Empty the Bench

By: Andrew Thell

We here at ETB watch the NBA for different reasons in the regular season and the postseason. In the postseason we want to know who is the best, regardless of pace, age, excitement, athleticism or offensive prowess. When we tune in on a Wednesday night in November? Not so much. We can’t watch the Cavs and Celts every night. With that in mind, we’ll be doing an ongoing series on the youthful non-contenders detailing why they’re worth watching and what the future holds. Today: the Memphis Grizzlies.

Why They’re Worth Watching: Like a lot of teams we’ll discuss, the Grizzlies feature some of the most intriguing young talents in the NBA. 23-year-old Rudy Gay leads the pack as an electric combo forward that can do it all on both ends of the floor. His elite athleticism makes for nightly highlight-reel dunks and defensive plays, and Gay has the tools to be an All Star at some point. Gay is joined by electric scorer and last year’s third-overall pick OJ Mayo, who doesn’t play intelligent basketball yet, but has great natural scoring instincts and gifts. The 6-5 guard should be a 20-point-per scorer in this league for a long time to come, starting this season.

At the point the jury is still out on Mike Conley, but he’s just 22 and was taken with the 4th pick in 2007. Conley may lack the size and physical tools to be a plus starting point but is still fun to watch and has the makings of a solid backup. In the middle the Grizz have a trio of centers of note. Little-known Hamed Haddadi is a legit 7-2 big man out of Iran who led the Olympic summer games in blocks and rebounds with 2.6 and 11.2, though it remains to be seen if he is an NBA commodity. 2009 second-overall pick Hasheem Thabeet stands an inch taller at 7-3 and may be even more raw. The 22-year-old doesn’t exactly have basketball skills, but Thabeet has the tools to perhaps be a difference maker on the defensive end. Maybe. The most polished of their big men is unheralded Marc Gasol, a beastly big standing 7 feet and pushing 300 bucks who plays like a linebacker. Gasol is currently dropping 19 points, 12 boards and over a block and steal per game on 65% FGs after an impressive rookie campaign.

With that much young talent you can’t help but be curious how things will shake out for the team and the youngsters – all of whom could be on your team soon. On top of that, intrigue abounds in what new and creative ways Zach Randolph can bring boneheadedness to a new level and how Allen Iverson can further sabotage a young group of men. Drama.

What’s the Plan?: The plan should be to build around the scoring duo of OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay. It should be to bring in savvy, professional veterans on the cheap to teach these kids how to win. It should be to give the other young kids mentioned above as many minutes as possible in the interest educating them, giving them NBA experience and evaluating their talent and potential. It should be to find out what they have in Conley, Haddadi, Thabeet and hustle-big Darrell Arthur and then go forward accordingly with contract extensions. After all, this is a team that doesn’t have a single player under contract for the 2011-12 season, the first year they could be any sort of legitimate contender. They should be gearing up to make the appropriate contract commitments to their emerging young stars and make a big splash in free agency after next season.

Unfortunately, it curiously seems like Memphis has more of an interest in giving contracts and minutes to aging malcontents that don’t play defense or even vaguely resemble leaders on the court or off. Bringing in Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson were colossal, inexplicable, inexcusable mistakes. It makes you wonder if there is a plan.

How the Future Looks: I simply cannot fathom why the Iverson and Zandolph moves were made. This franchise will suffer in ways both subtle and obvious for seasons to come as a result. Still, there’s significant room for optimism in Memphis based purely on their volume of young talent and massive financial flexibility. Things could change and get better here in a hurry. Unfortunately, it appears their best asset, Rudy Gay, not only wants no part of this mess but also doesn’t get along with Mr. Mayo. Gay has declined to sign a contract extension and will become a restricted free agent.

After next season the only players under team control will be potential bust Thabeet, OJ Mayo, Darrel Arthur and Sam Young. That leaves a lot of work for GM Chris Wallace, a man that I am not confident in given his history. Wallace’s tenure was not exactly celebrated in Boston earlier this decade. This is the guy who traded a young Joe Johnson for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers, traded for Vin Baker and his bloated contract and made numerous other questionable trades and free-agent signings. So far in Memphis his acquisitions of Iverson and Randolph and drafting of Conley and Thabeet leave a lot to be desired. If Wallace can give reasonable long-term contracts to Gay, Mayo and Gasol and then make a splash in free agency in the next two offseasons things could work out. I’m not optimistic. But as Brian discussed, that doesn’t mean we’re not watching.

More from The Kids are Alright Series:
- Detroit Pistons
- Philadelphia 76ers

Rudy Gay photo credit: Icon SMI