Apologies to Chris Wallace
I've bashed Chris Wallace in the past but I have to give him his due: his Grizzles team is pretty fun to watch. Not only that but they are also winning some games. How'd this happen?
One of the main reasons is that his two much maligned trades have paid off. The first, which I and pretty much everyone, bashed was the Pau Gasol trade. As it turns out, it wasn't a bad deal at all. It dumped Pau's contract and brought over his talented (and tougher) brother Marc who has been solid so far. Marc has a nice offensive game and doesn't seem to wilt when the going gets tough ala Pau. Also, one of the picks helped bring in Darrell Arthur who has also been solid. It took him all of one game to win the starting spot over Darko Milicic. That's a nice honor but I think the Grizz might be better off with Arthur coming off of the pine. Still, that's two solid players for Pau and the Lakers still owe Memphis a pick in the future.
The other trade, which I liked but some hated, was getting OJ Mayo. Kevin Love has been better than I expected and should prove to be a good NBA starter but OJ Mayo has the potential to be a star. The funny thing about Mayo is that for all of the hype and whispers about his attitude, he isn't flashy and seems team oriented. He has better court awareness and passing skills than many gave him credit for but he definitely needs to work on his shot which isn't falling yet. Still, I think taking on Marko Jaric's contract was more than worth giving up Love (and Mike Miller, who hasn't exactly been lighting it up for Minny).
Another key is the maturation of Rudy Gay. He's really taken to being the man on the team and is working well with Mayo. His defense has improved a bit but he still isn't anywhere near where he could (and should) be.
The wild card could be the PG position. Mike Conley is solid but I don't think he warranted a #4 pick and he might be a back-up. I'm a huge fan of Kyle Lowry and think the Grizz could be better off selling high on Conley and trying to get a 2-guard in return. Mayo is good enough to run the point and the team could use a defender/3 point specialist at the shooting guard spot; someone who can feed off of Gasol, Gay, and Mayo while also handling the toughest assignments on D.
The most amazing thing though is that even some of his worst moments are coming up roses. The Darko Milicic signing was pretty terrible (as noted, it took him one game to get demoted), but since there are only two years left on the deal, Darko's contract comes off the books before the vaunted 2010 Free Agent Class so he has some trade value. With Antoine Walker's virtually expiring contract (he has a team option next year), Darko's deal, and some young talent like Conley, it's not beyond reason to think that Wallace could be adding a legit talent at the midseason trade deadline.
