The Demise of the Vancouver Grizzlies

In honor of the NBA draft that has recently passed us, I thought it would be fitting to write an article on a franchise that has seemingly been forgotten about by everyone.

The Vancouver Grizzlies.

The NBA draft is supposed to be a spot where teams can build themselves up or add that last missing piece. In Vancouver, that never happened.

The Grizzlies came along with the Toronto Raptors in 1995 amid the hype of "Canadian Expansion." While Toronto has made some sort of an impact in the NBA with a few solid playoff runs and good acquisitions, Vancouver is no longer even in Vancouver, as they became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001.

While on vacation in Vancouver recently my cousin (who was born, raised and still resides in Vancouver) and I were talking about the Grizzlies and how it would've been great if they could've succeeded in Vancouver. We then proceeded to go through possible reasons of why the Grizz never made it.

The answer? Poor management.

Blame this strictly on Stu Jackson's stupidity. Taking a look at their drafting during their six seasons in the NBA and while he was GM there, the team that could've been built never was.

Here's a year by year breakdown of the draft:

1995

The Grizzlies were due to pick at number six with Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett all taken off the board from numbers two to five. And with their inaugural pick the Vancouver Grizzlies select: Bryant Reeves!!! Big Country, COME ON DOWN!

Reeves was coming off his senior year at Oklahoma State, leading them to the Final Four while averaging 21.5 ppg.

While at the time this seemed like the logical pick, the more safe pick of Damon Stoudamire (who was ironically taken by Toronto at No. 7) and Brent Barry were on the board. 

For the first two years of his NBA career, Reeves did his best impression of an NBA player, avg 13.3 ppg and then 16.2 ppg the following year.

After year two, he was rewarded with a six-year, $61.8 million dollar deal. Suddenly he develops a "chronic back problem." And because of that, he plays sparingly and his numbers are mediocre at best.

He finally hangs it up in the middle of the 2001-2002 season when the team had already moved to Memphis and he had collected four out of six years' pay. Good job on that one, Stu.

It doesn't help that there was also a future All-Star by the name of Michael Finley falling all the way down to Phoenix Suns at 21. Oh well.

1996

This time, the Grizzlies moved up to the No. 3 pick due to a disastrous first season. With Bryant Reeves in place at center, the Grizzlies picked Shareef Abdur-Rahim at No. 3, with Iverson going one and Camby going two.

While never outstanding, Abdur-Rahim was solid and consistent; you can't ask for more. During his five year stint in Vancouver, Shareef averaged 20.96 ppg and 8.14 rpg; outside of his rookie year where he averaged 18.7 ppg he averaged at least 20 ppg for his remaining four years in Vancouver.

He was ironically traded during the 2001 draft for a No. 3 (who ended up being Pau Gasol) pick, Brevin Knight, and Lorenzen Wright.

But, (and there's always a but) look who else was on the board at the time: Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, KOBE BRYANT!!!! Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. 

The fans were pulling for the local boy Nash to be drafted. With a point guard in place to go with Reeves, they would've had the inside-outside game instead of using Greg Anthony at the point. That Kobe Bryant kid didn't turn out too bad, either.

1997

Two big men in place. NOW the Grizzlies decide to take a guard. Another bad year, another high pick. This time at No. 4 they take Antonio Daniels. What a complete failure this turned out to be.

In his only year with Vancouver, he averaged 7.8 ppg in 74 games. He was subsequently dealt that off-season to San Antonio. 

While this was an insanely weak draft, a high schooler by the name of Tracy McGrady did fall to the No. 9 pick (Toronto getting another 1-upper on Vancouver.)

1998

Considering that whole point guard blunder of 1997 known as drafting Antonio Daniels, they realized once again that they needed a PG. This time they took Mike Bibby. Solid pick: no complaints, considering they needed to start over again.

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