Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 13 Apr 2021, 16:44

Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies.

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Back in 1995, the NBA was looking to expand the league outside of America, and into Canada. The two cities they decided on were Toronto and Vancouver, two of the most populated cities in Canada. The former got the Raptors, with the latter receiving the Grizzlies.

While both franchises started off really bad, losing a lot of games, the Raptors were always a step ahead of the Grizzlies when it came to the basketball influence in their area.

Vince Carter catapulted the Raptors into fame and fortune, as he helped the team lead the NBA in attendance for three straight seasons in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, that has not been the case with the Grizzlies.

John McCaw Jr. was the owner of the team from 1995-1999, as well as the Vancouver Canucks. However, the operating costs were way too high, and the Canadian dollar was pretty weak so it just wasn’t profitable for him to own a team in that area, so he was forced to sell both the Grizzlies and Canucks.

The fact that McCaw was based on Seattle, did not help his situation. A lot of local businesses in Vancouver did not want to support the Grizzlies because it wasn’t owned by someone local. McCaw ended up selling the team to Chicago businessman Michael Heisley for $160 million in January of 2000.

The Grizzlies under Heisley’s ownership have not done any better so far. The Grizzlies saw their attendance drop significantly and continued to lose games. According to Dick Versace, the president of basketball operations for the Grizzlies, the team has reportedly lost about $80 million in two years. That figure seemed ridiculous, but if you look at the bigger picture, it could be possible.

In the franchise’s first four seasons, the team actually had a decent attendance record. Not as good as Toronto’s obviously, but they were around the middle of the pack. But in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons, the last two seasons, they have been the third worst in attendance for both years, averaging about 13,000 fans every game.

Of course the low attendance rates translated to lower revenue, but I mean, that’s not a huge deal. There’s been a lot of teams over the years that saw their attendance plummet if their team is losing a lot. But the thing is, with the Vancouver Grizzlies, the revenue loss has extended beyond just the lower fan attendance.

The team has struggled to get corporate sponsors and when they did, they weren’t worth that much anyway because the team has been losing a lot and had no All-Stars either. The NBA didn’t really promote basketball in Vancouver as much as they should have, as well.

Granted, the team itself has some solid players, like Big Country Bryant Reeves and Mike Bibby, and I guess Shareef Abdur-Rahim is their best player, but he was obviously not a household name. They have not had a single member of their team make an All-Star game in the six seasons in Vancouver.

Additionally, very few players have actually wanted to move to Vancouver in the first place. The most prominent example was Steve Francis. The Grizzlies drafted him with the 2nd overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft, but he did not want to play in Vancouver. Francis publicly stated that he did not like the city and did not want to move to Canada.

So now we are at a Crossroads in Vancouver. Heisley is already losing money in the half season that he has owned the team. With a chance at high pick in the upcoming 2000 NBA Draft, it's time to start Scratching and Clawing to save the Grizzlies...

Platform: NBA 2K20 PC
Rosters: 2000-01 In Progress (RMJH4)
MyLeague Settings: 2000-01 Settings (RMJH4)
Draft Classes: 2000 (RMJH4), 2001 (RMJH4)
Quarter Length: 10 Minutes
Season Length: 82 Games
Playoff Format: 5-7-7-7
Injuries: On
Progressive Fatigue: On
Player Roles: On
Team Chemistry: On
CPU Trades: On
Trade Override: Off
Last edited by RMJH4 on 15 Apr 2021, 16:24, edited 2 times in total.
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 13 Apr 2021, 16:45

Last edited by RMJH4 on 17 Apr 2021, 12:35, edited 9 times in total.
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 13 Apr 2021, 16:46

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2000-01 Season
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 13 Apr 2021, 16:47

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2000-01 Season.
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 13 Apr 2021, 17:00

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Jordan joins Grizzlies front office.

Showing the command that allowed him to dominate the National Basketball Association for 13 years, Michael Jordan set the tone for his new job as president of basketball operations and part owner of the Vancouver Grizzlies yesterday, saying he would answer only to majority owner Michael Heisley, that his influence would be felt throughout the organization and that "until we get ourselves on track everybody is disposable."

