On October 25, 2012, Robert Pera took over as the new owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. The team's post Pau Gasol rebuilding era was finally over, after reaching the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time since his trade to the Lakers five years ago. New stars had emerged in Rudy Gay, Zach (Z-Bo) Randolph, and Pau's younger brother...Marc Gasol. The Grizzlies had a new identity (Grit & Grind), and there was genuine optimism in Memphis.
Then Pera started shaking things up.
It started on January 30, 2013, with the then shocking trade of fan favorite and leading scorer Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors. Everyone, including myself, was upset that the trade would happen in the middle of the season....in the middle of a competitive playoff race. Head coach Lionel Hollins was vocal in his displeasure...coining the now infamous quote that Memphis had "champagne taste with a beer budget" in a post game interview after the trade was completed.
We'll get back to coach Hollins in a minute.
In the trade for Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies acquired aging veteran Tayshaun Prince from the Detroit Pistons. That part of the trade also infuriated Grizzlies fans...who...including myself...believed that we just gave away a Ferrari for a station wagon.
Then the playoffs came.
The Grizzlies not only made it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, the trade of Gay allowed point guard Mike Conley to flourish, along with Z-Bo and Gasol. With all due respect to Rudy, he is a phenomenal scorer but a ball hog. The offense opened up with Conley running the show, and the defense improved tremendously with Prince on the floor. Rudy Gay has since been traded again and no one in Memphis seemed to have noticed.
Now back to coach Hollins.
After three consecutive playoff appearances, a Western Conference Finals appearance, and an improved regular season record the past three years, head coach Lionel Hollins was essentially fired by management. This also infuriated Grizzlies fans, who saw it as yet another cost cutting move that would ultimately undo all of the hard work Hollins put into rebuilding this team. Assistant head coach Dave Joerger was given the job, and fans shook their head. After all....Joerger has no head coaching experience, and why mess up a good thing anyway?
Then the season started.
Credit coach Joerger for keeping his team together through the rough 10-15 start, the loss of Gasol for 23 games, Tony Allen for 27 games, and a host of other injuries along the way. He did a masterful job of tweaking the lineups in their absence. The Grizzlies finished 40-17 to claw their way back (pun intended) into the playoffs for a record fourth straight season. Nice job by you, Mr. Pera.
But now comes the playoffs.
The Grizzlies narrowly avoided a dreaded first round encounter with the San Antonio Spurs, and optimism is once again running high in the Bluff City. But should the Grizzlies get bounced out of the first round in unspectacular fashion by the OKC Thunder, then you can expect everything I just wrote to be thrown out of the window. Such is life in a basketball town, Mr. Pera.
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