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#FactsOnly T-Shirt

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Grizzlies owner Robert Pera addressed the fans via Twitter for the first time since the front office shakeup on Sunday night. Pera said he would be conducting a Q&A with fans using the hashtag #FactsOnly–so we thought it would be fun to make a t-shirt.

Details:

The shirts are $17 and at least 30 must be purchased for the order to printed. If the goal of 30 isn’t reached, you will not be charged. You can see additional details on the Teespring site. We’ll run the campaign for a week and if the goal is reached the shirts will be printed and shipped.

Get one:

Teespring.com/factsonlygrizz/

Design:

Memphis Grizzlies: #FactsOnly Shirt (Front)

Joerger Returns to Grizz & Robert Pera Answers Questions on Twitter

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The news broke Sunday evening that Dave Joerger would be returning to the Grizz as head coach. What was perhaps more surprising was that the news that the Grizzlies wanted him to be the head coach going forward as well. There were conflicting reports at first. First many people said the Timberwolves were simply unwilling to compensate the Grizzlies for a coach they knew Memphis didn’t plan on keeping–and asking Joerger to return as coach would force the Grizzlies to fire him so the Timberwolves could hire Joerger. Then stories slowly started to change. And the narrative quickly became the Pera and Joerger had spoken Saturday night, perhaps for the first time, and came to an understanding and willingness to move forward and keep building the team together.

Then Pera finally addressed the fans. Not with a press conference or news release, but on Twitter. Which makes perfect sense for a young owner with his background in the tech industry. It took local media by surprise, but it was likely as authentic of an interaction as anyone has had with Pera since he took over ownership and let Levien run the team. Pera used the hashtag #FactsOnly during his Q&A, implying that much of the information in the media to this point has been spun so much that it was almost impossible to see reality from the just spin from sources close to the previous front office. Pera answered many questions about a range of topics both related and unrelated to the Grizzlies. He mentioned the he and Joerger spoke one on one over the weekend for one of the first times and he now knows Joerger 100% wants to be in Memphis and Pera thinks he is a great coach. Pera also mentioned the ongoing GM search and that he wanted Chris Wallace to be involved in the organization in some capacity regardless of who is chosen for GM.

Robert Pera Twitter Q&A

Then this morning Chris Mannix from SI posted a column headlined Grizzlies are a mess despite Joerger’s unexpected return. The column spoke about some of the rumored stories surrounding Pera’s time as owner, including Pera wanting the coach to wear a headset on the sideline similar to football coaches. Pera responded to the accusations in the column via Twitter as well. Althouh its hard to see the truth from the outside, what is becoming clear is that there are two very different sides to this story and the side that no longer has a job has many connections in the media and is spinning the outrageous stories harder with every day that passes.

Response to Mannix

https://twitter.com/RobertPera/status/470970363619606528
https://twitter.com/RobertPera/status/470970715261239296
https://twitter.com/RobertPera/status/470977123834789889

Chris Ryan: Madness in Memphis and Two Glorious Days of Sports Talk Radio ➡

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It has been an absolutely crazy week and it just seems to keep getting more insane. I honestly don’t know how the rest of the city handles it, but I choose therapy by sports talk radio. Judging from Twitter–I thinks its safe to say I’m not the only one. The fun thing about sports talk radio in Memphis is that when things are going crazy, at least you don’t feel alone in the silliness. Also–many of the silliest things happen on the sports talk shows in this town.

And this week was particularly silly. From everybody finding out about the Jason Levien firing Monday at the end of Chris Vernon’s show, to Geoff Calkins having to leave to make calls regarding Dave Joerger receiving permission to interview with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, to Chris Wallace telling us all this was very normal on Chris’s show Wednesday afternoon. And finally Tony Allen shows up in studio on Chris’s show on Thursday. Just when you need him most. And makes us all remember it’s about the players. The player’s are what made this city fall in love with this basketball team and that core of players will for sure be back next yea–no matter what craziness keeps happening in the front office.

Chris Ryan from Grantland caught on to the talk radio craziness that has been going on here this weekend and wrote a great post about it. We’ve had some memorable talk radio weeks in this city, but this has to be right at the top.

From the column

But, man, if you aren’t listening to “The Chris Vernon Show,” on 92.9 ESPN in Memphis (disclosure: “The Chris Vernon Show” and Grantland are both part of the ESPN mother ship), you are getting only half of the glory of this whole saga.

How else would you know that Tony Allen found out about the front-office shakeup via “Google searches,” or that Pera challenged Allen to a game of one-on-one a while back? And that Joerger allegedly threw himself in front of that tragicomedy in the making? “Tony Allen tears ACL in one-on-one duel with Pera” is not a Memphis Commercial-Appeal headline anyone wants to read.

