photo courtesy of USA TODAY Sports/Robert Deutsch

 

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2014 NBA Draft: Top 5 Prospects Memphis Grizzlies Should Consider
By Justin Allan Becker on May 20 2014, 10:00a 14

Jamie Squire
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A look at who the Grizzlies should consider in the draft this year.

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Editor’s note: This is a guess post fromJustin Beckerof FantasyBasketballMoneyLeagues.com. You can follow theFantasy Basketball Money Leagues Google+Page, and for moreNBA basketball newsvisitFantasy Basketball Money Leagues– afantasy basketballblog.



In the Western Conference, it’s an honor to make it to the playoffs. The West has no doubt become the stronger of the two conferences and the Memphis Grizzlies grabbed the seventh seed in the Playoffs. Just for comparison, the defending champions Miami Heat, who finished at the 2nd seed in the East with a record of 54-28, would’ve finished with the fourth seed in the West. The eighth seeded Atlanta Hawks would’ve finished eleventh overall in the West. With that being said, the fact that Memphis was the seventh seed is a great accomplishment.



Memphis finished the season 50-32, marking their second straight 50-win season and their fourth straight playoff appearance. They ended up facing the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs and took them to seven games, losing the series 4-3. They played well at home, 27-14, at almost as good on the road, 23-18. Although they struggled in their division, 4-12, they played decent in their conference, 29-23. In addition, they may have had the lowest points scored per game out of the Western playoff teams at 96.1, but they did have the best defense between those teams, only allowing 94.6 points per game.



All of the NBA teams are excited for this year’s draft, as it is probably the deepest drafts we have had in a while. It’s full of young talent and full of players that can contribute quickly. The Memphis Grizzlies will probably take home a mid to late first round draft pick, but should be able to get a solid pick out of it since the draft is so deep with talent. Let’s take a look at five players that the Grizzlies should consider on draft day, which will take place on Thursday, June 26th in New York, New York. These players should still be available when it comes time for Memphis to pick and they would be hard to turn down.



Jerami Grant


The freak athlete from Syracuse is ready to make a lot of noise in the NBA. I think Memphis should be looking for a small forward more than anything. Currently with Tayshaun Prince starting, bringing in a young guy behind him would be perfect. Prince is getting old and having a young guy to teach before he leaves is very smart. Jerami Grant had a 21.57 player efficiency rating, which is great for a small forward.



Grant is a long, athletic forward. He stands at 6-foot-8 with an 8-foot-11 reach and 7-foot-3 wingspan. Those measurements can qualify for a power forward, which is good news for a small forward. He’s very explosive and is an excellent player in the open court. He shoots very well at mid-range and is an improving shooter. He has a good motor, which helps him rebound the ball well. Although he is inconsistent, a tweener and a streaky shooter, he can improve at the next level and be a great player at Memphis.



Cleanthony Early


Another small forward, Cleanthony Early emerged as an amazing player during the NCAA Tournament. Again, he would really improve as a player learning under Tayshaun Prince, who has a lot of experience and a lot to teach. Early had a 24.40 player efficiency rating, which is great for a forward.



He’s a versatile forward that can score from anywhere on the court. He’s very effective inside and on the perimeter, improving his three point shot. Standing at 6 foot 7, with a 6 foot 11 wingspan, he comes in as a tough and physical player that can rebound well, especially on the offensive boards. He is improving his shot, but he is inconsistent and needs to also improve his handling. Both of which can be learned as he begins his NBA career.



Shabazz Napier


Although Napier is a point guard and Memphis has Mike Conley, he would be tough to turn down if available. However, he would be a great addition coming off the bench and could deepen their roster that way. He really proved himself in the NCAA Tournament and could potentially be taken earlier, but as of right now he’s projected around the 23rd pick. He’s an excellent scorer, able to score from anywhere on the court. He’s got great handling skills and is an excellent defender and rebounder for his size. I think he could be great for Memphis and could learn a lot from Conley, since they have similar playing styles.



T.J. Warren


T.J. Warren could potentially be the best pick for Memphis. His player efficiency rating is off the charts, at 31.07. He brings a lot to a team and when he starts to improve, he can be scary good. He’s got a great feel for the game and is a natural scorer. He’s very strong and very tough, standing at 6 foot 8 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. His size gives him advantages at the small forward and can score from inside and out. In addition, he gets to the line a lot and is a great free throw shooter.



Rodney Hood


Rodney Hood played very well at Duke this past season. Although he might have been overlooked due to all the talk of Jabari Parker, he would be a great addition to this Memphis squad and could produce out the gate. Memphis currently has Courtney Lee and Tony Allen at the shooting guard, but I think Rodney Hood would be a great addition to that position. Not to mention, he can most likely transform into the small forward position if they wanted to.





His player efficiency rating stood at a 20.73 last season, which is a good number for someone who had to follow under Jabari Parker. He’s a smooth lefty with a very nice shot, especially from long range. His size gives him a huge advantage at the shooting guard spot, standing at 6-foot-9 with an 8-foot-7 reach. Add his midrange game to that, he can rise above anyone else at his position and make his shots. If he could just add strength, work on his defense and improve his rebounding at the next level, he could be a really nice player, better than anyone else Memphis has at SG.

