Memphis Grizzlies: The Extinction Of The Grit N’ Grind Era
By AJ Salah
The Memphis Grizzlies are now open to trading their two franchise players. They’re admitting defeat, and the front office dug their own hole.
Memphis Grizzlies fans were hit with a serious #WOJBOMB on Tuesday evening. ESPN’s resident source-haver Adrian Wojnarowski broke that – predictably, after the past month – Marc Gasol and Mike Conley were on the trade market.
It was a drastic turn from November’s West-topping heights. For the second year in a row, the Grizzlies had their chairs pulled out from underneath them. Last time, it cost them their season. This time, it will cost them their identity.
While Z-Bo and the Grindfather, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, embodied the Grizzlies’ heart and soul during the Grit N’ Grind era, Gasol and Conley were their driving force. Their two-way brilliance truly made Memphis a team to fear.
Related Story. Grizzlies Have Made Marc Gasol And Mike Conley Available. light
But as the league trended away from the Memphis Grizzlies’ lumbering, physical style, their front office made misstep after misstep trying to keep up.
Fortunately, their imminent rebuild is a step ahead thanks to probable franchise dude Jaren Jackson Jr. But a team that could’ve remained competitive through Conley and Gasol’s prime has fallen apart. Here is Beale Street Bears’ breakdown of how: