Posts Tagged ‘Marreese Speights’

Deal Likely Delays Inevitable For Grizz

January 22, 2013  ·  12:45PM

HANG TIME SOUTHWEST – It’s impossible to determine how much, if at all, trade speculation truly distracts a team. But in the case of the Memphis Grizzlies, it’s fair to speculate that it has a lot.

“Trade rumors have been in this league since they’ve allowed trades,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said in Dallas 10 days ago as rumors of the franchise shopping Rudy Gay — as well as Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol — ran rampant.

Hollins is right, of course, but it doesn’t mean trade rumors are any less difficult to wrap the brain around now than in Hollins’ playing days. It’s actually an impossible argument to make in the Internet age and now with social media fueling speculation by the millisecond.

That night in Dallas was the start of three consecutive blowout losses for Memphis. Monday’s 82-81 home loss to Indiana makes it four in the last six games as the Grizzlies have fallen off the pace of the West’s top three teams and are fending off Golden State for fourth place.

A smaller-scale Cavs-Grizzlies trade consummated this morning gets Memphis under the dreaded luxury tax this season without needing to move any of its key pieces and perhaps gets it back to work with clearer minds.

This group, having grown into contenders together, wanted the chance to remain together and compete for a championship this season.

The reported trade will send young Memphis reserves Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby, plus a first-round draft pick to Cleveland for end-of-bencher John Leuer.

Memphis’ new ownership group wants no part of the CBA’s harsher luxury tax penalties to come. And with Gay, Gasol, Randolph and point guard Mike Conley on the books for a combined $58.7 million next season, Tuesday’s trade ultimately only postpones the inevitable trade of Gay and/or others until the summer. 

As CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger tweeted: “Welcome to luxury taxonomics.”

The new CBA, drafted with the intent to help small-market clubs keep their rosters intact, isn’t really working out that way. Chris Paul was traded from New Orleans to the Los Angeles Clippers before the start of the 2011-12 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets before the start of this season. And the Grizz will ship out Gay and/or others this summer to align their books with the new economic times.

The trade can be considered a win-now for the Grizz’s key components and fans who didn’t want the core split up before they had a chance to attack the postseason one last time. Remember, in 2010-11, Gay got injured and missed the playoffs. Memphis upset San Antonio in the first round and lost in the second round in seven grueling games to the Thunder.

Randolph injured his knee early on last season, came back late, but never got to full strength. Memphis lost Game 1 — blowing a huge lead — and Game 7 on its home floor in the first round to the Clippers.

“I definitely want to see this team stick together,” Randolph said that night in Dallas. “I’ve been with these guys four years. Rudy’s been here the longest. You want to see us together because we’ve come a long way, definitely.”

The downside to the deal is that the Grizzlies’ bench gets a little lighter. Although Speights’ role had decreased with the return of Darrell Arthur from injury, the 6-foot-10, 255-pounder averaged 6.5 ppg and 4.7 rpg in just 14.5 mpg. Ellington was Memphis’ most accurate 3-point shooter (42.3 percent) on a team that desperately needs that component.

But, at least as the Grizzlies reach the halfway point of their season at home Wednesday against the slumping Los Angeles Lakers, the core remains and they can get back to work with minds more at ease.

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Grizzlies’ Arthur Eager To End Double-Trouble Layoff

November 23, 2012  ·  3:11PM

Eighteen months, one week and one day. That’s how long it’s been since Darrell Arthur played a game in anger, as they say. For his NBA employers, the Memphis Grizzlies, and for his own self.

The Grizzlies look considerably different since that playoff loss to Oklahoma City in May 2011 – O.J. Mayo, Shane Battier, Sam Young and Greivis Vasquez are all gone, as is Michael Heisley as the team’s principal owner. In their place: owner Robert Pera and players such as Jerryd Bayless, Wayne Ellington and an Arthur playalike Marreese Speights. But Memphis’ record (8-2) and status as an NBA contender look good again, same as before, and Arthur is eager to feel a part of that.

Just as long as someone provides the bubble wrap. That shouldn’t be too much to ask in an arena named the FedEx Forum, should it? His unwrapping begins Friday night at home against the Lakers.

