memphis grizzlies history
memphis grizzlies history
Will this be the year that Memphis Grizzlies fans get to buy tickets to the Finals? The way this team is going, it certainly could be. Jerry West has put together a team that gets better year-by-year. They contended in the West last year before imploding down the stretch, thanks primarily to the selfishness of Bonzi Wells and Jason Williams. West dumped Wells and Williams, in favor of Damon “Mighty Mouse” Stoudamire and Eddie Jones. The veterans look to stabilize the locker room and help Paul Gasol and Mike Miller cash the Grizzlies ticket to an NBA Championship.
It was not always so rosy for the Grizzlies. This is a team that had to take its lumps. They came on the NBA scene the same year as the Minnesota Timberwolves, but have not had the same type of success. The Grizzlies began in Vancouver, and had no problem selling tickets initially, but soon Canada soured on the team. They relocated to Memphis in 2001, and though the move was south, their fortunes immediately went north.
Before moving to Memphis, the Grizzlies were never able to grow as a team, despite developing young starts such as Abdul Rahim, Bryant Reeves and Mike Bibby. The team was not able to gel as personalities clashed, and fan interest wavered.
Things changed when the team moved to Memphis. First, they hired NBA legend Jerry West as their President of Basketball Operations. West had a proven record at that position, having rebuilt the Lakers into the greatest NBA franchise this side of Memphis in his time there.
West traded Rahim, then landed Pau Gasol and NCAA Player of the Year Shane Battier. The two rookies had an immediate impact on the league, and soon the Grizzlies went from being a joke to being a contender. They accomplished this all with the help of Hubie Brown, an aging coach, who had not walked the sidelines since the 80’s. West saw something in Brown and gambled that he would be able to take the young team and mold them into respectability.
Brown eventually had to retire, forcing West to find a new coach. Enter Mike Fratello. Known as “The Czar of the Telestrator” for his time as a TV analyst, Fratello continued to help the Grizzlies build towards greatness.
Key pickups such as Mike Miller and Lorenzen Wright only added to the mix, and in 2004, the Grizzlies were looking down at the Timberwolves in the standing for the first time in Memphis Grizzlies history. Grizzlies tickets became a hot commodity in Memphis.
The only question is whether this team will turn the final corner and become a consistent contender. With a nice mix of veterans and rookies, it seems that the Grizzles will be punching their tickets to the playoffs for the foreseeable future. With a genius like West at the helm, the sky is the limit.
