His Nickname is "The Bomb"

And he's not the King of Spain, either. But he is yet another voyage into the international arena for the Memphis Grizzlies. Pau Gasol has his buddy, and no reason to whine this year. Beale Street is gearing up for some serious basketball this year.

Juan Carlos Navarro. "La Bomba". Should be interesting to hear that rattled off in downtown Memphis. The deal is reportedly in exchange for "a lottery protected first round pick."(BulletsForever.com)

Drafted by Washington in the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft, having played in Spain for FC Barcelona since 1997 (at age 17), Navarro will become a valuable asset right away.

Nice work.

We Hardly Knew Yi

Last night I had a dream...and I was the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies. I hosted a press conference to debunk all the crazy Kobe trade rumor nonsense, and at the end, I made a plea to both the Milwaukee Bucks organization along with Guangdong Tigers.

"Mike Miller, Damon Stoudemire, and Stromile Swift in exchange for Yi and Charlie Bell."

"Oh, and if it makes you feel better we'll throw in a second rounder next year..."

The money probably doesn't work out, but whatever.

Milwaukee must do something, as ESPN reports Yi's team will attempt to block Yi from playing in the City of Suds.

Funniest line from the article:

"Chen expressed concern that Yi would have trouble getting playing time with the Bucks, whose squad boasts Australian 7-footer Andrew Bogut and a number of other tall young players."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, they're so tall!! And young, too!!!

The Bucks are staying strong...stating that "I just think, when it's all said and done, he's going to be in a Bucks uniform."

Welcome Darko!

Uh-Oh.....Awwwwww Hell! We gots ourselves TWO big Euro-giants, now! It's ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!! Or something. So we went with the Lady's Man over Sideshow Bob. I think Memphis had about $8 million/year to shell out, and shell out they did. Darko will be banking $21 million over the next three years. My favorite quote from that article:

"We are extremely excited for this new opportunity," Cornstein said. "Darko's going to a team that really wants him."

Great. Yay for Darko. They do make a good point, however, about Iavaroni's big-man coaching skills. (Can he teach our big men to be fast?)

Should be interesting to watch the Grizziles try up-tempo basketball with two huge white dudes on the floor at the same time.

And on that note, I must recognize the newest member of the butler's little pantry, a blog I've enjoyed for a long time...and one of the best basketball blogs on the net, Free Darko.

Mike Conley, Jr. and the Morning After

With the number four pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select....

Mike Conley, Jr. PG - THE Ohio State University...and his 40 and 1/2 inch vertical leapers.

Thank God. For a second there, I was balancing on the ledge of my buddy's balcony, fully prepared to plummet to my grave if the name, "Joakim Noah" came out of Stern's mouth. Yesterday I wrote about wanting the sexy pick, either Brandan Wright or Yi Jianlian. Kyle Lowry, the Grizzlies pick at #24 last year, was the question mark. While many made the observation that point guard was a need for Memphis, some wondered if the Grizzlies staff believed Lowry (who broke his hand after 17 games last year) could be a viable option.

So Memphis escapes with no Gators. I would like to personally thank everyone that hyped up Al Horford(next Karl Malone...HA!). Atlanta, even though they were able to snag Acie Law with their second lottery pick, passed on the #1 PG prospect yet again. And now we can take a look at the starting five for the 2007-2008 Memphis Grizzlies:

PG- Mike Conley, Jr. SG- Mike Miller SF- Rudy Gay PF- Hakim Warrick C- Pau Gasol

With a bench consisting of: Damon Stoudamire, Tarence Kinsey, Kyle Lowry, Lawrence Roberts, Chucky Atkins, etc. Trades and/or free agent dealings could dramatically alter the above before the dawn of the season.

Enough about the Grizzlies. Who cares about them anyway? Some monster trades went down last night! What a night for Blazers fans. I'm jealous. Here's what their starting roster looks like as of now: (Francis won't start, right?)

PG- Jarrett Jack SG- Brandon Roy SF- Anybody PF- LaMarcus Aldridge C- Greg Oden

...and how 'bout Boston and Seattle!?!?!?

Celtics: PG- Rondo/Telfair SG- Ray Allen SF- Paul Pierce PF- Al Jefferson C- Big Dude(s)

plus a healthy crop of youngsters: Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Allen Ray, and a nice second round pick, Gabe Pruitt. Oh, and they got Baby Shaq, too.