 

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Here’s Your Annual Reminder of How Oh So Close the Grizzlies Were to Drafting LeBron James
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By Dan Treadway

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Although the process has kind of become somewhat of a caricature of itself — Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk deftly pointed this out by producing theories for why the NBA will rig the lottery for every team involved — it’s worth remember that the NBA draft lottery is the most exciting event of its kind in sports (with apologies to the NHL lottery and its unfortunately lack of conspiracy theories). For those wondering why it might be worth tuning in this evening, it’s probably worth remembering that only 11 years ago, the sports world was only one ping pong ball away from being sent in a completely different trajectory.

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The 2003 draft lottery more or less went according to script, but it’s easy to overlook that LeBron James was *this* close to becoming a member of Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis finished the 2002-2003 NBA season with a 28-54 record, which was, quite depressingly, the best finish in franchise history up to that point. Indeed for the first time since the team served poutine at games, it appeared that the franchise was on the upswing.

But first year team president Jerry West had a problem. Because of a shortsighted 1997 trade for a then 35-year-old Otis Thorpe — who would only play 47 games as a Grizzly, no less — the team would have to trade their lottery pick to the Detroit Pistons… unless the ping pong ball gods smiled upon Memphis and gave the team the first overall pick. This was a long shot, given the meticulous tanking that other teams — most notably the 17-win Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers — had engaged in during the regular season to ensure they would land a top selection.

But on that evening, the Grizzlies defied the odds. While their record determined they would have the fifth-best chance (only 6.4 percent) at winning the lottery, they improbably were one of the final three teams remaining in contention for top pick.

Oh man.

Poor Jerry.

This is how Jerry West expresses heartbreak

The Memphis Grizzlies, in that one moment, went from potentially drafting LeBron James (or Darko Milicic, but I have to imagine West would have known better than to do that) to being pushed out of the top 10 picks all together. Jerry’s face says it all.

“When you get down to these situations with a player of the magnitude at one or two in the draft, it would have been an enormous addition to our team — enormous,” West told SI in 2003 after the lottery. “I think there are three or four kids in this draft that are going to be tremendous NBA players, and more importantly for the city of Memphis and the Grizzlies coaching staff, if we’d have gotten the number one pick we would have gotten a real special player.”

West would eventually turn the Grizzlies into perennial playoff contenders, but the franchise missing out on their shot at LeBron James is perhaps one of the more underrated what-if’s in professional sports. Given both their pedigrees, it’s not ridiculous to imagine that the combination of LeBron on the court and West in the front office might have sparked one of the greatest dynasties ever.

So yes, the NBA draft lottery may be antiquated, and even unjust, but it’s difficult to deny provocative nature of an event that can determine the entire fate of a franchise — and sport as a whole — entirely by chance.

 

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Memphis Grizzlies Rumors: Tom Thibodeau Trade or John Calipari Options As Knicks Want Head Coach Writes Bill Simmons
By SWR Reporter
May 20, 2014 01:44 PM EDT

Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau during the 2nd half against the Boston Celtics at the United Center. The Bulls won 94-82. (Photo : Reuters) "

The Chicago Bulls want to make trade runs at Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony this summer, but the team could have to tabs on their own head coach Tom Thibodeau, as Bill Simmons from ESPN writes that the Memphis Grizzlies may clean house this offseason to hire John Calipari, or they could try and work a trade for Thibodeau, giving him team president and head coach power like Stan Van Gundy in Detroit.

According to Pro Basketball Talk, the team will be making a "substantial offer" to John Calipari and they also will be going after Thibodeau. While there have been no official reports of this move, Simmons wrote that if the Grizzlies clean house this summer, which they have started to do, the team could make a run at Thibodeau to be their next head coach. The team was not satisfied with what they did this past season after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round and now they could try to swing a trade for Thibodeau.

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The Clippers pulled off the Doc Rivers move last season and this would be similar to that, except the Grizzlies likely would give Thibodeau full control over basketball operations. Simmons later wrote that if Thibodeau was traded, the team would go after Fred Hoiberg as their next head coach.

The Bulls have a number of moves they could look to make this offseason, including signing Carmelo Anthony or trading for Kevin Love. No matter what the team decides to do, they likely will have to trade or use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, as he is making way too much money for any of those deals to go down. The Bulls have Boozer in on a $15 million salary this season and he is 32 years old and while he has been a productive player, this was his worst season for the team and that could mean he is on his way out of town most likely.

While many think Thibodeau leaving is not happening, people in Chicago know that Thibodeau has clashed with the front office at times and that could lead to a major shakeup in Chi-town as well. According to ESPN.com, Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger is on the hot seat and now that Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien and assistant general manager Stu Lash are gone after being dismissed by owner Robert Pera and that could mean the team goes after Thibodeau next.

The NY Knicks and LA Lakers were reportedly interested in Thibodeau as well and depending on how these situations play out, he could be in the mix for those jobs. Thibodeau has led the Bulls to sustained success without Derrick Rose and one can only wonder what he could do with a fully healthy roster and control of the team. Simmons writes that Thibodeau has had his problems in the past with the Bulls front office and that he could be enticed to take the offer if he gets the chance to run basketball operations, which would be in line with some of the other top head coaches. Clearly in NY or LA that would not be the case and that could affect how Thibodeau views the situation and if he asks the Bulls to listen to any offers.

 

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@ChrisVernonShow getting in Chris Wallace sh!t on the radio Now Playing - 92.9 FM ESPN #GOGRIZZLES

 

[triplehate]

Vernon getting in Chris Wallac sh!t on the radio

Lol he trying to spin like shyt. Family closeness b?

 

[tr2k]

Lol he trying to spin like shyt. Family closeness b?

im like

 

[tr2k]

lol Hollins still live in Memphis