The onslaught of hate on Randolph lasted months, along with the bashing of Grizzly management, ownership, etc. 90% of the online community was pissed for some reason; I guess they simmede to think
Of course, I spent wasted time in forum trying to explain to "noobs" that an NBA team like the Grizzlies would play a faster pace and shoot 80+ Shots Per Game... and very few people listened. I tried to explain that Mayo, Gay, and Z-Bo combined to make a solid SG/SF/PF scoring combo and little-BIG3(aka Celtics SG/SF/PF = Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett). I tried to explain that while yes, the Celtics Big-3 were a bit more mature (well, a lot more mature), that the Griz plan was great.
Just in case, for those who might not waste as much time watching/living the NBA like me Zach Randolph's nickname is Z-Bo. Don't ask me why, but it works for me.
I even added up the FGA's from the PREVIOUs year of OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Zach Randolph, and it was like 50 Field Goal Attempts between the 3. Let's also note that each of these players logs anywhere from 36 to 39 minutes a game, meaning their backups at SG, SF, and PF are limited to 10 minutes on the court to relieve the little'BiG-3. 50 FGA? Throughout the game they are going to shoot over 80 shots as a team.
So rationally and logically, how could that be "not enough shots to go around"? That's 30+ FGA's for the 2 other starters (Conley, a 12ppg pass first PG; Marc Gasol, a near 60%FG Center that anchors the D), and a bench that really has nobody to come in and shoot 10 FGA's a game or anything. To me the trade made 100% sense; yes they did have to believe in the trade since Zach's contract went one extra year over Quentin Richardson's(who they traded him for), but I believed they were correct as well.These were all points I wrote down in AUGUST of 2010 right when the trade happened. Now I want to fast-forward to REAL-TIME ANALYSIS of what I was thinking. Remember, I was in the minority while everyone else was screaming "Zach will DESTROY the chemistry of the amazing young players in Memphis: OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay". So..........
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-Memphis Grizzlies-
2008-2009 Season (without Z-Bo)
Record: 24 wins, 58 losses (Lottery Draft, 2nd Overall Pick on Thabeet)
* Rookie Darrell Arthur started a majority of the games (63) at Power-Forward & 19 mpg. Warrick was just a more productive PF when he came off the bench, and was their "main" PF.
(So in the 2008-09 season Gay and Mayo combined for 31.6 of the teams 77.0 Field Goal Attempts per game. Maybe the Bobcats shouldn't of traded for Stephen Jackson this season... I mean he takes close to 20 FGA's while the BobCats already had Wallace, Diaw, Felton, who totaled much more than 31.6 FGA's. But adding a 20 FGA per game scorer like S-Jax made them a playoff team, and adding Z-Bo nearly did the same thing for the Grizzlies.)
2009-2010 Season (with Z-Bo starting PF 38 minutes / game)
Record: 40 wins, 42 losses (almost made the playoffs in the West)
(My point is I would hope my 2 best pure scorers would shoot 16 shots a game, but it's never a problem to have 3 players that are 16 FG Attempt scorers as long as you have the right pieces around them. The Grizzlies happened to have PERFECT pieces around them; their main problem and reason they didn't make the playoffs was the fact that they literally have NO BENCH. I liked their late pickup of Ronnie Brewer, though he's an RFA and not quit the scoring SF/SG they need off the bench. If they can sign a SG and SF, or just a solid swingman capable of playing both SG/SF, they will be competing for the playoffs. Especially with Thabeet developing into an NBA capable backup Center that should contribute quite a bit more this upcoming season for 2010-2011.)
*( pg = Per Game )
2008-09 TEAM
77.0 FGA's pg, 93.9 points pg, FG%45, 3ptFG%36---------------------------------------------------------------------
83.8 FGA's pg, 102.5 points pg, FG%47, 3ptFG%34
2009-10 TEAM
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-CONCLUSION-
I wanted to rub it in my own face that I was right about the Z-Bo trade being a smart move by Grizzly management and it made the team turn from a young, lottery team into a playoff contender. Not bad for ONE trade and taking on 6 million extra for this previous season and 16 million more next year (yes $16 million is overpaying Z-Bo, but it's perfect for the Griz current financial / player / salary situation).Simply put, Z-Bo was worth 16 wins (in a sense; the other players adapting to the new lineup helped). 16 wins! That's more than Pau Gasol did for the Lakers when he came there....
But please, all you NBA forum talkers and bloggers, keep calling Zach Randolph "a cancer to any team" and "the worse 20/10 player ever" among other things. Sure his defense isn't good, but go look at his production at www.82games.com. He's simply put a +7 points per game player at PF, meaning his efficient and skillful offense and rebounding are outweigh his poor/mediocre defense by quite a bit. That's pretty damn solid.The Grizzlies have another draft pick and money to spend this summer if they choose to use it. If they can pickup a solid swingman to play 20 minutes off the bench and provide 10+points a game and Thabeet can really backup Gasol at center, this team is will stare at 45-50 wins, and the playoffs, all season assuming they suffer no major injuries (knock on wood).
(PS: Did I mention that Zach Randolph was voted an ALL-STAR, for the first time, by the COACHES AND MANGERS of the NBA? We aren't talking the starting 5 All-Stars voted by fans, which is a joke always, but the actual All-Star backup's voted in by smart Coaches, Owners, and Managers.)
