Grizzlies draft picks in studio (The Audio)

Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, and Sam Young in studio (6-29-09)

(The Audio)

Ok, let's try this again

All 3 Grizzlies draft picks will be in studio today @ 3pm. Check it.

Let the refuting begin

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel makes sense of the Beasley offer. The Grizzlies made the offer, not the Heat.

Did the Heat offer Beasley for the #2?

How will the Grizzlies damage control?

Now that the blog post on the CA's website of all of the draft day trades that were offered has become an article in the actual paper, what will the Grizzlies do?
Is someone going to refute some of the specific deals, and say that they were not on the table?
How can they deal with this? Will they just ignore it? They can't, right?
What will the other teams say? Are they going to refute the offers that they are reported to have made?
I have to imagine that this is really, really rough for the front office. Somebody told the CA all of these possible trades and now teams everywhere are going to be upset with the Grizzlies. You might hear a possible trade that did not happen here or there (like the Randolph thing), but you never read an article like the one today that lists every trade proposal like that. I am stunned that someone gave up all of that information on the record, and allowed it to be put out there for the world to see.
I will be interested to see what comes of this.
I will bet someone is not having a good day over in Grizzlyland.

In terms of what I put on the blog yesterday...
The Randolph report that I made earlier in the day... I had heard Randolph's name being mentioned in a deal on the night of the draft from Herrington, and strangely enough, from one of my emailers.
On Friday morning, Michael Heisley said in an interview that he had a trade that would have put over $20 million on the books. So, with Randolph on the brain, I asked around and it was confirmed to me that Randolph was who he was talking about. Then I got the details, which were different than the version in the CA. My version was correct.

I actually think that they might still go after Randolph.

Not wanting Beasley? Come on.

I have been as critical of the the Grizzlies as anyone, but I am not going to be ripping them for not getting Michael Beasley for the #2 pick, or Mario Chalmers for the 27th pick, because I happen to know that those deals (as they were reported) were not on the table.

Let us just use our brains for a moment...

Blake Griffin was the #1 pick in the draft. Michael Beasley was the better player, in the same league as the kid a year ago. The Grizzlies desperately need to get a power forward. If it seems crazy that they would rather have Thabeet than Beasley, that is because it is.

The Heat gave up 2 million dollars and 2 picks to get Mario Chalmers last year and he had a good rookie year. Now they are gonna trade him for the 27th pick? Come on. And then the Grizzlies come out today 5 times and say their biggest need is backup PG? Come on.

I am sure that there were a lot of offers for picks on draft night, but Beasley for 2 and Chalmers for 27. Come on. If it sounds absurd, that is because it is.

I will not rip them (which I would), because those deals (as they were reported) did not exist.

The Draft Party (the pictures)

Thanks again to all of you that came out to our 2nd annual Chris Vernon Show NBA Draft party. Kent Holt from Jason's Deli came by the show today and gave us the check to give to the Grizzlies House @ St. Jude. We raised almost $1400. Thank you for making this happen. The place was absolutely slammed, see if you can pick yourself out in one of the pictures if you were there...

NBA DRAFT PARTY PICS

Holy crap, did the front office spill the beans to the CA

Wow.

The CA has all kinds of deals that were offered for the #2 pick. My goodness.
check this out.

had a chance at Stoudemire? Beasley?

I can't even speak.

CVERNON.COM EXCLUSIVE: Trade that didnt happen

Last night, I am told at the last minute Clippers owner Donald Sterling killed a trade last night that would have sent Zach Randolph to the Grizzlies for a package that included M. Jaric and G. Buckner.

The good news is that Heisley was clearly willing to take on money. That is at least exciting.

update: I am told they wanted Darko, and the Grizz offered Jaric and Sterling said he would not pay Jaric another dime. That was the deal breaker from what I was told.

The draft picks in studio, summer league addition

Thabeet, Carroll, and Young will be in studio today some time between 4:30-6. This should be fun. Check it.

Also, I was told that my boy Jeff Adrien has been signed up for the Grizzlies summer league team. Seriously. Thabeet and Adrien again.

There is no spinning this

I want to thank all of you that came to the draft party tonight @ Jason's Deli. Also, thanks to our presenting sponsor Coors Light. The place was packed the whole night and we raised a bunch of money for the Grizzlies house @ St. Jude.

