VanMemphis Frizzlies 1994-95 PreSeason Press Conference Call

[LoCo89]

Somewhere in upper North Canada... (if you need a visual, think the exact opposite of the South Beach Presser)


A voice crackles over the speaker in the middle of the room

GM LoCo: HELLO!!!!

Poor IT person: Sir, you don't have to yell, just speak in a normal voice, like you're on the phone...

GM LoCo: Oh, uh sorry. Good evening everyone, sorry for the late call for this presser especially with these conditions. We just didnt feel right about asking the press to come up to our location. 

                     As you are all aware, the VanMemphis Grizzlies are in the process of opening two brand new practice facilities to better split time between both Memphis and Vancouver. When we decided to do this, we asked for input from both cities on what they'd like to see from us. Next off-season we will be opening and training in our Memphis facility which will be a practice facility as well as the location for the Rock and Soul Music. It will be a location that showcases the very best of Memphis's culture and history. 
                    
                    Our Vancouver location was a bit of a tricky situation (You can hear other people grumbling in the background. There's a definite "Man, fuck this place" heard from a Gatling-esque voice)

GM LoCo: SILENCE!!! ITS WHAT THEY WANTED!! Ahem... excuse me. The city of Vancouver wanted us to show a more humanitarian side, and have allowed us to put our name on a very special project that is dear to our hearts. They have allowed us to open a joint basketball and grizzly bear sanctuary in the upper north of Canada. Over 40 square mil-... er... kilometers of sanctuary and solitude in a remote region of Canada.

Hubie Davis: I wish we had a remote, we don't even have heat!!

GM LoCo: ITS FOR TEAM BUILDING HUBERT!!!! Anyways, like I was saying, this was very dear to our hearts, especially after the scandalous pictures surfaced of a mysterious person hunting grizzly bears. Our owner felt it was a good idea to dedicate a part of his wealth to our namesakes. So that is the reason we are having a conference call this season.

GM LoCo: On to basketball. Last season was very disappointing for us as we missed the playoffs. It gave us a lot of team to step back and re-evaluate our team and the moves we had made up to that point. We decided to be somewhat aggressive this off-season and hope that we will have more success than we had last season.

GM LoCo: First, after a tumultuous start to last season I made the decision to rid ourselves of some of the cap that we had acquired last off-season. We made a few key trades, that cost us two picks in the end but allowed us to get some cap space and pick up a young player in Hubie Davis that we are very excited about and hope that eventually he can be the face of our franchise. With the cap shed, it allowed us to bring back Brad Daugherty, our current franchise player and also allowed us to bring in a sure-fire leader and playmaker in John Stockon. We are once again very excited for this season and the challenges it will bring. If the press has any questions about the upcoming season, the off-season, or last season; please introduce yourself so I know who is asking and fire away. We have just about the whole team here ready to answer questions as we have just finished our last Training Camp practice and are leaving tomorrow

(The team begins cheering and hollering at the prospect of leaving the cold, frozen wasteland of upper Canada)



LoCo: TEAMBUILDING!!!

                

[TrayWithAnA]

Bump

[LoCo89]

May 13, 2014 21:26:24 GMT -6 TrayWithAnA said:

Bump

[J2]

Sup.

Is she your new mascot?

[LoCo89]

May 13, 2014 22:08:22 GMT -6 J2 said:

Sup.

Is she your new mascot?

[Nick Malone 77]

Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: how will John Stockton affect the nucleus of this teams development with Daughtry and Gatling as tenured Grizzlies?

[bowtothebill23]

Jack Markson from Golden Take. How many assists will Stockton average throwing it down to the 2 down low and letting Hubie light it up from 3?

[LoCo89]

May 13, 2014 22:22:23 GMT -6 Nick Malone 77 said:

Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: how will John Stockton affect the nucleus of this teams development with Daughtry and Gatling as tenured Grizzlies?

We believe that John can only help our team improve. Yes, he's up there in age, but we believe that his résumé speaks for itself in what he can bring to the team. In terms of specifics, last year Gatling had a bit of a slump and we're hoping that with both his veteran leadership off the court and playmaking ability on it, John can get him back to the form where Gatling looks like an All NBA teamer

[LoCo89]

May 13, 2014 23:12:47 GMT -6 bowtothebill23 said:

Jack Markson from Golden Take. How many assists will Stockton average throwing it down to the 2 down low and letting Hubie light it up from 3?

We're not usually in the business of making predictions here, admittedly, more often then not they blow up in our face. With so many new weapons, we expect there to be an adjustment period for John and Coach to learn the nest way to optimize Stockton's playmaking ability. I woll say this, we believe it could be very high with the offensive talent that we have

[WigNosy]

You had an awful lot of teams trying to pry Daughtry away from you the last couple of years. If the winning doesn't come quickly in VanMemphis, do you think his contract will deter possible suitors and keep your phones quieter?

[LoCo89]

May 14, 2014 11:37:47 GMT -6 WigNosy said:

You had an awful lot of teams trying to pry Daughtry away from you the last couple of years. If the winning doesn't come quickly in VanMemphis, do you think his contract will deter possible suitors and keep your phones quieter?

The phones have always been generally quiet regarding Brad honestly, but especially so this offseason. We received only one offer of a sign and trade and it was quickly rebuffed. He's a player who punches in, gets his 20 and 10 on 55+ shooting percentage, and punches out and we don't foresee any change to this. We have always felt that Brad was worthy of a max deal, and we're glad he chose to stay in VanMemphis. But yes, I'm sure the phones will become quieter, as teams aren't always built to take on a max contract player, so teams are automatically eliminated from consideration. It's not a concern for us though

[IamQuailman]

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