The Cleo Goes To...
Heisley vs. Vernon
The Memphis Mr. McMahon
When I was younger, I was a huge fan of wrestling. Of course I watched Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler’s Memphis promotion. I also loved the WWF as most children of the 80s. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon was the commentator for the matches, and being the ignorant little kid I was, I had no idea he actually owned the promotion! (Imagine my shock upon finding out Jerry Lawler was the owner in Memphis. I thought he won all of those matches because of fireballs and chains.) Vince McMahon really longed to be a wrestler, despite being filthy rich promoting wrestling. McMahon worked out (and juiced up) furiously like a bodybuilder while really envying his wrestlers. At some point, McMahon was convinced he could be a character on his promotion, and became “Mr. McMahon,” the evil owner of the WWF(E) who would do anything to manipulate the matches and destroy the lives of his enemies.
Why should anyone who cares about the Memphis Grizzlies care about Mr. McMahon? Because trying to be Mr. McMahon is what is wrong with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley. The Grizzlies organization is doing a great thing promoting the upcoming tenth season in Memphis. Now is a time to reflect on the history of the organization. Many in Memphis did not expect the team to last in Memphis for ten seasons. The Grizzlies may have a contentious legacy in the nine years the franchise has been in Memphis, but this is our team and we should not shame away from the first decade. I was impressed with the poster celebrating the players and personnel that created the memories of the first nine seasons with one glaring exception: Why the hell is Michael Heisley on there? I know Heisley is the owner and has invested millions of dollars into the franchise. Heisley is the person most responsible for everything the organization does. Yet Heisley is not a personality that benefits the fan base of the Memphis Grizzlies with personal appearances. In fact, when Michael Heisley speaks, he always finds a way to put his foot in his mouth. Heisley may be a savvy businessman, but he is not a good public relations representative.
Part of the reason the Grizzlies are not as successful as they could be in this market is resentment with Michael Heisley. Whether it is the business community (who may be unfairly influenced by the minority owners), the fans, or the local media, Heisley is not seen positively. The unfortunately thing is that Michael Heisley is the kind of person who says he wants people to like him, but if he knows he’s rubbing people the wrong way, he gives them even more of himself to let the people know he’s there. Whether Heisley has a need for attention or a demented sense of vengeance, he continually makes himself the news story, taking attention away from his organization which is always in need of good publicity. Having Michael Heisley on the front of the poster is a distraction. Instead of taking the time to relish the good memories, Heisley is the most prominent image seen.
Why is Michael Heisley on the poster? Did he order that he be included thinking he would receive hero worship? Was some brown-noser in the organization adamant about including Michael Heisley in the poster because he is significant to the team’s history in Memphis? (Well so are Don Poier, Sean Tuohy, Eric Hasseltine, Pete Pranica, Andy Dolich, Gene Bartow, Dick Versace, and Billy Knight. Why aren't they on the poster?) Cherishing is hard to do when you are disgusted.
I do not disagree with many of the moves Michael Heisley makes, and he is unfairly labelled a bad owner. Any owner in Memphis has to be fiscally responsible. Sometimes the Grizzlies are actually innovative. Michael Heisley is a shrewd man who does not understand the art of tactfully explaining the things he does. To make matters worse, he is overly emotional and now has decided micro-manage the organizations moves. Michael Heisley has emasculated General Manager Chris Wallace and Heisley takes credit for the team's toughest moves, as if he’s a dad keeping the heat off of his son. If Chris Wallace took all of the heat for controversial decisions he would be respected and possibly feared. What agent is going to accept Chris Wallace’s word if they know he does not have the authority of other general managers? Heisley owns the team; why not take the title of General Manager like Jerry Jones with the Dallas Cowboys and give Chris Wallace the title of assistant to the GM? What is the point of having a puppet in the front office?
If Heisley really wanted to be loved, he’d be silent and become a legend instead of a personality. I am certain all owners dip their beak into their team’s activities. The best ones do it in such a way no one knows they do it. If Heisley only appeared during big events and read a speech writed by the team’s public relations people and stayed out of the limelight, he would be loved with a successful team. Being front and center of the poster commemorating the Grizzlies tenth season in Memphis will not be earn the affections of the people that could buy tickets and only serves as a reminder that we see Michael Heisley in the spotlight too much.
The Audacity of Earning
When I took Negotiation in college I gained something of a reputation for being a hardened negotiator. The class had major projects where several sets of teams would negotiate against each other to work out a simulated contract. I was the lead for my team, and the team we negotiated against (which included NFL All-Pro Deangelo Williams - name drop!) was so determined not to lose to me, that they refused to accept a deal from my team. We were the only teams who did not reach an agreement. When the deal we proposed was compared to all of the accepted agreements of the other teams, my team offered the most financially beneficial contract. My reputation made the other team assume they would lose with any deal from my team. Despite my reputation, what I realized is that the best contract is a contract that is beneficial to both sides of an agreement.
