Some in Memphis believe Randolph will help them, hilarity to ensue

An amazing things about the NBA is that teams continue to think that Zach Randolph will help them win games. When Portland unloaded him to the Knicks for an expensive player that would never play (Francis) and one that would play very little (Frye) much of Rip City rejoiced. Knicks fans should have paid more attention to our reaction, but decided to boast about what a great deal Randolph was.

What people in New York know now is what people in Portland knew then; getting Randolph off of your team is worth any cost. He is a multipronged assault on winning basketball. The impressive statistics he puts up make him the ultimate trojan horse.

New York dumped Randolph, who was 27 years old and putting up excellent stats as always, to the Clippers for Tim Thomas and a Cat. Some in Clipperland couldn't believe the excellent deal they got. New York fans were mostly just relieved it was over.

Mr. Hoop Fam didn't last long in Los Angeles, either. After one injury plagued season (where he averaged 20 and 9, of course) the Clips got what they could for Zach. This time it was Quentin Richardson's expiring contract, which was promptly sent in Minnesota for Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen.

Now Zach is in Memphis. The story is set to repeat. Once again, there is actually some optimism of Zach's arrival. Check this article explaining why the deal might work. There are six factors working in favor of this improving the team, says Chris Herrington. I recommend reading the whole article, but here are those six factors in summary. My knee-jerk reactions in italics.

1. Zach has matured

Every player with ongoing issues gets a "... he has finally matured" buzz leading up to training camp. The fact that Zach has had several years of these articles should keep one skeptical enough.

2. He won't have any jackass teammates to encourage his stupidity.

The painful "you can have one knucklehead on your team" cliche is trotted out here. Yes, having an a-hole team culture can make things worse. Nobody knows this more than Blazer fans. But you got more than Zach Randolph when you pulled that trade, you got the whole Hoop Fam crew. It doesn't matter how many boy scouts Z-Bo has for teammates, away from the court he has his own cadre of "knuckleheads" to maintain the status quo.

3. Damon Stoudamire will keep him in line

Are you serious?

4. Contract year

There are tons of stories about Zach placing much greater concern on his statistics than team success. It seems like his contract year will only intensify this. You thought he was a black hole before? Get ready Memphis.

5. Teammates will compensate for his basketball weaknesses

On the surface it would seem that having a defensive center would minimize the impact of Zach's defensive woes. The problem is that Zach is such a liability your defensive Center juggernaught will spend a great deal of his time rotating over to help. With this constant need, this defensive Center is not only leaving his man open for put-backs or interior passing, but in contantly tending to Zach's responsibility he is rendered much less of a force in his own right. Ask Joel Przybilla.

6. The team doesn't have to commit to him long-term

We've seen that having Zach even for a short period of time is not going to produce wins for your team. Understand: having him at all is not good.

Grizz re-sign Darius Miles, naturally

The Memphis Grizzlies were so scared of Portland's e-mail threats they up and signed Big Pun pretty much immediately.

Many people who run sports teams are Type A personalities. When you tell somebody like that they can't do something, chances are they will just to prove that you don't control them. If Memphis didn't sign Miles, I'm sure somebody else would have. Maybe that wouldn't have happened if the e-mail didn't go out.

Miles will likely play the required two games and his salary will go back on Portland's books. It will make things a little tighter, but Portland already has the talent. In all this, don't forget it was Portland's fault. Hang the blame on Paul Allen for craving Miles in the first place and giving him the contract. And put it on the front office for pulling a shady move declaring Miles medically unable to play when he clearly can.

(Assist to Blaze of Love.)

Darius Miles waived by Memphis, team continues to sign players just for fun

As you have probably heard, Darius Miles has been waived by the Grizzlies. While Memphis cut him before his contract would become guaranteed, the experience wasn't a total loss for Miles. His brief Memphis career was long enough for him to serve his 10 game diet pills suspension, so if another team signs him he will be available to play immediately. Of course, if he couldn't cut it on Memphis I'm not sure teams are beating down his door.

The moved initially seemed to be done to make room for Shaun Livingston, who the Heat traded to Memphis for a second round pick. Then the Grizz waived Livingston. They would have just wasted the pick anyways.

Damon Stoudamire not happy with aging, Grizzlies agree

I'm feeling a little restless tonight. Last time, this resulted in the infamously wasteful "Consistent Stat." Tonight, there is a morsel of Blazer-related news to protect you all from a thousand-word post about statistics. Damon Stoudamire isn't getting playing time in Memphis, and he wants out.

The 34 year old Portland native and ex-Blazer has had it with having his playing time cut in the name of a youth movement, and is seeking a release or trade. Damon has defied odds for much of his career, at every level his height (generously 5'10) has fed skeptics. But at this stage, will any team be interested in his services? I've listed the age and the height, but there was also that whole season ending knee injury thing during in 2005-06. His contract has another year and 4.65 million after this one, so he's not yet quite entered the "expiring contract zone of hotness" recently occupied by luminaries like Theo Ratliff.

These elements would seem to make a trade relatively unlikely, at least for this season. If he can gut it out for the remainder of the year, it would likely be open season on that delicious expiring contract. Of course, then teams would be interested in his contract, not his skills, which would mean any opportunities to contribute on the court would be incidental.

So in the short term, Stoudamire needs to pray for a buy out. But there's a slight snag here. The Grizzlies lose 10.9 million a year, more than every other team except the Blazers and the Knicks. Due to the extreme wealth of the owners, the Blazers and the Knicks can deal. With the Grizz? Kind of an issue. That owner has a billion, not 16 billion. I want you to know I threw up a little typing that.

They'll do a buy out all right, as long as it means they don't have to pay nearly as much as the contract promises. Is the situation bad enough that Damon will walk away from millions? Is he ready to face the possibility that even if he does leave, teams may not exactly be lining up to offer him the role he wants? Expiring contract can be a tough role to adjust to, as can "former NBA player." But you never know, things could work out. Best of luck.

Sweet Road Victory!

Outlaw gets the ball off a broken in-bounds play, drives, and kisses a running jumper off the glass at the buzzer.

Portland 106, Memphis 105

Old road record: 0-9. New road record: 1-9. It feels better than it sounds. Get your drink and your two-step!