Did you know that Pera apparently went into the locker room early in the season and told various players that they would be getting playing time, without consulting with Joerger? Or that someone saw Chris Wallace buying a couple of suits earlier in the week? Sartorial power move! Do you know that despite all this madness, and the perception that Pera is kind of a loose cannon, Tony Allen is still #TeamPera? And do you know that Tony likes to sing Future before he’s interviewed on the radio?

Tony Allen Arrives In-Studio

Chris Vernon Podcasts from this Week

Chris Vernon with Chris Wallace

Chris Vernon with Tony Allen

Sam Amick: Grizzlies fire CEO Jason Levien, assistant GM Stu Lash ➡

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From the column

The person said the situation relates to Grizzlies lead attorney David Mincberg, who has been pushing for an increased role for quite some time and appears to have won this front-office war. Mincberg had been mentioned in several media reports handling duties that are typically reserved for a team’s front office group, among them his involvement in the coaching situation last summer when the Grizzlies chose not to re-sign Lionel Hollins and instead promoted then-Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger. When reached by USA TODAY Sports, Mincberg declined comment.

Pera has become increasingly involved in the day-to-day operations, and his hands-on approach reached an unorthodox point following the Grizzlies season in which they recovered from the injury to center Marc Gasol to win 50 games for the third time in franchise history (they were 50-32) before losing in a seven-game first-round series to the No. 2 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. According to a second person with knowledge of the situation, Pera even conducted end-of-season player meetings at a hotel and independent of the front-office and coaching staff after the season. Typically, players meet with a team’s general manager and head coach.

It was immediately unclear what this might all mean for Joerger, especially in light of the ironic fact that Hollins is still available if Pera wanted to make a turn-back-time sort of change. The decision to part ways with Hollins and go with Joerger was spearheaded by Levien, but Pera’s decision to interview his players without the head coach or the front office representatives make it clear that he wanted to hear their true opinions and reflections about the season first-hand.

Grizzlies Press Release

MEMPHIS, May 19, 2014– The Grizzlies announced today that following discussions with management, the decision was made for Jason Levien and Stu Lash to depart the organization.

“Our franchise has made tremendous strides over the last few seasons and we thank Jason for his hard work and dedication and wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors,” said Grizzlies Controlling Owner Robert Pera.

“Rest assured that we remain as committed as ever to bringing a championship to this great city and we are confident that when the new season begins our fans will be excited about both our roster and the direction of our organization.”

Going forward, existing Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace will assume interim responsibility for the franchise’s basketball operations and Chief Operating Officer Jason Wexler will remain responsible for the franchise’s business operations.

Statement from local ownership group

MEMPHIS – May 20, 2014 – Joe Nicosia and Pitt Hyde, the representatives of Local Ownership on the Grizzlies Executive Committee, issued the following statement today:

“We would like to thank Jason for his contributions to Memphis and wish him well in his future endeavors. We fully support Robert in his building of a world class organization and look forward to continuing to work in concert to achieve our ultimate goal of bringing a championship parade down Beale Street. We are confident that as the 2014-2015 season draws near, all of Grizz Nation will share in our excitement regarding the future of this organization.”

Twitter


https://twitter.com/ChrisVernonShow/status/468481450237370368
https://twitter.com/ChrisVernonShow/status/468481990161756160

Geoff Calkins: Griz battle through end of unforgettable season ➡

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Today you should read Calkins’ column. This season had a lot of ups and downs–and the downs were not always fun–but this team fought and gave us memorial moment after memorable moment and reminded us why this city loves this team so much.

The column

But this was not a season for regret or second-guessing. This was mostly a blast. Not the start, necessarily. Not the injuries along the way. But nearly everything else. The emergence of folks heroes like James Johnson and Udrih. The unrelenting chase to get into the playoffs. The wins over the Heat, the Suns and the Mavs down the stretch. The four consecutive overtime games.

And even this last game, with everything lined up against the Grizzlies. How perfectly Memphis was that? And how perfectly Memphis was Conley’s conversation with Joerger in the wake of his injury?

“He decided he was going to play no matter what,” Joerger said.

So remember that guy, his leg wrapped in heavy bandages. Remember him sticking a jumper in Derek Fisher’s grill. And remember how, for one final, fleeting moment, he made you all believe.

Twitter

Video

Gary Parrish: Kevin Durant reliably dominates as Thunder force Grizzlies to Game 7 ➡

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The Oklahoman headline after the Grizzlies won Tuesday in OT in Oklahoma City was titled “Mr. Unreliable” referring to Kevin Durant and his less than super star performances in the first five games of the playoffs against the Grizzlies. He showed them he was anything but unreliable.

“I’m unreliable?” Kevin Durant asked when a television reporter presented him with the details a few hours before Game 6 of this Western Conference Playoffs series between the Thunder and Grizzlies. “Me? ‘Mr. Unreliable?’ That’s what they said?”