After a five-month courtship, Jordan finalized a deal early yesterday morning that would give him five years to help transform the Grizzlies, who have not made the playoffs in their inaugural 4 years in the league, into a winner. Jordan said that Stu Jackson will remain with the team as general manager and that Susan O'Malley will continue as CEO and president of business operations.

"I'm going to have my imprints and footprints all over this organization," said Jordan, who will initially commute in his private jet between Vancouver and his home in Chicago. "I look forward to turning this thing around. Right now we're an underachieving team. I'll be moving to Vancouver full time soon, but for the moment I will commute. That will not effect my commitment to the job."

The deal gives Jordan a share of equity that could increase to 20 percent if new majority owner Michael Heisley ever decides to sell.

Jordan is the third black minority owner in the NBA – former superstar Magic Johnson owns a small piece of the Los Angeles Lakers; Edward and Bettiann Gardner are part owners of Jordan's former team, the Chicago Bulls. But Jordan's share, if it grows to the expected 20 percent, would give him a more substantial piece of an NBA team than any other black owner, a source said yesterday.

"This is new to me," said Jordan, whose duties will include drafting, trading and signing players and hiring and firing coaches. "Being in charge is something that I never had an opportunity to do. Maybe that's not the ingredient that may turn this team around. Then again, it may be. That's the beauty of trying.

"I won't be wearing the Grizzlies uniform. I have an attitude about the way I play. I have an attitude about the way I win, and my job and responsibility with this organization is to see if I can pass it on to the players in that uniform."

Heisley, who bought the team last January, has the majority ownership.

"He makes everybody better, I saw that first hand in the United Center all of those years." Heisley said of Jordan, who led the Bulls to six NBA championships. "He's a fierce competitor. He will not accept losing. He's going to get the best out of everybody. And that's why I've turned the basketball operations over to him."

Jordan's marriage to the Grizzlies comes months after his bid to purchase the Charlotte Hornets fell through. Jordan also has been linked to buying the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. NBA Commissioner David Stern prompted his interest in owning a team; however Jordan's decision to get into the hands-on, day-to-day operations was a relatively new-found aspiration, Jordan said.

"A lot of it had to do with the relationships I had with the people on this podium," Jordan said. "Michael Heisley being generous enough to allow me to make decisions based on basketball. It's a great city. I've spent a lot of time here recently. It's the closest thing to North Carolina besides Charlotte."

The first meeting was arranged in November of 1999 in New York with Falk, Jordan, Heisley and Falk's partner, Curtis Polk. In January of 2000, Falk again brought Jordan and Heisley together. Jordan subsequently had dinner at Heisley's house, where further progress was made about Jordan joining the team.

Jordan and Heisley eventually agreed to join the team as president of basketball operations, pursuant to Heisley's ownership being approved by the league office. Heisleys ownership was approved on January 20, 2000.

"[Falk] was instrumental in making this happen," Heisley said. "Without David, it would not have happened. David was the guy that started all this. David was the guy who contacted Michael in the beginning."

The newfound relationship allowed Heisley to bring Jordan in just one step below him in the Grizzlies chain of command. Jordan said Stu Jackson would report to him but that he hopes they will carry on a joint relationship.

"There's been a lot of stories that have said Stu is going to get kicked to the curb, not have any input with the team, and that's not the case," Jordan said. "I've always respected coaches like Stu that have been around the before the league for years. . . . If it wasn't for them, the league wouldn't have been my platform to excel."

Jordan went on to say that if he and Jackson disagreed on some issues, he had the authority to overrule Jackson.

"I'm okay with everything," Jackson said.

The status of Interim Head Coach Lionel Hollins and some of Vancouver's players seems more uncertain.

"If everyone is looking over their shoulders making sure their necks don't get chopped off that's good – you go out there and do your job," Jordan said. "If any players are worried about being traded, go out there do your job and you won't have to worry about it. If Lionel is worried about what's going to happen he's going to go out and do his job. I'm not saying I'm going to fire or hire Lionel Hollins. I'm going to evaluate everybody."

