#WeTheWest: Vancouver Grizzlies Story

[trekfan]

KG!!!!! Represent, you got a fierce man to be a Grizzly.



Stoked. Baby KG on the Grizzlies? He may single-handedly turn all future Canadian basketball players into the best trash talkers on the planet.

[kibaxx7]

KG!!! Superb player to start your team! Will follow closely...

[RolePlayer]

Just saw this, wish I would’ve seen it earlier. Knew you were up to something when you started commenting

[RMJH4]

Quote: Originally Posted by trekfan

KG!!!!! Represent, you got a fierce man to be a Grizzly. Stoked. Baby KG on the Grizzlies? He may single-handedly turn all future Canadian basketball players into the best trash talkers on the planet.

Oh yeah, really gonna make people FEAR THE GROWL!!

Quote: Originally Posted by spiderxx7

KG!!! Superb player to start your team! Will follow closely...

Yeah, nice athletic player to start with, can play 3 spots fairly easily!

Quote: Originally Posted by RolePlayer

Just saw this, wish I would’ve seen it earlier. Knew you were up to something when you started commenting

Wanted to add to the suspense with the Draft Commentary, had so many ideas for how it was going to go down, so just thought i'd add it in to let you into my thought process. Watched the whole 95 draft back on youtube and it was clear they should have pushed for this to happen!!

[RMJH4]

Grizzlies hire Kurt Rambis as Head Coach.

The Vancouver Grizzlies are fast becoming the LA Lakers alumni. In particular the Showtime Era Lakers. After Magic Johnson was appointed the President of Basketball Operations, he swiftly moved to hire two former teammates. Mitch Kupchak as GM was first last week. Kupchak had requested former teammate Rambis to head his coaching staff. That now makes it a trio of former Lakers on the Grizzlies payroll.

As a player, he won four NBA championships while playing power forward for the Lakers. Rambis was a key member of the Showtime era Lakers and was extremely popular for his hard-nosed blue collar play. With his trademark black horned rim glasses, Rambis complemented the flashy Hollywood style of the Showtime era Lakers.

Rambis played college basketball for the Santa Clara Broncos. As a senior in 1980, he was named the player of the year in the West Coast Conference (WCC). Rambis was selected by the New York Knicks in the third round of the 1980 NBA draft, but began his career in Greece with AEK Athens before joining the Lakers. He also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings. Rambis became a coach in 1994, and served as Assistant Coach for the Lakers for the past season.

It really does seem like Magic Johnson wants to bring showtime to Vancouver.

"There are two things you should know about Kurt Rambis. He's patient. And he's a good teacher. We saw that starting with the Lakers last season. He is a smart high IQ guy, who can help us shape and grow this organisation in the right way." said Magic Johnson.

Rambis is no clone of Dell Harris. Instead, he's been playing the student role — watching, learning, presenting new ideas and growing.

The former Lakers assistant coach has been running the team in the training camp this summer. He has viewed the task as a stepping stone, a chance to showcase his skills, gain more experience and get a better feel for what a Head Coach goes through every season.

At the time Rambis was hired, Dell Harris praised his former assistants “work ethic” and said he had a “natural inclination to teach.” Those were the attributes that stuck out, and they were some of the reasons Rambis has earned a head-coaching job.

Rambis has been through his fair share of ups and downs as a player, something he believes will translate to becoming a better coach.

“I've been the guy out there before,” Rambis said, “I've been through every situation as a player. It gives me a little bit of an upper hand. I can relate to guys. I tell them about experiences I've been through and what you have to do to be successful at it.

“I've been around a lot of different organizations as a player, so I got to see the good and the bad, and I can kind of pull from those experiences when I'm coaching — what I will do, what I won't do. I am truly excited to be part of this new franchise here in Vancouver.”

What he will do is continue to show the patience he showed as a player, going from Santa Clara to Greece, to multiple stops and titles in the NBA.

"Its going to be a learning curve, for me, for Mitch and Magic, for our drafted players, for the city of Vancouver. But we will embrace it."

[studbucket]

Oh wow.

All of those guys have inconsistent histories in their roles. There's a talented pedigree there, but a lack of experience too. This could be brilliant, zagging when others zig, or it could be naive and arrogant and blow up.

[trekfan]

Rambis? Hmm .... not sure about him, but I'm willing to roll the dice. Even if he's awful, Vancouver is an expansion franchise so their first HC won't likely be there longterm anyway. A few bad early years to help build the foundation wouldn't hurt their longterm prospects.

[RMJH4]

Grizzlies Roster Preview 1995-96.

The Vancouver Grizzlies look to have sorted through their roster and are set to roll into opening night. This week the Grizzlies rounded out their inaugural roster highlighted by young draftee Kevin Garnett.

Here are the previews by position:

Point Guard

#10 Darrell Armstrong

Armstrong is only in his 2nd NBA season. At the ripe old age of 28, Armstrong has played professionally for a number of years already. He was a more than able deputy for Penny Hardaway last season. The Magic's loss is the Grizzlies gain. Solid starter and plays with a chip on his shoulder.

#12 Matt Maloney

Maloney went undrafted in 1995, but played in the CBA last year with the Grand Rapids Mackers. A solid guard who can do a bit of everything, will get sparse minutes of the bench as Byron Scott will probably get more minutes as the backup Point Guard.

