The Memphis Grizzlies begin the 2014-15 season with high hopes. With the core in place and an exceptionally deep bench, making a return to the Western Conference finals – or further – is the goal. Last season, the injury bug bit the Grizzlies. Multiple key players missed extended time, and the Grizzlies couldn’t separate themselves in the West as a result. Ending the season contemplating what could have been is unpleasant, and it’s a situation the Grizzlies don’t care to find themselves
Over the weekend, Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and coach Dave Joerger apparently worked out their differences. Despite Joerger’s visit to Minnesota and Pera’s willingness to let him do so, the two communicated in a way they have not in the past, and the coach went as far as saying that the two are basically “married” at this point. So for the time being, it appears everything is back to normal for the Grizzlies with the exception of Jason Levien’s absence.
Over the last couple days, it looked like the Grizzlies were this year’s Nuggets: a playoff team undergoing massive front office shakeup and losing their well-regarded coach. Today, they’re still down a couple executives (though by many accounts, not Masai Ujiri-caliber), but in an unexpected move, it looks like coach Dave Joerger is sticking around. How unexpected? Well, let’s look at a couple pieces that came out earlier today. First, from Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor interviewed Dave Joerger
Despite trading away Rudy Gay last season, the Memphis Grizzlies remained a very good team in the Western Conference this season. Their record of 50-32 didn’t quite measure up to that of recent years, but that could be attributed to missing Marc Gasol for a quarter of the season due to a knee injury. Bottom line, though, is that they were out after the first round of the playoffs after taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games. They would have
With much of the national discourse centering on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the reality of the matter is that a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine is the limit to what NBA commissioner Adam Silver is capable of doing. The rest falls on the shoulders of 29 team owners, as they—according to the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws—must vote with a 3/4’s majority to force the sale of the team. Players, media pundits and people all across the nation
Whenever Zach Randolph goes up against his former backup in David Lee (they played together in New York), his eyes tend to light up. The power forward plants himself on the right side, bullies his way to the basket and has his way against the smaller Lee almost every time the two are matched up against each other. Randolph has compiled a career average of 20.8 points and 11.3 rebounds whenever facing Lee, with an overall record of 12-2. The two losses
The man you see in action above is none other than Robert Pera, the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. At age 35, he is currently the youngest owner of an NBA team and has clearly kept himself in great shape. In fact, he felt so good back in September that he actually challenged Tony Allen – one of the best defensive guards in the league – to a game of one-on-one and promised to donate $100,000 to a charity that
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Everyone is familiar with that old cliché. It’s one the Grizzlies understand well after the 2012-13 season. Over the past year, there has been a complete changing of the guard in the Bluff City. An ownership swap was the first domino to fall when Michael Heisley officially completed the sale of the team to tech mogul Robert Pera right before the regular season began. From there, the rest of the hierarchy was