Jordan's considerable power as a drawing card was in evidence yesterday. His late-afternoon news conference drew the largest media gathering at General Motors Place since the Grizzlies were launched a little more than five years ago.

O'Malley, president of Vancouver Sports and Entertainment, said the Grizzlies sold about 200 season-ticket packages before yesterday's news conference even began.

"The rumor has been building all week and we have been selling seats," she said. "We haven't been selling a lot for tonight. But, what we have been selling are season tickets. A couple of hundred today. Who knows tomorrow when they believe it? We expect a big hit."

District Mayor Anthony Williams said Jordan's arrival will have a positive effect on the entire city.

"This clearly is a big day in our city," Williams said. "We have someone here who not only is a great athlete, but he can show our children what it means to be an executive as a role model. Show what it means to make a commitment like it already has. It really is going to electrify our city and probably Canada too."
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 13 Apr 2021, 17:11

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LOTTERY HITS NOTHING BUT NETS: JERSEY BEATS ODDS, PICKS FIRST IN 2000 NBA DRAFT

Exactly 4.4 percent.

That was the chance the Nets had to get the first pick in the NBA Lottery. But with the team’s administration in turmoil, no head coach, the organization received a huge break (that’s right, the Nets) yesterday by winning the right to choose first in the NBA draft June 28 in Minneapolis.

“This is the beginning of something good,” said Nets owner Lewis Katz, who pumped his fist when Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik announced the Grizzlies got the second pick, guaranteeing the Nets the top choice for the first time since 1990, when they selected Derrick Coleman. “We’ve got a new administration, a new coach. Maybe the tide is turning.”

Now the Nets have to figure out who to take, or if they should trade down.

“I expect to be fielding calls until the day of the draft,” said general manager John Nash, who is part of the potential shakeup.

The Nets finished with the seventh-worst record in the league (31-51), but Nash wouldn’t say what they would do.

“It would be inappropriate for me to really say anything, since the people who will help in making the decision aren’t with us yet,” Nash said. “And I’ve already had somebody whisper in my ear.”

That someone, according to Katz, was the Magic, which has the fifth and 10th picks.

If they do hang on to it, though, the player at the top of almost everyone’s list is Kenyon Martin from Cincinnati. The 6-9 power forward was the national Player of the Year, before breaking his leg in the Conference USA tournament, missing the NCAA tournament. If any team might be wary of a player with leg troubles, it would be the Nets. Can anybody say Jayson Williams?

“I’m sure Kenyon Martin will be scrutinized by our medical people,” Nash said. “Anybody can injure themselves. I don’t think that will have any impact on our decision.”

The Nets will work out Martin, who is not expected to suffer any long-lasting effects from his injury. But Nash already sounded impressed.

“I saw him play the most awesome five minutes I’ve seen,” Nash said. “If you could see the tape of them against DePaul, he single-handedly put that team on his back and brought them back in the game.”

But he immediately followed that statement with words of caution.

“I don’t want to rule out the possibility of drafting others,” Nash said.

Among the players Nash said the Nets would consider were Marcus Fizer, a 6-9 power forward from Iowa State; Stromile Swift, 6- 8 from LSU; Chris Mihm, a 7-foot center from Texas; Mo Peterson from national-champion Michigan State; Courtney Alexander from Fresno State and DePaul’s Quentin Richardson.

The team has already brought in Joel Przybilla from Minnesota, but likely won’t select him unless they trade the pick – a pick that no one expected.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Katz said. “I can’t tell you how excited I am right now. It hardly seems real.”

One official knew two hours before anyone else in the organization did and likened the experience to winning the recent “Big Game” $360 million jackpot.

“It’s just like that, like you want to check your ticket,” said acting president Finn Wentworth, who was on the fourth floor in a locked room with representatives from the other teams. “My throat got dry. We did much better than we thought.”

Wentworth, who said the search for new management will not be altered because of the good fortune, is also the president of YankeeNets. The combination of the two organizations wasn’t lost on him.

