Micheal Heisley on the Chris Vernon Show (730 Fox AM)

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #1 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:19 am

OMG - this is a MUST listen to, Grizz fan or not.

http://chrisvernonshow.podbean.com/2010/08/23/chris-vernon-show-august-23-2010-interview-with-grizzlies-owner-michael-heisley-interview-only/

It was surreal. Gives you some insight to what us Grizz fans have to deal with. Come - bask in our pain...

ThreeYearPlan · Post #2 » by **ThreeYearPlan** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:56 am

Heisley's hilarious, I think he tries really hard and wants to win but he's just dumb.

I Am Awesome-O · Post #3 » by **I Am Awesome-O** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:57 am

Surreal is a great way to put it. It was hysterical too. If it wasn't palpable that MH is bats**t crazy before, it sure as heck is now.

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #4 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:16 am

MayoisMemphis wrote:Heisley's hilarious, I think he tries really hard and wants to win but he's just dumb.

That statement shows some lack of perspective on your part. The man is a self made billionaire. His expertise is in taking failing companies, making them profitable and flipping them for an obscene profit. He's good at this - very, very good at this. That said, just because you're good in business doesn't mean you're good at running a sports franchise. He may lack the skill set and he may not have the right people around him, hell - he may just be getting old and set in his ways, but he is in no way, shape or form dumb.

vincecarter4pres · Post #5 » by **vincecarter4pres** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:48 am

This guys got a serious stuttering problem...

GO GRIZZ · Post #6 » by **GO GRIZZ** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:27 am

I like what Heisley said about motivating players but to shame the franchise in the process baffles me. You have been given my Honorary Dave Chapelle Award!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udNHsk57f24

jefe · Post #7 » by **jefe** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:56 pm

vincecarter4pres wrote:This guys got a serious stuttering problem...

Say what?

Saying "uh" between words alot is not the same as st-st-st-st-stuttering.

dark-child · Post #8 » by **dark-child** » Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:25 pm

If you understand that Heisley absolutely LOVES TO NEGOTIATE, you will understand a lot about who he is. We all love to say what the team should do and think we could do a decent job as the GM, so would we purposely take a back seat in not involve ourselves if we owned the team? He did not orginally get involved in the process, it was only after employing people to do so at obscene amounts of money, with no real success (playoff wins, or continuous sellouts) that he came to the conclusion why not do it himself. His decisions so far have been hit or miss just like everyone else in the industry. It is for that reason that he is unlikely to change anytime soon, and the situation will only change for the organization once he finds a buyer.

ThreeYearPlan · Post #9 » by **ThreeYearPlan** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:51 am

Some of the people who told me to go with Thabeet are supposedly some of the best basketball minds in the NBA. Use your imagination.

Jerry West amirite?

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #10 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 12:25 pm

MayoisMemphis wrote:
Some of the people who told me to go with Thabeet are supposedly some of the best basketball minds in the NBA. Use your imagination.

Jerry West amirite?

That's what the prevailing theory is - which makes me sick to my freakin' stomach.

jefe · Post #11 » by **jefe** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:03 pm

GrizzledGrizzFan wrote:
MayoisMemphis wrote:
Some of the people who told me to go with Thabeet are supposedly some of the best basketball minds in the NBA. Use your imagination.

Jerry West amirite?

That's what the prevailing theory is - which makes me sick to my freakin' stomach.

Really? I thought it was Tony Baloney's pick?

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #12 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:13 pm

jefe wrote:Really? I thought it was Tony Baloney's pick?

Oh I definitely think the father and son Soprano team were on board with taking Thabeet - but after the interview, its pointing towards the Logo lending an assist on the disaster.

Granted, if you're a real conspiracy junkie like me - you gotta think the the biggest buffoon in the history of the Grizz was lurking somewhere - waiting to launch a torpedo...

"Hi, I'm the Brian Fellows of the NBA. Wanna see naked pictures of David Stern, cause that's how I'm keepin' my job!"

Shemy · Post #13 » by **Shemy** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 12:21 am

Verno been getting alot of attention this past week, now Hollins went after him hard, but good ole Verno aint backing down from Hollins and spat some truth his way...it was around his second hour of his show today im sure some of you heard it

shrink · Post #14 » by **shrink** » Fri Aug 27, 2010 7:08 pm

This part got picked up by yahoo.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_d ... ZrYZ4?pg=3

Vernon: Did this way of conducting business regarding the rookie contracts just come to you after reading the collective bargaining agreement? It appears as if you had this epiphany after reading the collective bargaining agreement - 'Oh my god, why are we conducting our business this way. Here I am reading the collective bargaining agreement and we don't have to do it this way.'

Heisley: I've never seen the collective bargaining agreement.

Vernon: What?

Heisley: I've never seen it.

Vernon: How is that possible?

