Grizzlies’ front office trounced in Twitter poll
No one from Grizzlies management sat in the Spectrum Center when the Charlotte Hornets handed Memphis its franchise’s worst margin of defeat (14079) — only the sixth time in NBA history a team lost by 60 points or more.
A day later, the Grizzlies front office was front and center on Twitter when nearly 700 fans responded to a poll asking: “What are you most unhappy about as the Grizzlies finish this season?”
The options presented were tanking,
talent level and attitude, coaching or front office. Grizzlies management received 60 percent of the vote with talent level and attitude second at 27 percent. Tanking picked up nine percent while coaching ended up with four percent of the votes.
As expected, Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace took much of the heat. He gets the credit when the Grizzlies are doing well. He is the main target when expectations of a successful season aren’t met.
“It all starts with front office,” Brandon Jones (@jamaal_15) wrote. “Chris Wallace doesn’t know what’s he’s doing and we fired one of the best up and coming coaches in (David) Fizdale, and if Wallace makes the wrong selection with this draft pick...”
Jones is in the back of a seemingly long line of Grizzlies fans who want to see a change in management. There are many calls from fans and media for Wallace to be fired.
The Grizzlies are on pace to finish with one of the worst records in the league, which would put them in position to possibly get the top pick in the June draft.
The Twitter poll suggests that there is little confidence among the fans who participated in Wallace & Co. making the right selection.
“I'm unhappy because the front office will bungle another lottery pick,” Scott Green (@1scottgreen1) wrote.
Said MemBlue Grizz/Tigers (@BigGunz28): “It is 2-3 years overdue for Wallace to leave, even more if u include the (2007 Hasheem) Thabeet draft #firechriswallace.”
Longtime fans appeared dismayed by the history of Memphis’ poor draft record.
“To me, everything goes back to the front office,” Jess Wilder (@jesswilder711) wrote. “They’ve taken so many swings and had so many misses you just can’t expect the team to be that good. At some point, the guy batting .040 gets cut.”
Still, Memphis is coming off a sevenyear playoff run. Some poll participants are sympathetic given the injuries to Mike Conley (heel surgery) and Chandler Parsons (chronic knee soreness). Teague, 25, played this season for the Grizzlies’ NBA G League affiliate, Memphis Hustle. He replaced guard Briante Weber, who sign a 10-day deal with the Grizzlies on March 14. The 6-foot-2 Teague started in all 47 of his games with the Hustle, and averaged 17.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists. He shot 45.5 percent overall and 42.7 percent from three-point range. Teague led the Hustle in total points, total assists and free throws made. The Chicago Bulls selected Teague 29th overall in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft. He played two seasons for the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets before minor-league stints with the Hustle, Iowa Energy, Oklahoma City Blue and Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Tanking, says some poll participants, is the only way to go.
“I’ll be ecstatic getting the #1 or #2 pick,” Jason Anderson (@jaanderson1973) wrote. “That’s what best for the future of my favorite team. If fans can’t see that, then they need to re-evaluate their fandom.”
Said Memphis Peej (@Memphispeej): “This season was dead early on…. Let it die and TANK with dignity. Let’s get the #1 or #2 pick and come back next year, healthy, experienced and with a new awesome player! That’s a win.”
Aaron Friedman (@AaronFriedman15) used a soccer analogy to suggest that the Grizzlies don’t belong in the NBA after this season.
“You guys are lucky there is tanking and not relegation like in British soccer because right now, the Grizz are a G league team,” Friedman wrote.
Overall, there was more of a campaign for changes from top to bottom in the poll.
“#FireChrisWallace. Clean house in the FO and start from scratch,” Jordi Soto-Phipps (@jordisp3) wrote. “(Grizzlies controlling owner Robert) Pera needs to get with it, or sell his shares to someone who cares AND will do due diligence to get a FO with a high b-ball IQ and business IQ.”
3 questions with Chandler Parsons Q:
How different this time around trying to push through?
This year, I feel much better physically. That’s a good sign. The season hasn’t gone the way we hoped and planned for and I think that’s a lot of the reason why I’m not playing more minutes and playing in more games. But I just want to go through this season and not have a surgery for the first time in three years. I want to have a full off-season to work out and get stronger.
How have you handled this season mentally?
The minutes I play are out of my control. People can talk all the (stuff) they want about how I don’t play games or I’m always hurt but it’s out of my control. I’m a professional. listen to the people that matter — that’s the medical staff and the management. I understand the big picture but it’s frustrating.
What are you trying to give the young guys?
I’m just trying to give the confidence. They’re thrown into a world right now they aren’t expecting. They’re playing a lot more minutes in an NBA game against teams that are competing and trying to get a playoff spot. It’s a great experience but they can get down on
A: Q: A: Q: A:
themselves with the way games go. The main goal for the rest of the season is to play hard and play unselfish. As a veteran on the team, my job is to keep pushing them.
Final word
Grizzlies guard Briante Weber not only experienced his second stint with the Grizzlies but it was his second time under coach J.B. Bickerstaff. The two worked together when Weber entered the Rockets’ system while Bickerstaff was an assistant and interim head coach.
Bickerstaff recently described why Weber can have staying power in the NBA.
“He needs to just keep doing what he’s doing. He plays with an intensity, with an energy that’s infectious towards his teammates,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s very similar to what Patrick Beverly was when we brought him into Houston. He has that pit bull type of mentality. He never backs down and takes on every challenge. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.”
Weber, 6-foot-2, began this season as a two-way player for the Houston Rockets and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He played for the Grizzlies, Rockets, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and Golden State Warriors after not being selected in the 2015 NBA Draft.