Monday, November 2, 2009
Quick Hits: Rudy's Extension, Tonight's Game
Posted by Chris Herrington on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Would like to do a preview for tonight's game but don't have time on a paper-production Monday, so some quick takes on Griz issues du jour:
Rudy's Extension: The Grizzlies and Rudy Gay have until midnight tonight to agree to a contract extension and have made some progress according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
Gay, a 6-foot-9 forward, has been seeking an extension comparable to the five-year, $60 million deal the Indiana Pacers gave Danny Granger(notes) last year. Memphis has offered $50 million over five years in recent days, sources said, but will still need to close the gap before the NBA’s deadline on Monday.One league source says a shorter contract — three years for $33 million-$36 million — has also been discussed with Gay’s reps from Octagon.
My take: If the Grizzlies are offering 5 years and $50 million, Gay should snatch it up. I think that's a little too rich for what he's proven. Anything beyond that is silly. I like Gay, but he needs to upgrade his defense and integrate his offense into the team context a little better before he'll be worth a contract averaging eight figures per year.
Last Night: There comes a point in every team's development when moral victories no longer apply, but I don't think this Griz squad is quite there yet, so I got good vibes from last night's 133-123 loss at Denver, a shootout in which the Grizzlies hung with a better, more veteran team in a hostile environment until near the end. Apparently there weren't good vibes on the bench, however, as Ron Tillery reported today of a blow-up between Gay and O.J. Mayo during a fourth quarter timeout, apparently about the team's inability to get a defensive stop and apparently directed at Gay. Carmelo Anthony scored 42 in the game, much of it against Gay. Anthony has been torching everyone to start this season, but Gay's defensive lapses were many and clear from the telecast. With this team adding more scoring, Gay's value to the team is even more tied to him becoming a better defender.
Tonight: Allen Iverson will debut, presumably off the bench, though who knows how much longer he'll stay there. The Grizzlies' offense has been terrific the past two games, so it'll be interesting to see if Iverson adds more firepower or disrupts the chemistry. Another subplot tonight that should be just as big of a story: The potential on-court meeting of Hamed Haddadi (the league's first Iranian player) and Omri Casspi (the league's first Israeli), representatives from two countries that do not have a diplomatic relationship, to say the least. A nice piece about this on NBA Fan House.
The New Marc Gasol: Through three games, the slimmed-down Gasol as been terrific. He's averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds on an astounding 73% shooting and is currently fifth in the league in PER, John Hollinger's "total" stat. Last night in the first half, when Gasol rumbled down the middle of the lane and threw down a two-hand jam, it was a rewindable DVR moment at my Griz watch party. We'd never seen him get off the floor like that before. You could temper excitement over Gasol's first two games due to the weak defensive frontlines of Detroit and Toronto, but Denver has a pretty strong frontcourt rotation. The only chinks for Gasol so far: Fouls and turnovers. But he's off to a bravura start.
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To Gasol's credit, a couple of those fouls were total garbage and I'm not one to complain about the zebras.
Marc was freakin' dominant against whoever they threw against him and those fouls were junk. I hope he can keep this up.
Can Marc establish himself as the best Gasol in NBA History? It's the only thing that keeps me going.
Um, no. Marc is not and likely will not be better than Pau. But you factor in his toughness and the paucity of true centers that have his all-around game, and it's probably closer than most people think.
I think we should try and get some good outside shooters on this team in a big hurry
GASOL has been the target of bad refs.
Chris, what kinda message do you think signing Rudy to an extension sends to OJ? A positive or a negative one?
Frankly, paying $10 mil a year to this bum is at least 2x what he's worth, no way I'd go more than 5 years/ 40 mil. I realize that probably won't get it done, but who cares? Do you really see another team breaking the bank for him next year?
Villanueva got 5 years 40 mil. Gay is worth a little more. If they really have 5 and 50 on the table, he needs to sign in a hurry.
YoungB
Villanueva and LaMarcus Aldridge are the two guys who got overpaid.
Hey Chris, what did you think about the short time Gasol and Thabeet got to play together last game?
I say we let the market decide. I don't see a lot of team ponying up $10 million a year for Rudy. I love his offensive game, but he's not the greatest defender. We overpaid for Pau, giving him max money when he clearly wasn't a max player like Kobe, Lebron, etc.
I think the Hamed/Omri thing is being overblown. First off, Hamed is what I would call a liberal Muslim. The tatoo gives it off, since in Islam, tatoos or anything that scars the body is considered a sin. Besides that, being a Muslim from a liberal country (Turkey) I know for a fact animosity between the peoples of each country does not exist, especially in sports. Its all government leveraging for their own show of strength and interests. Besides, there are plenty of Jewish people who live in Iran....not something that would be known listening to cable news these days, but there you have it. Back to our regularly scheduled Grizz hopes, need Iverson to mesh with the team and yet show he still has it!!!
I agree with everything you say, AK47, except to say that I still think it's notable. Not as a personal story for the players but as a symbolic thing and a representation of the further growth of basketball as an international sport.
I remain perplexed with the approach by this team. For years, our big concern has been the lack of a veteran presence and poise at the end of the games, someone to help close the deal, someone who can hit free throws. While Iverson's status as a starter will always be a question, there should be no doubt about his ability to close the game, especially when ZBo has fouled out. Instead, we have Gay miss 2 clutch free throws down the stretch (the turning point of the game), Conley making boneheaded decisions, all while Iverson is sitting on the bench.
We have the personnel to win now in close games down the stretch. Why do we have to sit and watch our coaches throw these games away. Iverson may not be the ultimate answer in every game like this, but he at least gives us a better chance with his experience than any of the other guys.
Chalk this loss to Hollins and his decision making/personnel moves/play calling down the stretch. It is far too early to get frustrated this year, but I'm getting there...am I really off base here Chris???
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