Message Board Responses
I don't have time to read every post of every thread on the team's official message board, but I do try to keep tabs on it to see what die-hard fans are talking about. Perusing it tonight, I ran across a few issues I might be able to shed a little light on:
1. There a lot of outrage and umbrage on this thread about ESPN.com's Chad Ford's recent suggestion that Sixers unrestricted free-agent Andre Iguodala is "coveted" by Grizzlies.
I can say with some certainty that Iguodala was coveted by the Grizzlies. Back during the season, discussions with team decision-makers after the Pau Gasol trade gave me the strong impression that the restricted free-agent the team was most interested in was Iguodala, as opposed to other options such as Monta Ellis, Josh Smith, or Emeka Okafor. Even then, though, doubt was expressed over the ability to pry him from Philadelphia.
I think the acquisition of O.J. Mayo has changed all that. I haven't heard Iguodala's name or any other high-profile name mentioned since the draft. (One name I have heard mentioned as a subject of possible interest: Minnesota bruiser Craig Smith.) I suspect Ford's info is outdated, but perhaps he knows something I don't.
2. This thread asks whether the team's summer-league games will be televised locally (in addition to NBA-TV telecasts), as was the case last year.
According to a someone on the broadcast staff I corresponded with today, there is currently no plan for additional broadcasts. The team is, however, sending a videographer to Las Vegas and plans to provide daily video packages on the team's web site.
3. This thread weighs an optimistic Commercial Appeal story about post-draft ticket sales against a more tempered Chris Vernon report.
I spoke to a high-level team source Sunday and when I asked if the draft was having a big impact on ticket sales, he declined to characterize it as such, instead saying that the draft activity seemed to have "stopped the bleeding."