“The Yankees have such good karma about them,” Wentworth said. “Maybe some of that will rub off.”

Apparently, it already has. And that may have started during the last regular season game. The Nets and Cavaliers had the same record before the Nets lost. Now the Nets have the first pick and Cleveland has the eighth.

Still, these are still the Nets and most fans are probably assuming something will go wrong – like Martin’s leg shattering in his debut – and some of Katz’ final words sounded almost ominous.

“We won’t blow it,” Katz said. “I promise.”


2000 NBA DRAFT ORDER

The order of selection for the 2000 NBA draft to be held June 28 at the Target Center in Minneapolis:


1. Nets

2. Vancouver

3. L.A. Clippers

4. Chicago

5. Orlando (from Golden State)

6. Atlanta

7. Chicago (from Washington)

8. Cleveland

9. Houston

10. Orlando (from Denver)

11. Boston

12. Dallas

13. Orlando
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by Captain Canada » 13 Apr 2021, 18:02

I like the concept and bringing Michael Jordan into the fold only makes things even more interesting. Let's get it going.
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by djp73 » 13 Apr 2021, 19:32

Oh yeah! Love throwback chises!
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by Agent » 14 Apr 2021, 02:33

Hope MJ does better in Memphis than he did in Washington DC
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Scratching and Clawing: Saving the Grizzlies

Post by RMJH4 » 15 Apr 2021, 16:09

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Nets make Martin the pick of the litter.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kenyon Martin of Cincinnati, the consensus college player of the year, broke down in tears Wednesday night as he was selected first overall in the NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. Stromile Swift of LSU went second to Vancouver initially, and high schooler Darius Miles went third to the Los Angeles Clippers. It was a busy draft night on the trade front, especially for the Orlando Magic.

Orlando sent two players, Corey Maggette and Derek Strong, along with the 10th pick (Turkish player Hiyadet Turkoglu) and cash to the Vancouver Grizzlies for the second pick Stromile Swift. Orlando also traded the 13th pick, NCAA leading scorer Courtney Alexander, to Dallas for a future No. 1.

The Magic now have enough salary cap room, approximately $18.5 million, to go after both Tim Duncan and Grant Hill on the free agent market.

The Grizzlies walked away with a nice collection of players, and new general manager Michael Jordan said the team was working on another deal for a veteran player. "On my initial review of our roster I realised we needed depth and scoring. In making this trade we picked up some guys that can really help us in both regards" said Jordan.

Nobody was able to make a deal with New Jersey to pry away the rights to Martin, who hugged his family, pulled on a Nets cap and then walked onstage with some of the reddest, wettest eyes ever seen on a No. 1 pick and shook commissioner David Stern's hand. The Nets had entertained numerous trade offers for the pick, but they decided to keep it and use it on the teary-eyed Martin. "People deal with different situations in different ways," said the 6-foot-9 center-forward whose collegiate career was ended prematurely by a broken leg. "That was my way of dealing with it."

Swift went second to the Grizzlies at the time, keeping a much calmer demeanor than Martin. A 6-9 power forward who left school after his sophomore season, Swift had said he won't mind playing in one of the league's lesser-known outposts. A year ago, Steve Francis grimaced and put his head in his hands when Vancouver took him second overall, and he eventually forced a trade to Houston. The selection of Swift meant the Grizzlies initially looked like they would end up trading Othella Harrington, who has gone public with his distaste of playing in Canada. But minutes later it ironically was Swift that was heading away from Canada before he even got there.

The selection of Swift started a string in which the next 10 picks were all underclassmen.

Miles, who is entering the NBA straight out of high school in East St. Louis, Ill., had committed to St. John's before changing his mind and deciding to enter the draft after a stellar showing at the McDonald's All-America game. Miles, perhaps surprised at being chosen ahead of Fizer from Iowa State, came onstage and hugged the commissioner -- yet another draft-night rarity -- before patting Stern on the back of the head. "Kenyon almost had me crying for him," Miles said. "I almost got a little teary-eyed myself."

