Jerry West introduced Chris Wallace as the new General Manager and Vice-President of Basketball Operations today.
I came away fairly impressed by Wallace, actually. He was very open and detailed in his responses, coming across as more candid and thorough than you’d expect from someone in that situation.
A few quick highlights for now:
Jerry West’s Future: West came out bleary-eyed and swinging, citing recent articles in the Commercial Appeal about the Wallace hire as “two of the most unfair columns I’ve ever read in my life” and referring to the articles as resulting in “two of the most personally disgusting days of my life.” Never a boring day with West around.
More to the point, West did a deft job of sounding definitive while leaving the door open about his future with the team: “I’m not looking to be a consultant,” he said. And, “I don’t need to be paid by Michael Heisley.” Notice he never actually says he won’t be a consultant. West said that the future of the Grizzlies would rest fully in the hands of Wallace and Marc Iavaroni, but he said at the same time that he — West — would be available to help in any way needed.
Favorite random weird West quote of the day: “I don’t want to be seen. I don’t want to be heard. I want to disappear". Jerry West: Basketball’s Keyser Soze.
Wallace’s role: Though Wallace is ostensibly left in control of the team’s basketball operations, he made it clear that the understanding is that he will work in partnership with Iavaroni. Wallace cited his tenure in Boston between the reigns of Rick Pitino and Danny Ainge, when he and coach Jim O’Brien were charged by ownership to operate in a fairly equal partnership and guided the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Wallace said he didn’t intend to be a “czar” (unintentional Fratello reference?) and stressed a collaborative relationship with the rest of the staff, particularly Iavaroni. Wallace mentioned Tony Barone Sr. by name and said he preferred to look within the organization for “hidden talent.” (Not sure how hidden the Barones are.) Wallace also indicated that he would be the one making decisions on draft night.
West said that Michael Heisley would be in town Wednesday for a staff meeting and suggested that new assistant coaches would be announced then as well as possible more news on the make-up of the front office.
Wallace’s take on the roster/his team-building philosophy: Wallace characterized the Griz roster as ripe for a “quick turnaround” and a candidate for playoff contention “overnight.” I asked Wallace about the tension between making moves for small short-term gain (making the playoffs) and making moves for bigger long-term gain (being a real contender). He responded that trading talented young players for veterans was something that should only be done when a team is on the cusp of contention.
I followed up by asking Wallace about the trade in Boston that sent then-rookie Joe Johnson to the Phoenix Suns for veteran role players Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers. I came away very impressed by how candidly Wallace answered this question. He said the trade was driven by two factors — making a post-season run that season and luxury tax concerns. The Celtics made the Eastern Conference finals that season, so Wallace could have defended the move as a success. Instead, he acknowledged that he made a mistake in including Johnson in the deal rather than fellow rookie Kedrick Brown. I’d never read or heard that that was even an option in the deal, so it was quite revealing for Wallace to say that it was and that he’d erred in including the wrong player. He explained that Brown was starting for the team at the time and Johnson was struggling.
Draft philosophy: Wallace was a big proponent of the “take the best available player” strategy. He cited his time working for the Miami Heat when the team drafted Kurt Thomas ahead of Michael Finley because of need. “You throw the roster out the window on draft day,” Wallace said, citing that positional needs tend to get corrected but that “in the NBA quality never works itself out.”
More on the Wallace hire in the coming days.
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