VanWest82 wrote:Here's a good test case I wish Chris would have pushed harder on the Ringer NBA podcast: would you have blown up the Grizzlies two years ago? They were clearly on the downside with Conley approaching free agency and Randolph and Allen aging fast. And yet they continue to make the playoffs (last year's injury plagued finish aside) and will likely continue to do so despite crippling management decisions, like signing the corpse of Chandler Parsons to 94M.
Yes, maybe. The Grizzlies screwed themselves. Chandler Parsons is what happens when you desperately try to win when no real hopes of actually winning at the highest of levels. Tony Allen and Vince Carter and Zach Randolph -- three of their top six rotation players -- are old as dirt and will be free-agents this summer. JaMychal Green is gonna get PAID this summer. They have about $75M of guaranteed money committed to Conley, Parsons, and Gasol. Then another $15M guaranteed to other guys. It's very possible just to retain Green they'll have to go over the cap, and depending on the money Allen, Carter, and Randolph get, maybe the lux tax. They should look to use their cap space in a positive way this summer. If not, re-sign their old guys to just one-year deals with team options for the second year to give themselves one more year to figure it out.
VanWest82 wrote:Re your overarching question about sustainability, there are so many ways to maintain organizational culture when you have two foundational pieces to build around, even if they're older ones like the Grizzlies and Raptors have. I think that stuff matters. So when you bring in the next wave of young and talented players, the odds of one of them making the leap by growing under the guidance of their predecessors increases exponentially.
You're right that organization matters but I think that can also be kinda overrated. Look at the Sixers for an example. This "culture of losing" that Bryan Colangelo rambled about was a fabrication. I do think it's bad if players lose for too long, but not a lot has changed this year other than the fact the young players got better. Covington Holmes and McConnell got better. Saric came over. Embiid got healthy (for 31 games). You can still have good culture with good veteran presences even in a losing situation. The Grizzlies have good organizational stability and smart leadership. I think they'd have good structure, just like the Raptors would.
VanWest82 wrote:Cheers for doing this. I'm surprised more NBA writers don't.
Do a search on Twitter for "never read the comments" or "don't read the comments." You'll find a lot of writers say those words for whatever reason.