If there were “Fragile / Handle with Care” stickers on Arthur before, no one paid much attention to them. The 6-foot-9 forward from Dallas, by way of the University of Kansas, had what would have been his fourth NBA season wiped out by a torn Achilles tendon last winter, then had his comeback delayed by a leg fracture in a pickup game in September. Now, finally, he’s ready to contribute, as Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins explained to Memphis beat writer Ronald Tillery:

“He’s an athletic 6-9 guy who can play the smaller forwards,” Hollins said. “He can shoot the ball so he can spread the court. He can rebound. He plays with a lot of energy and hustle. … I want to get him in the game and give him confidence. When we started the season, I envisioned Darrell and Mo (Speights) playing together with Marc [Gasol] and Zach [Randolph] both sitting on the bench.”

That sort of rotation mostly has been a luxury Memphis couldn’t afford, lack sufficient frontcourt depth. But with Arthur available again – along with Speights, acquired last January soon after Arthur went down, the Grizzlies might not have to ride its stellar bigs quite so hard. Randolph and Gasol again have been averaging nearly 38 and 37 minutes nightly, respectively.

Even when Arthur was out of sight, he wasn’t out of mind for Memphis; the team signed him to a three-year, $9.7 million contract before his Achilles rehab even was complete. But having him on the floor – that is, running, jumping and cavorting on the floor rather than writhing on it – figures to be better still.

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Rosen’s Report: Knicks at Grizzlies

January 12, 2012  ·  10:37AM

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The Knicks’ win last night in New York was their first over a team with a winning record. Of course, the unfolding of their schedule is a random thing over which they have no control.  But the point here is that, in order to live up to Mike D’Antoni’s boasting that New York is a championship-caliber squad, the Knicks have to dominate all of the league’s weak sisters.  That’s why an impressive showing in Memphis is critical.

Meanwhile, Memphis is struggling to be merely respectable while Zach Randolph is down and out.  In the interim, the Grizzlies have demonstrated that they play much better at home than on the road —- as evidenced by their playing OKC on nearly even terms on Tuesday.  A win over New York would put Memphis only two games below the even-Steven line and do wonders for team morale.

(more…)

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Rick’s Tips: Waiver Watching

January 9, 2012  ·  4:49PM


If you’re anything like me, you’ve been watching so much basketball that you almost feel guilty about all the time spent on the couch. But don’t beat yourselves up basketball fans, because we waited five months for this, through a late start and even near cancellation. So ignore the cold shoulders, the honey do’s, and even the cat calls, because you’re an NBA fan, and this is what we do.

I know a lot of you are pretty bummed out about all these DNPs, but get used to them — and their unpredictable nature. I’m a big believer in the law of percentages, what goes around comes around, and all that jazz, so don’t sweat it if you’ve lost a game or two due to excessive DNPs. You have to trust that these random events will even out over time.

The powers that be at NBA.com wanted me to look ahead on the waiver wire for you, which is a great idea because a) it’s the quickest and easiest way to improve your team, b) the waiver wire has never been more important with all these injuries, and c) working the waiver wire is a personal specialty of mine. So let’s get started…

Marreese Speights

Zach Randolph’s knee injury caused the Grizzlies’ front office to trade for Speights, who had 17 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes Sunday against the Lakers. The numbers are pretty good, but what’s impressive to me is that he did it in his second game with his new team.

You have seen the spike in production from Marc Gasol and that trend will continue until 20-10 gets healthy enough to play, roughly two months from now. And when you combine the absence of 20-10 with Darrell Arthur’s season-ending injury, the door is wide open for Speights to play starters’ minutes and rack up the goodies.

Matt Barnes

While I’m not a fan of his game in reality (too many bad passes and too much complaining), I am a fan of his fantasy numbers when he’s rolling — and right now Matt Barnes is rolling. In the last two games he has 31 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, three steals, and two 3s, making him viable in any fantasy format.

Barnes was a disappointment for the Lakers last season, largely because of a lingering knee injury. But he’s healthy and making plays in Mike Brown’s non-triangular system. Barnes is probably still on waivers in your league, but he won’t be for long if he keeps playing like this.

Jimmer Fredette

The reigning College Player of the Year is being dropped by impatient owners two weeks into the season. This is a mistake.

The dude can ball, he just needs minutes — and those minutes could come under new coach Keith Smart, who ran a guard-friendly offense in Golden State last year. Smart has played Jimmer only 37 minutes in his first two games as head coach, but coaches change their minds — and their rotations — all the time.

Jimmer is the perfect stash player because he has plenty of upside in assists and threes, typically the two toughest categories to find on waivers.

