MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: The draft night trade with Minnesota to obtain rookie O.J. Mayo was one of the best moves the Grizzlies have made in recent years. Mayo began the year scoring in double-figures for 25 straight games, including four 30-point games. He showed all year he was unafraid to take and make the big shot. Though he hit the rookie wall in February, he rebounded nicely and closed the year averaging 18.5 points, setting a Grizzlies' rookie record for most points in a season.
MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: Center Darko Milicic was serviceable to start the year and just seemed to be finding his game when he broke a knuckle against the Pacers on Dec. 26. When he returned after missing 18 games, he wasn't the same player. By the end of the season, he was buried on the bench. FREE AGENT FOCUS: Quinton Ross and Hakim Warrick are the primary free agents. Ross is unrestricted and Warrick is restricted. The Grizzlies will make a hard run at re-signing Warrick, who has been a steady inside scorer off the bench. He could get mid-level money and would be worth about a $5 million investment. Besides, he's a four-year veteran and the Grizzlies' oldest player. No one in the Grizzlies locker room is as well-liked and respected as Warrick.
PLAYER NEWS:
--C Marc Gasol said his emergence as an NBA starter hasn't changed his relationship with older brother Pau of the Lakers.
"It's the same old, same old," Marc said. "I'm very proud of Pau. He's a freak of nature. I've never seen anybody that tall who is athletic with that much coordination. He can shoot with both hands, he's a great passer and he gets everybody involved."
Marc said when he and Pau talked during the season, it wasn't about basketball.
"Pau called me a lot of times to take care of me," Marc said. "He knows that I hate to lose. I lost more this year than in five years as a pro (in Spain)."
--If University of Connecticut C Hasheem Thabeet is still on the draft board when it comes time for the Grizzlies to pick, Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace might be getting a call from F Rudy Gay, a proud former UConn player.
"I've played pickup games with him (Hasheem), and the thing about him is how much he progresses," Gay said. "From when he got to UConn until now, it's like night and day. That shows how hard he works. Any team likes a player that works hard."
--Don't expect the Grizzlies to re-sign F Darius Miles, especially after Miles was stopped by police on May 13 for possession of marijuana following a routine traffic stop in St. Louis. The 27-year-old forward was alone in his car in a suburb of St. Louis when an officer stopped Miles for allegedly failing to use a turn signal.
During a search of the car, St. Louis police Sgt. Steve Evans said police found a small amount of marijuana in a plastic bag in the passenger compartment. Miles was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession because the amount of the drug was less than 2.5 grams, which would have been a felony. He was later freed on $100 bond.
Miles, an unrestricted free agent who signed a contract with Memphis on Jan. 30 to play the rest of the season, played in 34 games for the Grizzlies this past season. Management got tired of Miles' diminished work ethic and a relationship with rookie G O.J. Mayo that seemed to involve off-the-court influence.
MEDICAL WATCH:
--F Quinton Ross (strained quad) and G Greg Buckner (strained left shoulder) missed the last few games of the season with nagging strains that should heal quickly with rest.