I reflect on that experience looking at the story about the negotiation between the Memphis Grizzlies and Xavier Henry. The Grizzlies are in the right in this situation, but unfortunately, the club’s reputation and prior practices are making the organization appear cheap and unreasonable. If a franchise like the San Antonio Spurs offered their first round draft picks the guaranteed amount based on draft slot and made the rest of the allowed 20% premium obtainable through reasonable benchmarks, the agent and the player would look like the villains in the situation. Since the manic-depressive Memphis Grizzlies are drawing a line in the sand on this truly minor issue, the local fans and the national media is flustered by the latest sign of how the Grizzlies are trying to be save another dollar. The Grizzlies will be extremely close to the luxury tax threshold in the 2010-11 season and asking for financial flexibility with the newest guaranteed contracts is reasonable.
Arm Tellem is the bad guy right now. Tellem is longing for the days of the Grizzlies organization being run by good friend Jerry West who rubber stamped big contracts for Tellem clients Pau Gasol and Mike Miller. In fact, the legend around town is that the Grizzlies were adamant about not giving Pau Gasol a maximum contract, and as soon as Gasol fired his agent and hired the Logo’s buddy, the Grizzlies quickly justified giving Gasol a 6 year, $86 million deal. Tellem’s public relations campaign over a minimum of $600,000 (with Tellem’s agent fee being $18,000) is an absolute joke. If reports are true that the incentives are tied to Henry’s minutes, playing in the rookie game, and being an all-rookie player; it is unreasonable for any NBA fan to side with the player. Especially those critical of the long term guaranteed deals the NBA. The Grizzlies are hog-tied this season because of the guaranteed contract of Marko Jaric and the approximately $7 million the deal counts against the Grizzlies salary cap even though the contract was bought-out last season. Tellem speaks of the 20% premium as if it just given to the first round picks; if that was the case, why is the 20% premium even written into the Collective Bargaining Agreement? Unfortunately, details of rookie deals are not usually published, and I really doubt that every first round draft pick gets the premium indiscriminately.
The Grizzlies have proven to be the champions of hustling a dollar. Whether playing money launderer for hire with salary cap space, haggling coach Lionel Hollins on a new contract after a season with significant improvement, or being innovators in having the minimum 13 players on the roster, the Grizzlies will find ways to improve the bottom-line. Memphis is a small market and the Grizzlies have not created loyalty with the locals and corporate community to unconditionally succeed at the box office. Ten seasons in Memphis has been scarred with PR blunders and constant shots in the foot. Even if the Grizzlies sold out FedExForum for the season, the team still has to be efficient with its payroll. When the Grizzlies make the right decisions when it comes to payroll, the organization does something like fumbling the Rudy Gay extension because of an unwillingness to budge in negotiations leading to a $24 million correction when Gay has to be re-signed as a free agent in a seller’s market. So when the Grizzlies organization takes a stand on making the 20% rookie deal premium an actual bonus, it’s like Jose Canseco calling out the players who were using steroids!
Since rookies do not have to report to the team until late September, the Grizzlies have over a month to work things out with Xavier Henry (and Greivis Vasquez). I agree that the 20% premium should be tied to performance despite what has been done in the past. Antoine Walker once got a maximum contract. “The Presence” Hasheem Thabeet was drafted with the second pick when Tyreke Evans played at the University of Memphis. Rookie deals should have a way to award players for good performance. The Grizzlies had the worst bench in the NBA last year, and Xavier Henry will have plenty of opportunities to earn his bonus because he will be the only shooter on a bench with Tony Allen and Sam Young.
The Memphis Grizzlies need to stand their ground in this issue, but hopefully are willing to be flexible in negotiations of the incentives for Henry to earn the extra money. Maybe fans and media will judge this stand-off by its merit instead of the Grizzlies’ reputation and the fairly insignificant amount of money. In my Negotiation class simulation, my team was a movie studio and the other team was an agent for a movie star. Our offer satisfied all of the star’s requests, but the other team assumed something was wrong with the offer because it came from me. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies have the same problem. What is reasonable is not what a powerful agent like Arm Tellem accepts, and observers should realize what the Grizzlies are offering is not as outrageous as the spin indicates. The Grizzlies are not screwing over Xavier Henry like the New Orleans Saints got over on Ricky Williams when Master P was this agent. The message is strong and despite the Grizzlies being the messenger. The rest of the NBA will quickly follow suit in treating the 20% rookie premium as a bonus. The unfortunate thing is the Grizzlies are often innovators in what’s responsible, but Grizzlies innovations are ridiculous until more credible organizations adapt them and make them vogue.
Rest In Peace Lorenzen Wright
Bluff City Bears Episode 5
Download | Duration: 01:02:30
Earl Hardaway of 191 Beale Street visits the Bluff City Bears podcast and talks with Mario Latilleon about Zach Randolph, Hasheem Thabeet, OJ as a point guard, a heated debate about David Robinson, and more. If only if that darn phone would stop ringing!