Durant was aggressive from the tip and so intense that, at one point in the second quarter, he told one of the Grizzlies minority owners sitting courtside (who was complaining about Durant complaining about whistles) to “Shut the f-ck up,” and I bet you won’t see that in a Sprint commercial any time soon. The 6-foot-11 wing led all players in points and rebounds while extending a series that the 18,119 fans who filled this downtown arena hoped would not return to Oklahoma City. But now this series is returning to Oklahoma City for a deciding game in which the Thunder will be favored by a notable margin, especially with Grizz point guard Mike Conley suddenly hobbled by a hamstring injury.

Chris Herrington: Sleepless in Memphis ➡

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Chris Herrington has has a new post up on ESPN’s TrueMemphis feature on the TrueHoop blog talking about the ridiculousness of this Memphis/Oklahoma City series including the four consecutive OT games and how two small market, relatively young NBA cities have been involved in some of the craziest games in NBA playoff history over the last two weeks. (Check it out)[http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/67900/sleepless-in-memphis].

Familiarity is supposed to breed contempt, but in this series it’s just breeding exhaustion. These teams don’t look like they want to fight; they look like they want to nap. Especially Durant, who has played 238 of 260 minutes and taken 125 shots through five games, much of it with Allen erecting a second home within Durant’s personal space. All this after leading the league in regular-season minutes.

Brian Phillips: Four Days in Memphis ➡

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One of the best things about the NBA playoffs is having people from around the country discover Memphis for the first time. Brian Phillips, a Thunder fan and writer for Grantland, was one of these people and recounts some of the interactions he had in his four days in Memphis.

This is why having a relevant NBA team is awesome. It gives Memphis positive national exposure and people that may have no reason to discover the city are finding reasons to come and almost always leave with amazing stories. And not just stories about the great places to eat and hang out, but they leave with awesome stories about the people of Memphis as well. Here’s hoping the Grizzlies can hold off the Thunder so we can keep hearing these stories.

Go read Brian’s column:

Here’s something about Memphis, though: Little kids on the way to their seats will look you in the eye and smile.

What you maybe don’t know is that everyone in the stadium spent the entire game waving yellow “Growl Towels,” which, when shaken, shed an extremely fine yellow dander, so that by the fourth quarter the stadium sky was raining towel fuzz. Or how apeshit people went when the pro wrestler Jerry Lawler came out during a commercial break for a bit in which he hit a mock Thunder fan with a chair.

The Grizzlies crowd, though. Those guys will cheer you up. The towels are out and the roar in here sounds like an unafraid army.

Do you know how many conversations with total strangers I’ve had in Memphis? Normally I can barely talk to people I know well; here, it just seems like the most natural thing to start chatting with the guy next to you at the breakfast counter about the history of whiskey manufacture, or with the couple one table over about the Ann Peebles song on the barbecue-joint jukebox.

And around this moment I finally notice what it says on the front of the Growl Towels everyone’s waving. It says: “WE DON’T BLUFF.” And it hits me, finally, why I felt so furious about Silver’s performance in his press conference. It’s because he said this stuff in Memphis.

Gary Parrish: Another Tony Allen performance with a lot of good and a little bad ➡

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Gary Parrish wrote a good column recapping last nights Grizz game–particularly the Tony Allen craziness.

From the column

“I just play hard and compete,” Allen said. “It’s a competition. So I just want to keep competing and do whatever I can to help my team win.”

“It was a boneheaded play,” Allen said with a smile afterward, and how else to describe a foul on a Westbrook 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds of regulation that produced a 4-point play and allowed Oklahoma City to tie the score 85-85 and eventually force overtime?

Boneheaded.

Reckless.

Ridiculous.

Any of those words will work. Also this one: Predictable.

Allen nearly cost the Grizzlies a win in the postseason because of a foul on a 3-point shooter (who happens to be a terrible 3-point shooter, at least lately) in the final 30 seconds of a game in which Memphis led by four points, and that’s exactly the type of thing that would get another player murdered by the home fans. But not TA. Instead, folks merely shake their heads, grin at each other and trust that he’ll somehow make up for it soon, and the wild thing is that he almost always does.

…talking about some good things, some bad things, and the great thing about being just two wins away from again advancing in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Twitter

Video



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRcd4fpDmEE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMhyITvVjQA

Chris Ryan, Netw3rk and Andrew Sharp: NBA Playoffs Overnight: Masterpiece Grindhouse Theatre ➡

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Some of the Grantland guys recounted their experience of Thursday night’s playoff games. Their thoughts on the Grizzlies/Thunder games are pretty great. Many of their observations obviously center around the craziness of Tony Allen.

And you know what? I would do it all again. I like seeing well-coached, unselfish teams elevate the sport, but sometimes I just want to grab my squirrel suit and BASE jump. And that’s what watching Tony Allen and Russell Westbrook decide a game is like.