Sonics: PG- Ridnour/Watson SG- Szczerbiak/West/Jeff Green? SF- Kevin Durant PF- Chris Wilcox C- 5-headed Monster (I'm assuming they won't be able to keep R. Lewis)

...and what about the Knicks? (loved the part where Spike Lee called NY's pick 2 minutes before it was announced..."the brotha from DePaul")

PG- Starbury SG- Crawford/Richardson SF- Spike Lee PF- Zach Randolph C- Eddy Curry

with a 6th man-of-the-year candidate to boot...Mr. David Lee. And brotha from DePaul.

Speaking of trades...what in the name of Jebush Christmas is Michael Jordan smoking? That trade pissed Steven A. off so badly I thought he might have a conniption.

Who else did well for themselves?

Detroit: Rodney Stuckey(#15) and Arron Afflalo(#27) - two solid guard prospects.

Golden State: Brandan Wright(#8) via aforementioned bonehead trade, Marco Belinelli(#18), and Stephane Lasme(#46)

T'Wolves: Corey Brewer(#7), and Chris Richard(#41)- two quality players, without reaching.

Philadelphia: Thaddeus Young(#12), Jason Smith(#20 - a guy Chad Ford thinks is pretty much the same player as Yi?!?!?) Derrick Byers(#42)

And in closing...I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who noticed this-

NBA Draft Eve

Last year's NBA Draft, along with it's plethora of trades, has left many wondering "what in the name of Zeus is going to happen tomorrow?".

Even picks 1 and 2 are still being debated, as speculation has taken center stage ever since that tragic day in Memphis Grizzlies history (oh, and I guess Boston wasn't happy either)...May 22, 2007. Maybe it was that sheepish grin on Brandon Roy's face...reminded me of when Shakespeare in Love beat out Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. Just didn't seem right or fair or good. Everyone knew Spielberg's film should have won.

Whatever. With the number four pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select...

And you know what else? I don't really understand Boston's pain. Many have argued that a team with a History-leading 16 Championships has no room to whine about anything. But ok, they haven't won since '86 (awwww), so I guess that's a little bit of ill-feeling. However, would any Celtics fan like to exchange histories with a Grizzlies fan? Would they rather have grown up without a professional team (in any sport, for that matter) to cheer for at all?

No sympathy from me. Sorry. Don't wanna hear it. The Pats will probably win the Super Bowl...again...this year, so you won't be crying for too long.

Moving on...with the number four pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select...

Let's break down the consensus opinion:

Pretty much everyone who is paying attention thinks Memphis should take Horford.

Personally, I would like to see my Grizzlies come away with either Brandan Wright or Yi Jianlian.

Let me paint a picture to illustrate my rationale here:

Imagine you're in Vegas. You have managed to set aside $5,000 that you can blow at the tables or wherever. Your buddy knows horses like the back of his hand, and lets you in on a SURE THING tip on a race coming up. You have almost 100% confidence that this horse is going to bring you a victory. So you throw down $4,000. And you lose. So tell me this, would you be safe with your remaining $1,000...(maybe spend the rest of your time nickel and dime-ing, really just trying to break even), or would you immediately risk the remainder of what you are left with in order to hopefully bring in the maximum return (maybe even win some of that $4,000 back)?

So we didn't win the big one. No Oden. No Durant. So what now? Picking Al Horford would be safe. Going with Yi or Wright would be letting the remaining $1,000 ride on one single number at the Roulette table.

Yi could be the next Darko. Or the next Dirk?

Wright could be the next Jonathan Bender. Or the next Bosh?

But Horford. Who's he the "next coming" of? Karl Malone? A great post by MKE Bucks Diary outlines a few of Horford's pros and cons:

"(Horford)...is pretty much everything the Bucks need. He's physical, he rebounds, and he defends..."

But the following quote jumped out:

"His offensive game is pretty rudimentary at this stage. Will he develop it, or will it just stagnate at the next level like his father's did? Also, when he was asked to defend bigger players (such as Greg Oden) he got dominated. Can he adequately match up against the NBA's awesome array of power forwards? Finally, while he appears to be a safe pick, he also doesn't have that much upside. What you see now is, I think, pretty much what you're going to get from this guy."

Damn. Even called out his daddy.

"He won't be a superstar, but he should be a solid contributor in areas of need for the Bucks."

There you have it. Al Horford = nickel slots. Not much risk, but about the best you're gonna do is break even.