Bluff City Bears Episode 4
Download | Duration: 00:22:52
Counting the Duckets Before They Are Cashed
The fans of the Memphis Grizzlies probably should be full of optimism going into the 2010-11 NBA season. Not only is one of the NBA’s most effective starting line-ups back in the fold for the Grizzlies, two playoff teams, Phoenix and Utah, lost key players. Even if some fans are disappointed with the likely loss of guard Ronnie Brewer, the team really was not able to utilize Brewer on the court so nothing really missing from last year’s team. The Grizzlies have four starters who are young enough to expect improvement with experience and maturity, and a fifth, Zach Randolph, who will be playing a new contract. Next year should be the most highly anticipated Memphis Grizzlies season since the first year of FedExForum in 2004. So why is the buzz drowned out by the belly aches caused by dread?
Rudy Gay was re-signed for near max money. Ronnie Brewer was not offered. Lebron James did not chose Memphis. Xavier Henry is not Patrick Patterson, Paul George, or Damion James. The Grizzlies sold the 25th pick for $3 million. Is it the always nature of my hometown to be so critical? The Grizzlies won 40 games last year when the over/under number of wins was 28 with Las Vegas bookmakers! How about some excitement!
I will start right now with the concerns some have that the Grizzlies will not be able to re-sign the key starters on the team. Now that Rudy Gay has signed his big deal, people assume the Grizzlies have blown every dollar on him. While the Grizzlies will have a huge payroll (for them anyway) next year, there will be massive relief in payroll after next year. Marko Jaric officially comes off the books after next season. The amount of money Jaric counts is about $7 million. If people are worry about money for Marc Gasol, why not think that if the Grizzlies just took Jaric’s $7 million and added the money to Gasol to create a deal starting at $10 million for Gasol. Marc Gasol may be re-signed for a more reasonable amount, but at the very least there is room to re-sign him. Zach Randolph is an all-star, but he is greatly overpaid. As good as Randolph is, would he be attractive to other teams for a large investment? If Randolph is not attractive, why would Randolph leave the Grizzlies? If the Grizzlies gave Randolph a reasonable offer and Randolph’s deferred money from his current provides him with another income stream for the several years, does the financial situation look less dire. So the $25 million that Randolph, Jaric, and Gasol in 2010 could become $20 million for Randolph and Gasol in 2011.
There is a great deal of time between now and having to pay Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Mike Conley. Therefore I think it would be wise to sit back and enjoy what could be the most exciting Grizzlies season ever.
ML
Summer League and Point Guard play
Summer League sure gets a lot more interesting this year. OJ at point dishing to Thabeet(hopefully he can catch a couple of em) and basically the entire bench including the new rooks will be out there as well. I've already programmed the DVR for all Grizz SL games and can't wait to see what happens.
Now, I realize SL doesn’t really mean much, but for us diehard fans(not the Bruce Willis film, pay attention) it gives us a chance to watch the majority of the team in action without having to wait till Halloween. I know I'm excited to see what the new guys can do + see what last year's rooks have learned so far. The back court combinations should be pretty intriguing as well. We finally get to see what a backcourt with some height can accomplish(OJ + Henry should be interesting and hopefully effective).
If you haven't noticed I'm not really in the MC fan club and personally think OJ should get a shot playing point(I know I'm all alone in this feeling. lol) Well, we'll finally get to see it for more than a couple of mins. Too bad it's only a couple of games though. My personal belief is that MC has to tools, but not the killer instinct to be a great point. I feel OJ has the mindset and with a little practice could be an impact PG in the league. His recent statements about struggling to defend S-Jax in the post reveal's a lot about what position He feels fits him best. But of course if Mayo at point turns out to be a disaster….
Enter Grevious Vasques, now I'm not going to lie and say I know much about this guy. I don’t really pay much attention to college ball and can't remember ever watching him play in person, but he does seem to have potential. In reading his draft bio a couple of things stood out. I saw that a few years back in international competition that he fearlessly attacked Kobe and Kidd(that in itself says he's confident) he played 4 years in college(which for some reason is now looked down upon??) He's 6'-6" which is great height for a point, loves to compete, has excellent court vision and he can hit tough shots. What's not to like? Well apparently he isn't the best athlete and his defense leaves much to be desired. Sounds kind of like Kidd and Nash in that regard, but they seem to do okay I guess.
I'll try to post again next week for summer league updates & first impressions of the rookies.
I know even less about Henry, so I'll try to give him some room in my next visit as well as a look at the frontcourt.
To wrap up, SL will be good and you all should watch, get excited and buy season tickets.
I believe we're playoff bound this year and with our inside game we should at least get a W or 2. Hopefully a series or 2. It's a good time to be a Grizz fan(finally)
J Casale
About the Author:
I'm not a writer(as you can probably tell) but I am a diehard Grizz fan and a lifelong Memphian.
I attended the first game played in the pyramid, the playoff massacre's, the AI press conference and now I'm ready for something new(a playoff win anyone??) I probably will not update too often, but have signed up to contribute. Anyone wanna talk grizz be sure to hit me up@Casale@bluffcitybears.com
