OT: Greg Popazit Is Pissed Off...Gasol Trade
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oohah
Posts: 26600 Alba Posts: 0 Joined: 4/7/2005 Member: #887 |
2/9/2008 4:39 AM
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-30-33/Memphis-GM-Chris-Wallace-to-Critics--Show-Your-Faces.html','311'
ESPN's Chad Ford has remarkable access to NBA GMs and recently used it to write a fascinating article (Insider) that included lots of talk from other GMs reviewing the Pau Gasol trade. Here's an excerpt: While most GMs weren't publicly venting their frustration on having missed out on Gasol, plenty were willing to do so privately. The excuses ranged from blaming Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace to blaming their owners to ... well ... pointing the finger in just about every direction but their own. One GM I spoke to asserted he had a better deal to offer, claiming that Wallace didn't return his calls. Another said that just two weeks ago, Wallace was asking for twice as much in return. If this GM had known the Grizzlies were lowering the asking price on Gasol, he would've made another offer, he said. A Western Conference GM said the Grizzlies' timing threw him off: "Big trades like this normally don't happen until after the All-Star break. Who would've guessed that the Grizzlies would've jumped the gun and taken such a lopsided deal three weeks before the trade deadline?" Another prominent GM said his owner vetoed any trade that would've pushed his team into luxury-tax territory. Sour grapes, anyone? So, how does Memphis GM Chris Wallace react to this? He went on Chris Vernon's radio show on AM 730 in Memphis and talked about GMs "pillow talking." You listen to the whole interview here. Everybody wants to curry favor with the media. They do all this pillow talking with the Chad Fords of the world. But they won't go on the record. I believe there's a code we operate under in this business. And you want to be critical, fine, but go ahead and be on the record. But everyone wants to go and do that catty gossip like some high school cheerleaders, and that's something I don't appreciate. It makes doing business a lot harder. I'll say this: Chris Wallace is refreshingly candid with the media. ************************************* oohah Good luck Mike D'Antoni, 'cause you ain't never seen nothing like this before!
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OT: Greg Popazit Is Pissed Off...Gasol Trade