Now, to the subject that must be addressed. Tonight was absurd. For this franchise to exercise the #2 pick on Hasheem Thabeet will go down as a critical error for a franchise that cannot afford to make one. I like the last 2 picks just fine, but this draft will be judged on the #2 pick. And by the way, they passed on my boy Blair (twice!), and he gets to go get a ring with San Antonio in his first year. I cannot believe all of this happened tonight, and I cannot wait to hear all of the justification. Tonight was a chance to do something inspiring, and in that respect it was a total failure. You use the #2 pick on a guy that "will compete" for the center position with Marc Gasol? They won 24 friggin games!!!!!

Tonight was an embarrassment. There is no spinning this. They had a chance to inspire people and be aggressive in building a real team. Call for tickets... 888-BUST

There is a zero percent chance that people will not look back on this draft in 5 years and not laugh about who the Grizzlies passed up to draft Thabeet.

They blew it.

If you are reading this....

Stop and immediately head to Jason's Deli on Poplar/ Highland. What is wrong with you?

Draft Party 1 day away...

Today we are live @ Buffalo Wild Wings (Hacks Cross location) and we will be giving away a huge trip to Vegas.

Tomorrow is the 2nd Annual Chris Vernon Show Draft Party
presented by Coors Light
Jasons Deli (Poplar/Highland)
Free Beer, Free Food
Show from 3-6 and then the draft on two projectors
we are going to be raising money ($5 donation requested)- for Grizzlies House @ St. Jude Hospital

Don't miss this event. You may see my head explode live in person.

Thanks to listener Tim D. for sending this in.

Listener contributions to the cause

listener Jordan wants to crank back up the Love Train

Roser's new song... Please don't draft Hasheem Thabeet

The Draft Party

Thanks to D. Sparks for the logo, and grizzfans.com for putting together a video
talented listeners for sure

Verno's Grizzlies Draft Notes

I got back in town last night, got up this morning, and went down to the Forum for the workouts. Here are some thoughts (warning!- this may cause weeping and gnashing of teeth)...

Sorry Rubio fans... Rubio has nobody in the organization pushing hard for him (no big fans), Thabeet certainly does. In fact, I was told that Heisley was in town yesterday and had his private jet take Hollins, Wallace, Johnny Davis, and Barone Sr. to LA to meet with Thabeet. So they were in LA yesterday meeting with Thabeet because he was going to cancel his workout this morning. I guess they just decided they were gonna go to him if he would not come here.
I have this terrible fear that the Grizzlies are about to draft slawdog millionaire himself on Thursday night. On the tail of Calkins column this morning in the CA, there were conversations to be had about Ricky Rubio. I got the impression that, for whatever reason, people involved in the decision making process have convinced themselves that Rubio is not gonna be a great player. Almost like they have convinced themselves of something to make it easier to not take him. Three weeks ago I had someone with the Grizzlies tell me that he would be an all-star one day, today I was told "he can't score." Same person said both things. Like I said, I think they have convinced themselves of something to make not taking him easier.
I am not sure that Rubio is gonna be great, but I would take him and trade him because I think that is the best way to improve the team. Because even if I don't think he will be great, someone else does.
Some of you will not like to hear this, but trust me when I tell you that I would be totally and completely shocked if Ricky Rubio is in a Grizzlies uniform next year. If I had to bet today, I would put my money on Thabeet being the pick. I need to go vomit now.
I think we need to start the "Trade Train" just so we don't get Thabeet.

This morning was supposed to be Thabeet, Jordan Hill, and Demar DeRozan. Thabeet cancelled the workout because of a "hurt shoulder."
Of course, there is nothing wrong with his shoulder. His agent was simply posturing in the hopes that Memphis will not take him. That is why, as I wrote above, they went to go talk to him yesterday.

I heard a lot of the "why would a guy not want to be the #2 pick in the draft, even if it is Memphis?"
This is a fair and legitimate question when it comes to the both Rubio and Thabeet, who are considered to be the second and third players taken in this draft. *Curry would not come in either. So at least 3 top players in the draft are trying to dissuade the Grizz from selecting them.
Why?
You and I both know there are plenty of reasons that this franchise has become an undesirable destination. No fans, no proper power structure, lack of endorsements, lack of winning, you can go on and on.
But what makes Memphis any worse than Minnesota, or Oklahoma City, or Sacramento? I believe that it is perceived (or real) lack of commitment to winning. I don't think those teams lose because they value the great bottom line over a great basketball product. The Gasol trade sent a massive signal to everyone in the league that the Grizzlies are more concerned with money than basketball. I tried to tell everybody this when it happened. They have done virtually nothing since to prove otherwise. The Grizzlies fielded the lowest payroll in the league last year, and it was much worse than it even appeared. Their "effective payroll" as I would call it was less than 40$ million. The rest was just contracts to be bought out. I would be surprised if any other team has ever bought out over a fourth of their payroll.

