Juan Gone
It appears that the Grizzlies guard situation has cleared up a little bit, with news that Juan Carlos Navarro returning to Spain, reportedly signing a 5-year, $25 million deal with FC Barcelona, his former team.
While it helps the Memphis clear up their crowded PG situation, possibly even putting them back into the mix for a guard in next week’s draft, it is a major blow to an already depleted Grizzlies bench, as Navarro averaged 10.9 points, while playing an average of 26 minutes/game.
Navarro was really one of the more consistent Grizzlies all of last season, his first in the NBA after a lengthy career overseas. He, along with Kyle Lowry, were the only two Grizzlies to play in all 82 games and he started 30 games last season. When Navarro was coming off the bench he was really one of the only consistent scorers off the bench.
But I really can’t blame Navarro, as while his best friend (Pau Gasol) was traded to the NBA Final-bound Lakers, he was stuck in Memphis, TN, a far cry from Barcelona. Add this to the fact he was a restricted free agent and the Grizzlies would probably match any offer they received meant Navarro would be returning to a rebuilding NBA team. So he chose comfort, and honestly, more money, in returning to his former team, FC Barcelona.
Navarro returning to Spain pretty much ends any chance of Marc Gasol coming over to play for the Grizzlies, as big brother Pau was a big part of Navarro coming over to the Grizzlies in the first place. I would imagine a big part of little brother Marc coming to Memphis would depend on Navarro recruiting him over here. With Navarro gone, I now see little to no chance of Gasol signing with the Grizzlies.
This now leaves the Grizzlies with a bench of Kyle Lowry, Javaris Crittenton, Jason Collins, and Brian Cardinal…it’s going to be a fun year barring some big off-season moves.
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5 Responses to “Juan Gone”
June 20th, 2008 at 6:03 am
I feel sorry for you guys.
First the Grizzlies have trouble convincing players in the draft to work out for them, now you have players who would prefer Europe to Memphis.
Maybe the Grizzlies should move to Las Vegas? Yeah, thats one hell of a wild idea, but Las Vegas might be more a appealing place to play.
Sorry but its hard to convince a player to go to Memphis when they could go somewhere like LA, New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix, Dallas, Philly etc.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Yeah, you have a hard time convincing players to come to Memphis when you say you’re in a rebuilding mode over the next few seasons, the fact that we’re in the stacked Western Conference only hurts us more.
Plus, the incompetence of this franchise has been well-published in the media. First, through the whole ownership sale attempt that was botched las year, and then through the Gasol trade. Those two things were highly publicized and really put the franchise in a bad light, showing that an owner, from Chicago, who wants to sell the team but only for the right price, is really incompetent.
This media image, along with the team cutting payroll to deal with another season of little-no attendance really don’t make the Grizzlies that attractive of an option to prospective players, especially free agents.
I mean, would you really want a player that chose $ over winning anyways? I know I wouldn’t, but that the type of players this team gets, along with the players contending teams don’t want.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Looks like you’re wrong about the Gasol angle. Various outlets are reporting that Marc will sign a three year deal here. Coming so close to the JCN signing, this may have contributed to the hefty contract that JCN received (FC catching wind that they wouldn’t be able to sign Marc throw some of that cash JCN’s way…).
June 20th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I think that the Pau Gasol trade showed that the Grizzlies front office wants to save money more than it wants to win basketball games.
That would definitely deter players who want to win.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:50 am
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