On Feb. 1, 2008, Michael Heisley, the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Chris Wallace, the team’s general manager, were the two most vilified men in the NBA. They had just traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers in a move that was seen as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. They turned the Lakers into instant championship contenders, while getting pennies on the dollar in return. The package they got included Javaris Crittenton (now out of the League), Kwame Brown, a practically retired Aaron McKie, two late first-round picks, and the rights to Pau’s brother, Marc Gasol. Read More »

The bottom half of the Western bracket looks pretty scary, and no team from that group is playing better right now than the Grizzlies. Last night, they destroyed New Orleans, and held Chris Paul without a point for the first time in his career.

How are they doing it? Check the video.

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After an outstanding three-year career at Kansas, which included a 2008 NCAA Championship and three Big 12 titles during his tenure, Cole Aldrich was a Lottery pick this June. First selected by the Hornets before being trading to the Thunder on Draft Night, the Bloomington, Minn. native gladly returned to the Midwest. So with everyone’s expectations for the Thunder going through the roof this season, we decided there was no one better to turn to for the inside scoop on life in OKC. In his second entry, Cole talks about the Thunder road trip, No-Shave November and his new crib. Read More »

After an outstanding three-year career at Kansas, which included a 2008 NCAA Championship and three Big 12 titles during his tenure, Cole Aldrich was a Lottery pick this June. First selected by the Hornets before being trading to the Thunder on Draft Night, the Bloomington, Minn. native gladly returned to the Midwest. So with everyone’s expectations for the Thunder going through the roof this season, we decided there was no one better to turn to for the inside scoop on life in OKC. In his initial entry, Cole talks about rookie hazing, facing his childhood idol and the best spot to get spicy California rolls in town. Read More »

Somewhere hidden within last night’s 19-point rout (which wasn’t even that close) was a Memphis Grizzlies team that could actually challenge the L.A. Lakers. Like, in a playoff series. I’m serious.

You can learn a lot from a blowout, but if I’m Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, I’m focusing today’s film session on the third quarter, when the Grizzlies outscored L.A. 30-24. That was when the Grizzlies used their athleticism, rebounding, defense and a nothing-to-lose attitude while looking a lot like the Oklahoma City Thunder squad that pushed Kobe Bryant‘s team to six games in the first round of the 2010 postseason. Read More »

Before the Memphis Grizzlies confirmed it by locking up Rudy Gay with a five-year, $82 million contract on the first day of free agency, Gay was seen as the future of the franchise. Memphis gave up Shane Battier to acquire Gay in a Draft-day trade with Houston back in ’06, and he’s repaid them by averaging 17.4 points and 5.5 boards over the first four years of his career.

In Dime #57, Rudy talked to us in a “10 Sense” article about playing in a contract year and leading the Grizzlies’ return to respectability: Read More »

Rick Pitino is buggin’. Still firmly in the eye of the storm surrounding his sex/extortion scandal (with all sorts of salacious terms like “FBI” and “adultery” and “psychological evaluation” and “blackmail” being thrown around daily), Pitino called a press conference at Louisville yesterday to wag his finger at the media Rafael Palmeiro-style for covering this story. “[What] I don’t understand is why you keep fostering this behavior. On a day where Ted Kennedy died, the news here in Louisville broke in with Karen Syper’s (the woman in question) audio and the tapes and detectives. That’s a pretty sad commentary on us.” Read More »

Are the Hawks just ultra-confident that they’ll win any Game Seven in their own gym? Because with a chance to eliminate D-Wade and the Heat last night, ATL came out, as Mark Jackson put it, like they had some kind of cushion. True, the Hawks were essentially missing two starters (Al Horford out; Marvin Williams played five minutes), and generally they were not a good road team this year. But execution and effort are two different things … Read More »