I never get the impression that people think that the Thunder, the Kings, or the Wolves don't care about winning. They may not make the best moves all the time, but they are trying to make moves to help them win. Intent counts. Why is a team making this move? The answer for the Grizzlies has been over and over again... to save money.

I don't think anyone in the league (agent, player, or observer) believes that the most important thing to the Memphis Grizzlies is building a great basketball team. So therein lies the problem... winning gets you paid.
Agents are concerned about the second contract because that is where the money is. Guys on winning teams get paid. They are on TV and they are in the playoffs, and the money comes.
Even the role guys get paid. The Gerald Wallaces, the Raja Bells, the Turiafs, the Arizas, and the Boris Diaws of the world. I could go on and on. Guys on winning teams stand to gain so much more than guys on losing teams. I am not saying that guys on losing teams can't get good deals. What I am saying is that guys on winning teams have a much. much better chance.
Just look at the case of Hakim Warrick and Dahntay Jones. Right now, who do you think is perceived as the more valuable player for a team? I am interested to see the contracts that those two guys get. Playing for a winner changes everything.

So to the question of why someone would try to keep their client from getting more money and being the #2 pick in the draft... it is much better in the long run to be in an organization where winning basketball games is at least a priority. The Grizzlies have not proven that it is here.

Hiatus

will be back to doing the show, bloggin, and tweetin on June 22nd.

Brandon Jennings: Rubio is all hype

Brandon Jennings put Rubio on blast. This is so great. I have talked about Jennings in the past on this blog, and in fact wrote "I get the sense he will win everyone over in the workouts before the draft." Well, he has. I don't know how anyone with a set of eyes could watch youtube videos of he and Rubio and not be more impressed with Jennings. (Jennings Youtube)
I see Jennings with his head above the rim, I see Rubio making moves on 35 yr old white guys with hair on their back when I watch videos. Now I get Jennings saying that the dude is bogus. Brandon Jennings is winning people over by the day and he is winning me over by the way he talks. This is hysterical (clearly Johnny Flynn thinks it is hilarious too). I love it.
You could take the guy who was the #1 high school player in the nation in his class almost every year and you would get an all-star. Jennings was the #1 player in his class. If he is not great, he will be the exception to the rule.

Brandon Jennings on Ricky Rubio: "I think the dude is all hype."

Mark this date down (The Draft Party)

June 25th is the NBA Draft, and that means that June 25th is the draft party. Last year was great, and this year will be even bigger and better.
We finalized the details today and I could not be more thrilled at how this all worked out.
There will still be free food and free drinks for all of our listeners. We secured Coors Light as a presenting sponsor today. We are also planning to have 2 projection screens this year.
The only difference is that this year we are going to be raising money for the Grizzlies House (where families can stay when they have children at St. Jude). $5 donation.

Details:

The 2nd Annual Chris Vernon Show NBA Draft Party
Jason's Deli (poplar/highland location)
June 25th (from 3pm-the draft ends)
presented by Coors Light

Grizz workout tomorrow mornin

will include Antonio Anderson (Memphis), Jack McClinton (Miami), Jermaine Taylor (UCF), and Terrance Roderick (UAB). Last workout this week I think. Next week will be the big time prospects-- all working out against chairs and brooms. wooohooo.

Help the show

People always ask me, Chris, how can I help the show? Actually, nobody has ever said that. But you can help if you are willing. The M Awards guys contacted me and told me that voting for the awards ends at the end of the week. It only takes a minute to vote. If you will take a moment and go vote for the show, we would appreciate it. This always helps us out, and we are going for a 3-peat.
If you are not going to vote for the show, but click on the link, your computer will get a virus that cannot be repaired and your house will explode. Also, vote for Herrington's blog (his is better than this one), and anyone else that is involved in the show.

The M Awards ballot

Grizzlies start workouts in morning

I am gonna try to catch some of the workouts and give my thoughts on the show. The Monday workout will include Josh Carter (Tex Am), Chris Johnson and Garrett Temple (LSU), Wes Matthews (Marquette), and Stephon Jackson (Utep).

Go check out a new Grizzlies website

www.grizzfans.com

really nice site by one of our listeners, Jenkz
you can tell a lot of work has been put into this