HoopWatch

The Memphis Grizzlies franchise has no future to speak of. They have a very dim road ahead, and that has even been highlighted by their worst record in the NBA. They are currently at 19-56. Yes, just 19 wins, a far cry from their 49-33 season last year.

The Grizzlies went to the playoffs for the third straight year last season ever since moving to Memphis from Vancouver. But, they were swept by the Dallas Mavericks, their third straight year being swept by their first round nemesis. They are now an NBA low 0-12 in the playoffs.

But their misfortunes were just beginning. It all started when rumors spread that the franchise is for sale at 350-million dollars. Owner Michael Heisley just cannot figure out how to bring the fans back to the FedEx Forum. Then, there are still no definite buyers till now.

Then general manager Jerry West may just have spent his last season in Memphis, as reports have stated that he is on his way out. Then coach Mike Fratello, who took over the reigns from Hubie Brown, did not finish his last season with the Grizzlies. He was replaced by Tony Barone from Duke University in the middle of the season.

What compounded the matter to becoming worse was the injury to superstar center Pau Gasol, who tore his right patellar tendon in the World Championships while playing for Spain. The Grizzlies had a very bad start, and things did not even go well when Gasol came back in late December. The star center even wanted to be traded. But no good deal came their way on one of the quietest trade deadlines ever.

It appears right now that the Grizzlies are going to have the best chances of winning the Greg Oden-Kevin Durant lottery come draft day. And they have a lot of issues to answer. And they have to trade Pau. There’s no use keeping a player who does not want to play for you anymore. They have to shop for big names. But first things first, if Heisley really wants to sell the team, he’s got to find a buyer pretty soon. If not, he needs to find a way to keep his players and fans happy.