Toney Douglas

Douglas is being dropped like sippy cups at a birthday party. Fantasy owners are turning their backs on Douglas because of Iman Shumpert’s emergence, and the fact that Douglas was scoreless in 18 minutes over his last two games. Douglas has been dealing with a shoulder injury though, so don’t give up on him just yet.

In fact, check him out tonight on NBA TV and be ready to pounce if he gets back to bringing the MSG crowd to its feet. Douglas is a great source for threes and steals, so keep your eye on his minutes.

Tony Allen

Allen posted back-to-back 20-point games leading into Sunday’s tilt with the Lakers, but he crashed back to earth with four points and four fouls in 13 minutes. That was to be expected, though, as Allen is charged with guarding the opposition’s top wing player — and Sunday it was future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.

Lionel Hollins is using a committee approach in trying to make due without Zach, and Allen is a big part of that committee. The Grizzlies’ junkyard dog is probably still on waivers in your league, but you need to add him to your scout team and stay ready. One more 20-point game and Allen won’t be on waivers for long.

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Grizzlies Randolph Out Up To 8 Weeks

January 4, 2012  ·  1:33PM

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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph could miss the next eight weeks of the season with a slightly torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee, according to The Commercial Appeal.

The report confirms fears that the injury Randolph suffered Sunday in Chicago, when teammate O.J. Mayo inadvertently fell into his leg in a loss to the Bulls, was more serious than initially expected:

The injury will not require surgery and doctors will re-evaluate Randolph in two weeks.

Randolph was believed to only have a bruised MCL. He did not travel with the team for its road game tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He remained in Memphis and is wearing a knee brace.

… Last season, Randolph missed four games after suffering a deep tailbone bruise in the season-opener.

This is obviously a huge blow to a Grizzlies team built around the frontcourt tandem of Randolph and center Marc Gasol, the catalysts for the Grizzlies surprise run to the Western Conference semifinals last season.

The Grizzlies are already working on a contingency plan for the meantime, having agreed in principle to the terms of a three-team deal with the Hornets and 76ers that will bring 76ers center Marreese Speights to the Grizzlies, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.  The deal, on course to be completed later Wednesday according to Stein, would also send Grizzlies swingman Xavier Henry to the Hornets and two second-round picks to Philadelphia.

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Sixers, Nuggets Discussing Speights; All-Star West Headed To Pacers

December 11, 2011  ·  12:22PM

– For the latest updates check out: NBA.com’s Free Agent Tracker

According to sources, the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets have had advanced discussions about a trade that would send center Marreese Speights from Philly to Denver for a future second-round pick. However, the trade has not been completed and may not occur, depending on whether the Nuggets are able to retain their free agent center Nene.

Denver is still hopeful it can re-sign Nene, but the Rockets, Pacers and Nets are all in hot pursuit of the 29-year-old center, who averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds last season. Each has significant cap room, though the Rockets would have had more had they been able to complete the three-team deal with the Lakers and Hornets that would have sent Chris Paul to Los Angeles. Houston would have taken Pau Gasol and his $18 million salary this season, but it would have dealt Kevin Martin ($12 million this season), Luis Scola ($8.5 million) and Goran Dragic ($2.1 million) to New Orleans, clearing even more room to go after Nene.

Speights, 24, was Philadelphia’s first-round pick in 2008, averaging 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16 minutes a game his rookie season. But injuries the last two seasons have caused him to fall out of favor, and the Sixers have put him on the trading block.

The Nuggets, however, have other big man options on the table if Nene departs, and will explore those before returning to the potential Speights trade, a league source said. The Sixers, another source said, have other possibilities on the table as well for Speights as they assess his trade value.

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A league source said Sunday afternoon that the potential sign-and-trade deal between the New Orleans Hornets and Boston Celtics which would have sent forward David West to Boston is dead, and confirmed that West is likely headed to the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers have more cap room to offer the 31-year-old West than the Celtics could generate in the sign-and-trade proposal, which developed late last week while the Hornets were also working on the Paul-to-LA trade. But that trade fell through Saturday night, with Los Angeles opting to send Lamar Odom to Houston for a 2012 first-round pick.

ESPN.com first reported West’s progress toward a deal with Indiana.

UPDATE: David West’s agent is saying his client has indeed agreed to a two-year, $20 million-dollar deal with the Pacers.

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Posted in Free Agency 2011, Uncategorized / Comments (16) /