So Hard to Say Goodbye: Three Favorite Memories from Courtney Lee’s Tenure as a Memphis Grizzly

The Memphis Grizzlies traded shooting guard Courtney Lee to the Charlotte Hornets two days prior to the deadline. We look back at some of his finest moments as a Grizzly.

It’s so hard to say goodbye because it’s been a fun ride watching Courtney Lee play for the Memphis Grizzlies. Lee arrived in Memphis when the team desperately needed outside shooting and uptempo scoring (well that’s pretty much always the case including right now), and it’s a little unnerving trying to picture the Grizzlies current offense without the benefit of his game.

Traded away two days before the deadline, C-Lee is now a member of the Charlotte Hornets and he’ll be missed by many if not all. It all seems so abrupt.

A couple of hours after the trade was reported, I went to check statistics for this post by viewing a game log listed on Courtney’s ESPN player bio page. Then it got way too real when I saw that the heartless bastards had already changed the watermark logo behind his photo to a Charlotte Hornets logo, before the gears of the trade machine had even begun to cool, like all those games played for Memphis meant nothing. As the cliche goes for these situations, “it’s a business,” and the Grizzlies saw an opportunity to stake his expiring contract as a means for acquiring new assets that will allow them to remain competitive in an ever-changing league. C’est la vie.

Lee was a reliable scorer for the Grizz and gave us some memories we won’t soon forget. As we bid Courtney Lee a fond farewell, let’s take a moment to look back on a few of the best moments from his two-plus years as a Grizzly and countdown three favorites.

Next: 3: The Closer