Zach Randolph: A Leader, a Defensive Presence, an MVP Candidate...WHAT?

It was not too long ago that Zach Randolph, also known as "Z-Bo" around the league was being shopped around the league by the New York Knicks because he was public enemy number one and one of the biggest team cancers in the NBA. He has always had the potential to average 20 points/10 rebounds and he has done it before. However, through the years he has gained a bad reputation around the league as a black hole, a defensive liability, a cancer and a generally immature player and person. This was evident when he punched Louis Amundson last season as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. People were ready to give up on Zach but he came back with a vengeance in 2009/2010.

Randolph spent the summer of 2009 working on his game, more specifically his defense after he was traded by the Clippers to the Memphis Grizzlies in July. With Zach Randolph, there has never been a question of his scoring ability and his rebounding ability. He is a big body and has a solid low post game with a bit of a shooting touch for his size. His defense has never been anything to write home about. That changed this year.

Zach has been the leader of the very talented Memphis Grizzlies, who are currently looking like a playoff team. He has been setting an example for the younger players such as OJ Mayo, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley. This is an aspect of Zach's personality that NBA scouts had not seen until this year. He is leading vocally and by example. By averaging 21.0 points and 11.6 rebounds and leading the Grizzlies to a 25-19 record, Zach made his first NBA all-star team in 2010 as a reserve. This shows that the league has taken notice of his change in attitude and style of play.

Memphis is among the league leaders in low post scoring, offensive rebounding and defense. This is largely attributed to the play of Zach Randolph. They were one of the jokes of the league for the past decade, especially after Pau Gasol left. They needed a low post presence and they "took Randolph off the Clippers hands" by trading Quentin Richardson. This trade is starting to look like the biggest steal of the offseason. They get an all-star power forward for a troubled journeyman swingman that was likely never going to crack the rotation anyways.

After making the all-star team, with some more big wins against top teams, could Randolph end up in the MVP discussion? It is unlikely that he will win the award with players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James playing out of their minds this season, but he should at least be mentioned as a possible candidate. If the Grizzlies make the playoffs, and he continues to play as big on both ends of the floor, how can you not at least consider the big fella who went from the "black hole" to the all-star in one year?