Heisley: It's very possible. Are there things you haven't seen in your life?

Vernon: Well, I don't own an NBA franchise.

Heisley: What would you do, study the collective bargaining agreement?

Vernon: Absolutely.

willbcocks · Post #15 » by **willbcocks** » Fri Sep 3, 2010 12:48 pm

That statement is completely out of context though, as Vernon gets absolutely burned afterwords. Heisley pays experts on staff precisely so that he does not personally have to read the CBA. This is precisely what a leader of an organization should do.

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #16 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Fri Sep 3, 2010 2:15 pm

willbcocks wrote:That statement is completely out of context though, as Vernon gets absolutely burned afterwords. Heisley pays experts on staff precisely so that he does not personally have to read the CBA. This is precisely what a leader of an organization should do.

So you don't think Mark Cuban isn't familiar with the CBA - seriously? Heisley is a brilliant man that still came off like a buffoon (overall) after this interview.

KissedByaRose1 · Post #17 » by **KissedByaRose1** » Fri Sep 3, 2010 5:05 pm

I'm so sorry....

willbcocks · Post #18 » by **willbcocks** » Sat Sep 4, 2010 12:16 am

He didn't say he wasn't familiar with it--he only said he hadn't read it himself.

And why should he? It's a long, confusing legal document. He has lawyers and a GM whose job it is to know it like the back of their hands. His skimming the document adds no value to the organization and I'm sure he's too busy with other things to make it bedtime reading.

A good leader is someone who hires good people, trusts their judgment, and gives an overall direction to the organization. Vernon's more damning point, if true, was that Heisley stopped trusting other and started wanting to do things himself.

Infinite Llamas · Post #19 » by **Infinite Llamas** » Sat Sep 4, 2010 1:58 am

Hi, Celtics fan here, and I thought it was a really interesting interview. Heisley seemed very defensive on a lot of issues, but I also think the interviewer's questions had a certain impotence in perspective to them as well. While I have no expertise on running a franchise, I can imagine that being an owner in a small market franchise is a considerably daunting task and has a high risk of loss on the ol' bottom line. And then one also has to consider that the NBA has become full of "rich-get-richer" teams that will essentially reduce competition to a finite number of teams. While a team like the Knicks has truly been dreadful, they have tremendous revenue becuase of their location and willingness to spend excessively. That being said, Heisley has more limited options based on a number of factors, and it's naive for the interviewer to throw out "what if's", like he could easily do a better job. I don't really follow the Grizzlies, but it does seem like Heisley is very committed to the team, for better or for worse. Every team has made numerous boneheaded plays (under Chris Wallace, the C's traded for Vin Baker and traded Joe Johnson for garbage) but look at how the C's fortunes changed with just a couple of trades in 07-08? With that in mind, I do feel that good relations with other teams/agents is essential to building a franchise, but I have to have some respect for the decision to base a portion of the contract on performance opposed to blindly throwing away money on an investment. Yes, it's easy for me to say cause it's not my team, but I think it's somewhat irresponsible to basically let the agents sugar coat a very important piece of the CBA that was obviously put in there for reason.

I can definitely see both sides of this though. From his track record, Heisley doesn't seem to have the pedigree or discipline of a true basketball mind, but I also feel that he generally does love his team, and that's more that can be said about a handful of owners in the league. It seems to me that the more passionate owners are the ones who generally have the most success in the long run. Boston's previous owner waas garbage who could care less about the teams direction, but then it was sold to a group who immediatley had a vision for the franchise. I think that Memphis is one of the good guys/underdogs of thie league and I wish you guys success. I'd much rather play a team like you or Portland in the finals...sick of those damn Lakers.

GrizzledGrizzFan · Post #20 » by **GrizzledGrizzFan** » Sat Sep 4, 2010 2:22 pm

willbcocks wrote:He didn't say he wasn't familiar with it--he only said he hadn't read it himself.

He absolutely said he wasn't familiar with it, hence the latest change in tactics in regards to signing rookies.

And why should he? It's a long, confusing legal document. He has lawyers and a GM whose job it is to know it like the back of their hands. His skimming the document adds no value to the organization and I'm sure he's too busy with other things to make it bedtime reading

Why? He's opted to make himself the defacto GM of the club. If you're going to be making the decisions, which he does, you need to do more than surround yourself with yes men. He's said so much on other occasions. And this isn't a part time hobby, this is a multi hundred million dollar investment - somewhere around 20-25% of his total wealth. You'd be STUPID not to bone up on the rules of the "game" if you're going to play at the level he's decided to participate at.

A good leader is someone who hires good people, trusts their judgment, and gives an overall direction to the organization. Vernon's more damning point, if true, was that Heisley stopped trusting other and started wanting to do things himself.

It's obvious he says he lives by this tenant, but his actions say otherwise.