Do the Memphis Grizzlies Owe Success to Michael Heisley or in Spite of Him?

Billionaire Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has made a career out of turning around organizations. Heisley owns Heico Companies, a Chicago-based holding companies that specializes in buying struggling and bankrupt businesses to shape them up. His first company, Conco, made sewer and drain equipment. Similar to Heico holdings, the Grizzlies sat in the sewer before Heisley bought them.

Is it to Heisley's credit that the Grizzlies went from sewer fodder to winners?

While Heisley deserves some credit, he hardly did any fashioning to make them winners. Indeed, Heisley put the money in place to pay for stars like Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph. Heisley did hire Jerry West, and more recently, Chris Wallace to run the basketball operations of the team.

More than anything else, the Grizzlies are indebted to Heisley for moving them from Vancouver to Memphis. Vancouver is better suited for hockey than basketball. Memphis is a basketball hotbed that is much better than Vancouver as a basketball city. Among the 28 NBA players born in Memphis are Anfernee Hardaway and Louis Williams.

Others Contributed Much More to Grizzlies Success.

Despite the move, Heisley has less to do with the success of the Grizzlies than players, coaches, and general managers did. West and Wallace had to decide to leave comfortable large market franchises for the small market Grizzlies, which receive far less news media attention than the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Hubie Brown had to sacrifice to coach the Grizzlies. Brown—who has suffered sudden illnesses--took a chance with his health. Also, Brown left retired life at age 69 to coach the Grizzlies and that was an old age for him to tackle the egos of the NBA. 

Both Brown and West would be rewarded for their risks by turning them into winners for the first time.

Wallace pulled a risky move by trading for troubled star Zach Randolph, but the trade has paid off. Randolph has played like no one else in Grizzlies history. Only in August when someone was shot at Randolph's house has he encountered trouble while with the Grizzlies.

Before anyone launches into the argument made by the likes of former Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause ("Management wins championships," he once said.), one must remember that winning happens on the court.

Along with other players, Randolph has helped make the Grizzlies a successful team. In the last two seasons, Randolph has put up better rebounding numbers than anyone in Grizzlies history (11.7 per game in 2009-10 and 12.2 per game in 2010-11). Last season, Randolph carried the Grizzlies to the playoffs after Gay injured his elbow.

Pau Gasol was the only star on the first Grizzlies playoff team. While Gasol only averaged 20 points per game twice for the Grizzlies, he carried the team well in their string of three consecutive playoff appearances. Gasol's strengths as an interior scorer, rebounder and defender made up for the deficiencies of center Lorenzen Wright.

Heisley Is in New Territory Re-Signing Stars.

Even though Forbes ranks Heisley as the 279th richest American with a net worth of $1.5 billion, Heisley does not freely spend his money on the Grizzlies. After trading Gasol, Heisley famously remarked, "What are we supposed to spend, $100 million?"  Last year, Heisley pushed draft picks Xavier Henry and Grievis Vasquez for hard bargains--even though they were low picks.

Apparently, Heisley is trying something new by re-signing Randolph and Gay to big deals. Randolph received $84 million for four years in the offseason and this summer, Gay inked a five-year, $80 million deal.

One might wonder why Heisley would put up such amounts for star players.

Two cynical ideas may explain this occurrence. First, Heisley might be pulling a bait-and-switch on Grizzlies fans. Heisley may—for whatever reason—be readying to sell the players off on the trade market whenever the moment is right. Then, he will revel as fans sulk.

Second, Heisley might pull a play out of the Jerry Reinsdorf playbook. Like Reinsdorf did with the Bulls, Heisley might allow the Grizzlies and their fans to enjoy their glory for a few years. Maybe the Grizzlies will win a championship in that time. However, after some years elapse, Heisley might turn the good players out of the club.

Heisley may let Randolph, Gay and others go when their contracts expire. As Reinsdorf did to Jackson, Heisley might tell Lionel Hollins he is no longer welcome to coach the team.

Then, Heisley will stroke the Grizzlies for cash while the Grizzlies return to their humble place in the cellar.

Conclusion: The Grizzlies aren't Heisley's team.

He might provide the purse. However, Hollins and the players provide the wins. Randolph provides a combination of scoring and rebounding unrivaled by any Grizzlies player in the history of the organization. Gay provides a nice shooting touch and both work hard for their large salaries.

Hollins is responsible for the tone of the team. He comes up with the game plan and provides the strategy, not Heisley.

Toughness—a large part of the Grizzlies ethos—is seen on the court. Randolph brings it on the boards while Tony Allen and Mike Conley bring it through on-ball defense. The success of the Grizzlies comes from toughness shown by the players.

Heisley might bring toughness in a board room, but that is not what makes the Grizzlies winners.