Fizer was taken by the Bulls with the fourth pick. It was the start of what would be a busy night for the Bulls, who owned three No. 1 picks as well as three consecutive picks early in the second round. Fizer, whose average of 22.8 points last season was the highest of the top four picks, left Iowa State after his junior year. If he stays with the Bulls, he'll be reunited with his former college coach, Tim Floyd.

Picking fifth, the Magic went for Florida forward Mike Miller. The somewhat surprising selection brought a burst of applause from the bus load of friends and relatives who drove down from Miller's hometown of Mitchell, S.D., and secured seats in the front three rows.

Atlanta selected Cincinnati guard DerMarr Johnson with the sixth pick, and Chicago took Mihm seventh and Crawford went eighth to the Cavs. "I didn't think I'd go this high. I thought I'd go somewhere in the lottery, but not eight," said Crawford, who played only 17 games for Michigan because of a 12-game NCAA suspension and averaged 16.6 points. "We thought Crawford would be taken as high as fourth -- we liked him that much," Floyd said. "We've always liked big guards here. We liked the guard, they wanted the big guy."

But the trade left the Bulls without a center, fueling belief that they might be able to acquire Jermaine O'Neal from Portland. Krause made a run at O'Neal last summer when he was a free agent, but O'Neal opted to sign with Portland. The selection of Joel Pryzbilla by the Houston Rockets with the ninth pick brought a different kind of impassioned response from the crowd at the Target Center. They booed -- loudly -- for the 7-1 sophomore center who played locally at Minnesota and quit the team late in the season.

Houston later traded Przybilla to Milwaukee for the 15th pick, Georgia Tech center Jason Collier, and a future No. 1. 21-year-old Hidayet Turkoglu of Istanbul, Turkey, went 10th to the Magic only to be packaged to the Grizzlies. Next UCLA power forward Jerome Moiso went at No. 11 to Boston. The Mavericks had the next two picks -- their own and the one they got from Orlando -- and took Syracuse forward Etan Thomas and Alexander. Thomas was one of the best shot-blocking forwards, while Alexander led the nation in scoring with a 24.8 average.The Detroit Pistons selected Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves with the 14th pick, keeping the captain of the national champions in-state. "I'm still pinching myself from that championship, and now I have to continue pinching myself for getting picked by Detroit," Cleaves said. "I feel like I'm in a fairy tale. I'm getting spoiled. It's like everything is going my way."

At No. 16, Keyon Dooling went to Sacramento. Seattle took Oklahoma State swingman Desmond Mason, the Clippers got DePaul guard Quentin Richardson, Charlotte took Kentucky center Jamaal Magloire, and Philadelphia took Hofstra guard Craig "Speedy" Claxton at No. 20. Toronto selected Michigan State forward Morris Peterson at No. 21 despite needing a point guard. The New York Knicks grabbed Florida forward Donnell Harvey -- but later traded him to Dallas -- and the Utah Jazz followed by taking a 19-year-old, DeShawn Stevenson of Washington Union High School in Fresno, Calif.

Next came the four foreign big men: 7-1 Dalibor Bagaric of Croatia to the Bulls, 7-foot-2 Iakovos Tsakalidis of Greece to Phoenix, 7-foot Mamadou N'Diaye of Auburn by way of Senegal to Denver and 7-foot Primoz Brezec of Slovenia to Indiana. Erick Barkley of St. John's went 28th to Portland, and the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers took Stanford forward Mark Madsen with the final pick of the first round. The Bulls got Connecticut guard Khalid El-Amin and center Jake Voskuhl with two of their three second-round picks. Oklahoma forward Eduardo Najera of Mexico who was taken by Houston at No. 38 and then traded to Dallas for the No. 31 pick, Vanderbilt forward Dan Langhi.

Duke guard Chris Carrawell dropped to the Spurs at No. 41, and Nigerian center Olumide Oyedeji fell to No. 42 and was picked by Seattle. The host team, the Timberwolves, didn't select until No. 51 and took Yugoslavian guard Igor Rakocevic -- a choice that was booed. Dallas traded Rooks to the Clippers for guard Eric Murdock. "
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