Shooting Guard

#30 Blue Edwards

Drafted in 1989, Edwards has bounced around the NBA. Spells with the Jazz, Bucks and Celtics have not been extremely successful for Edwards so far, but he will hope to make Vancouver home for longer. Edwards had a lot of promise when first drafted, but has never had a situation where he was guaranteed big minutes. Here is that chance. At 30 years old it's now or never for Blue. Expected to start on opening night.

#4 Byron Scott

Scott has been there and done it all. At 34 years old Scott has won 3 NBA titles with the Lakers alongside Magic Johnson and Head Coach Kurt Rambis. More recently he was a solid vet off the bench for the Pacers in their intense playoff series vs the Bulls and Knicks the last two seasons. Solid steady veteran off the bench and will provide a lot of tips to rookies like Garnett and Hoiberg. Will get backup minutes at both guard spots.

#20 Fred Hoiberg

Hoiberg, a multi-talented athlete, was the quarterback of the football team and the captain of the basketball team at Ames High School in Ames, Iowa. He led his basketball team to a state championship in 1991, and was honored as the State of Iowa's "Mr. Basketball" that year. He chose to play basketball for his hometown Iowa State Cyclones, then of the Big Eight Conference, over many other offers. Hoiberg was a First-Team All-Big Eight selection in 1995. Can shoot the lights out from 3, and the Grizzlies will look to give him plenty of opportunities early on.

Small Forward

#17 Rick Fox

Born in Toronto - Canada, Fox began his professional basketball career when he was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1991 NBA draft. As a member of the Celtics, Fox became the first rookie starter on opening night since Larry Bird in 1979 and made the 1992 NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 8 points per game. Fox played off the bench his first two seasons as the Celtics reached the playoffs for the last time in the Larry Bird era. Fox will start and play a lot, Canadians will get on board watching how tough Fox plays.

#9 Gerald Wilkins

Vancouver wanted to add a Wilkins to their franchise, but Boston ensured they didn't get Dominique, alas they had to settle for Gerald. He was a key player on the New York Knicks team of the late 1980s, consistently being the second-leading scorer after Patrick Ewing. The Cavaliers signed him in 1993 and hoped that Wilkins would be the final piece of the puzzle in order to finally defeat Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. He was even labeled as "the Jordan stopper." However, the Cavaliers were swept by the Bulls in the 1993 NBA Playoffs. He remained with the Cavaliers for a few more years, but languished due to injuries, especially during 1994–95 when he was out of action the entire season. Wilkins looks to bounce back this year but will not start over Rick Fox.

Power Forward

#44 Kenny Gattison

Gattison was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 3rd round of the 1986 NBA draft. A 6'8" forward-center, in 8 NBA seasons he has played for 2 different teams. He played for the Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Hornets.

His best season as a professional came during the 1991–92 NBA season as a member of the Hornets, appearing in 82 games (71 starts) and averaging 12.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Gattison's best years may be behind him but he still brings toughness, defense and rebounding on a nightly basis. Will start at Power Forward, but don't expect that to last long.

#21 Kevin Garnett

The 6'11 Rookie drafted straight from High School probably won't start early on, but don't expect this to last. Garnett can and has played both forward spots in High School. He has also handled the ball and initiated the offense a lot in High School. Expect lots of touches for the young kid as Vancouver want to see what they have here.

#40 Antonio Harvey

Harvey attended Southern Illinois University, Connors State College, the University of Georgia, and Pfeiffer University. He was bypassed in the 1993 NBA draft. After playing during summer 1993 with the Atlanta Eagles of the USBL, he signed as a free agent in 1993 with the Los Angeles Lakers, for whom he started on opening night of the 1993–94 season. Last season, Harvey was in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. In the contest, he was famed for when he waited until the final seconds to do a 360-degree dunk, but missed it, ending in 4th place.

Harvey is quite unlucky that the Grizzlies drafted Garnett. But he will make it an interesting fight for playing time at the 4 spot.

Center

#33 Yinka Dare

Dare was selected in the first round of the 1994 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets, agreeing to a six-year, US$9 million guaranteed contract. In his rookie campaign, he played for three minutes before getting injured (torn ACL) and missing the rest of the season.

This is a make of break season for Yinka and the Grizzlies.


#8 Isaac Austin

Austin was born in Gridley, California. A 6' 10" (2.08 m) center from Kings River Community College and Arizona State University, he was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round (48th overall) of the 1991 NBA draft. He averaged two points and 1.1 rebounds during his rookie season with the Jazz, and after two more sub-par seasons, he signed to play with Tuborg İzmir, a Turkish basketball team.

After a poor season with the 76ers in 1994-95, Austin is determined to give it one more go this year with the Grizzlies. May take the starting center spot if Dare doesn't live up to the hype.

#34 Stacey King

After a stand-out career at the University of Oklahoma, King was selected by the Bulls in the 1989 NBA draft with the sixth pick. He was one of three first round picks by the Bulls in that draft (the other two were B. J. Armstrong and Jeff Sanders. He played four and a half seasons in Chicago before being traded during the 1993–94 campaign to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for 7'2" Australian-born center Luc Longley. King should have a few good years left if he can stay healthy. He joins Byron Scott as the most successful player with 3 NBA titles each.