Lang’s World: Always Changing
Lang WhitakerSometimes things change.
This is a hard but true fact of life. As much as we crave constancy, the world around us is always changing, and sometimes we have to change, as well. It isn’t always easy, it isn’t always fun, but change is going to happen, with or without you.
For the Memphis Grizzlies, perhaps the most significant personnel change in organizational history came on Thursday, February 7, at the NBA trade deadline, when the Grizzlies moved several players, including Marc Gasol, the franchise leader in points and rebounds. “I’m not sad because it’s over, I’m happy because it happened,” Gasol noted on Twitter following the trade.
As Grizzlies owner Robert Pera said in a statement: “[Marc] was a part of a core group of players that helped shape the identity of this franchise on and off the court and were embraced by the City of Memphis. On behalf of the Grizzlies organization, I would like to thank him for his blood, sweat and dedication to the Grizzlies and Memphis. The impact he has had on this team and the city will live on, and we look forward to one day welcoming him back home to Memphis where his #33 jersey will hang in the rafters of FedExForum next to Zach [Randolph] and Tony [Allen].”
But it wasn’t just Marc. Along with Gasol, on deadline day the Grizzlies also traded Shelvin Mack, Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green, plus released injured forward Omri Casspi. It was a significant makeover to a roster that had struggled the last two months following a 12-5 start to the season.
Going forward … we’re able to sit back and see what happens in the offseason, where the draft takes us, are we in it or out, free agency, and we’ll evaluate what’s our best of options going forward at the beginning of the summer.
Chris WallaceIn return, the Grizzlies received a group of players tasked with leading this team into the immediate future: Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and C.J. Miles from Toronto, as well as Avery Bradley from the Clippers. The Grizzlies also signed former G-League forward Bruno Caboclo to a long-term contract. When you include the December signing of veteran center Joakim Noah, the Grizzlies at midseason have a decidedly different look than the Grizzlies team that began the campaign.
According to general manager Chris Wallace, there is one thing that hasn’t changed: The goal is to win. “It’s very clear what we want to do for the rest of this season,” Wallace said. “Going forward behind that, we have flexibility now, and we’re able to sit back and see what happens in the offseason, where the draft takes us, are we in it or out, free agency, and we’ll evaluate what’s our best of options going forward at the beginning of the summer.”
Valanciunas made a quick impact for the Grizzlies, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench during his first appearance. The 26-year-old big man showed his ability to play a physical brand of basketball, as the Grizzlies worked to rebuild his stamina following an extended absence due to a thumb injury. In his first four games with the Grizzlies, Valanciunas averaged 20 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the Memphis Grizzlies handles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 25, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, TN. Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images.
“He hasn’t played since December 12,” said Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, “so we have to be patient with our expectations. He’s going through that, plus he’s learning a completely different system. But the things that you can tell: intellect, the willingness to compete, and an unselfish nature – things we continue to preach to this group. We don’t have any expectations that he isn’t capable of those things… He’s a team player. He’s got great size, he can run the floor, duck in, get early post touches in the paint, and then he also has the ability to spread you out and shoot the three. We expect him to take some time to get there, get his lungs back and his [conditioning] back up after having to take so much time off.”
Bradley arrived from Los Angeles with a reputation as one of the most dogged perimeter defenders in the NBA. The eight-year veteran has also averaged 12 points per game during his NBA career. “I’ve tried to build over the last few years and show people I’m a two-way player,” said Bradley, ”especially when I was in Boston. Hopefully I can get the same opportunity here. I take pride in the defensive end—I know that’s my strength, and that gets my offense going.”
In his second game in a Grizzlies uniform, Bradley’s offense shined as he scored a career-high 33 points shooting 15-of-21 from the field against the San Antonio Spurs. His 33 points were the most ever by a Grizzlies player against the Spurs in a regular season.
Wright immediately moved into the back-up point guard role with the Grizzlies, after being caught in something of a numbers game with the Raptors. At 6-5, the former 2015 first round selection (20th overall) gives the Grizzlies a lot of versatility, and he has paid dividends already, scoring 9 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in a win over the Lakers.
“The speed he can play with and the way he can push the ball, get into the paint and create for others,” said Bickerstaff, “the size and length that he has at that position to defend, allows you to do some different things. We’ll see what he looks like in an expanded role.”
Thirty-one year-old Miles was the most experienced player the Grizzlies added, and his ability to score and switch between wing positions makes him a valuable contributor off the bench. “C.J. Miles is someone who has a track record as a scorer and outside shooter,” Wallace said. “He’s a veteran presence. If you talk to anybody who’s been on the teams he’s been with, it’s always great reports.”
Delon Wright #2 of the Memphis Grizzlies handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 23, 2019 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images.
The new lineup also affords the Grizzlies the opportunity to get out and push the pace. After playing with the NBA’s slowest offense before the trade deadline, the Grizz are hoping to use their newfound depth to change their own tempo.
“I don’t know if it’s something they’ve been looking forward to,” Bickerstaff laughed. “Everybody says they want to run until they have to run, because it’s not easy to run every single time. You have to be built and conditioned a certain way to do it. We’ll give the guys the opportunity to do it. It is a fun way to play. The floor is open for highlight opportunities. It’s not going to turn into some sort of jack-fest where we make one pass and this guy shoots it, or we make one pass and this guy goes into his bag in isolation and takes a bad shot. There’s a difference between the way you judge pace and playing with thrust, and we want to play with that thrust. If that ends up in wide-open layups, we’ll take them all. If that ends up with wide-open threes, we’ll take them all.”
With a veteran guard like Mike Conley conducting in the backcourt and a promising young forward like Jaren Jackson Jr. manning the frontcourt, the Grizzlies are betting that by changing the players around them they can improve the team’s status through the end of the season. “We want to get back to our winning ways, and our young players, the Jaren Jackson’s, Ivan Rabb’s, we want them to taste winning to see what that’s all about,” Wallace said.
“We have so many more assets to work with than we did when I came here back in 2007,” Wallace said. “We’re just so much further along. Very excited about the future.”
There’s a difference between the way you judge pace and playing with thrust, and we want to play with that thrust. If that ends up in wide-open layups, we’ll take them all. If that ends up with wide-open threes, we’ll take them all.
J.B. BickerstaffThe contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Lang Whitaker are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
Published on Feb 26, 2019
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