Grizzlies Hire Iavaroni

Sweet. Most Memphis fans (including myself) were hoping for this. After firing Mike Fratello last season following a 6-24 start, the Grizzlies employed a similar style of "run and gun" basketball under assistant-turned-head coach Barone. And we still lost a lot. But hey, it was more fun to lose 113-107 than 88-76, right?

Many thought Iavaroni would re-unite with Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, as they worked together in Phoenix. But Toronto's Sam Mitchell earned Coach of the Year honors, so it would be weird to fire him.

In a week where our draft hopes shifted from Greg Oden/Kevin Durant to Brandan Wright/Al Horford/Yi Jianlian...we needed some good news.

Iavaroni is also 6'8", so he could definitely play the four.

Biggest Draft Since Vietnam

June 28, 2007. I'm a little more exited about that date than most folks, 'cause my team is even worse than the Celtics this year. And the Celtics are bad. Barring a horrible slip of a ping-pong ball (PLEASE, GOD!) the woeful Memphis Grizzlies should be at the top of the board when we arrive at Madison Square Garden.

Come on Stern...rig one for the Logo.

When browsing through a few early projections and mock drafts, most will see that this year could very well come to be known as "The Year of the Big Man". Of course the Madness just ended, so most players have not declared their intent at this time. Assuming everyone declares who's expected to- potentially one third of the 60 players selected could be listed at 6'10" or taller. As we all know, just because a man is tall does not mean he will ball. Yeah, Luke Schenscher, I'm talking about you.

Could this be the best draft class in history? Probably not. Stern seems to think so. General consensus seems to suggest that three drafts (1984, 1996, and 2003) could all lay claim to that title.

So let's take a look, shall we? If we could form a starting five plus three bench players from each draft class since 1984...who would be the best team? Not who would win a game (way too speculative), but which set of five (C, F, F, G, G - unless it's just impossible NOT to put four guards in the top 5...like in 1996) plus three best players (still speculative as hell, but whatever). Oh yeah, undrafted players count as well. Because I want to use Ben Wallace for 1996. So there.

1984
C- Hakeem Olajuwon

F- Otis Thorpe

F- Charles Barkley

G- Michael Jordan
G- John Stockton

Bn- Kevin Willis
Bn- Alvin Robertson

Bn- Sam Perkins

1996

C- Ben Wallace

G- Ray Allen

G- Kobe Bryant

G- Allen Iverson

G- Steve Nash

Bn- Jermaine O'Neal

Bn- Marcus Camby

Bn- Stephon Marbury

2003

C- Chris Bosh

F- Lebron James

F- Carmelo Anthony

G- Josh Howard

G- Dwyane Wade

Bn- Leandro Barbosa

Bn- David West

Bn- Kurt Hinrich

That's some stacked classes right there. Looking past these 8 players in each

respective class, I would have to say '03 and '96 are stronger than '84. Also to be considered is the large amount of basketball yet to be played by many on this list...especially Kevin Willis.

Can any draft class since 1984 hang with the three above? Here's my next three...

1998

C- Dirk Nowitzki
F- Antawn Jamison
F- Rashard Lewis
G- Paul Pierce
G- Vince Carter
Bn- Mike Bibby
Bn- Ricky Davis
Bn- Earl Boykins

1999

C- Elton Brand

F- Lamar Odom

F- Shawn Marion

G- Rip Hamilton

G- Baron Davis

Bn- Ron Artest

Bn- Jason Terry

Bn- Manu Ginobli

2001

C- Pau Gasol

F- Gerald Wallace

F- Jason Richardson

G- Gilbert Arenas

G- Tony Parker

Bn- Joe Johnson

Bn- Mehmet Okur

Bn- Shane Battier

Past these players, I'd say '98 and '99 are deeper than '01.

2004 is making incredible amounts of noise this season...
C- Chukwuemeka (why in hell would you abbreviate that?) Okafor
F- Dwight Howard
F- Luol Deng
G- Andre Iguodala
G- Kevin Martin
Bn- Josh Smith
Bn- Ben Gordon
Bn- Andris Biedrins


The list this year looks damn good...(assuming everyone declares).

2007
C- Greg Oden
F- Kevin Durant
F- Brandan Wright
G- Corey Brewer
G- Arron Afflalo
Bn- Julian Wright
Bn- Jeff Green
Bn- Acie Law

*This isn't even taking foreign players into consideration.

With (hopefully) a top 2 pick and maybe some free agency dabbling (Rashard Lewis, please), the Grizzlies will not only return to the play-offs for the fourth season in five years, they'll manage to achieve their first post season victory!