Grizz Biz: A look at the Grizz one month in.

Well, it's been an interesting first month of the season for the Memphis Grizzlies. A season that began with a playoff guarantee from ownership started out rough. Marc Gasol missed opening night, Zach Randolph bruised his tailbone and missed 4 games, and OJ Mayo couldn't hit a shot. That's not good. Meanwhile, Mike Conley has decided to play in November like he plays in April and Rudy Gay seems to have become the teams go to guy. That is very good. It's defiantly been a mixed bag for Grizz fans, but hope is not lost. The Grizz are 7-10 and looking forward to the Lakers coming into the Forum tonight. Now is as good a time as any to look at the state of Grizz, so let's do it. Here is a quick look at the major issues facing the Grizz going forward in what will hopefully be their return to the playoffs.

Is Rudy Gay the man? Anyone who watches the NBA knows that it is a league built on stars. All the good teams have a go to guy. Great teams have two. The last Grizzlies team that made it to the playoffs was built around Pau Gasol. They paid him like a franchise player and he lead to team to three straight playoff appearances. He also lead them to an NBA record 0-12 record in the playoffs. The decision was made that Pau couldn't lead the Grizz to playoff success and he was shipped out.

This past offseason the Grizz gave Rudy Gay a huge deal and essentially tied their future to the former UConn star. So far, it looks like a good call. Rudy is 17th in the NBA in scoring, averaging 21.6 points per game. He has been a more efficient player and seems to be becoming the leader of the team. That is all well and good, but we won't know the real answer to the question until the Grizz actually get into the playoffs and Gay produces on the biggest stage. Having said that, Rudy has advantages that Pau did not. One, he's a perimeter player and therefore harder to double team. Second, his length and athleticism allow him to get a shot anytime he wants. The only question is weather or not he makes it.

Was the Conley signing a good call? Coming into the season, the Grizz had to make decisions on 3/5 of their starting lineup. Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol all are up for contract extensions. Well, were. Mike got his. Mike signed a 5 year/ $4o million deal a week into the season. A lot of folks think this deal was over the top. I do not. First, Mike Conley has finally started to figure it out. He has finally figured out that he can get to the hole any time he wants. He is one of the quickest guys in the league. He can finish with both hands. He needs to drive and he's doing it. He is now a legitimate starting point guard in the NBA.

Another reason this deal is reasonable is how the CBA works. You here all the time that Mike was going to be a restricted free agent, so why sign him. Well, that is not the whole truth. Mike would have been a restricted free agent if the Grizz offered him a qualifying offer. What was the qualifying offer for the former number four pick? $6.4 million. What does he make in the first year of the contract? $6.5 million. So, people are upset over $100k? I don't get it. It's a deal similar to what Raymond Felton just got and I like Mike Conley's future more than Raymond Felton. I say it's a good deal for your starting point guard going forward.

What to do with Zach? Zach Randolph is great. He is a double double machine. I love him. Having said that, do I want him to take a pay cut? Yes. Zach is making over $17 million this year. He's thirty and hasn't taken the best care of himself. He may or may not run a drug ring out of Indianapolis. He's been a knucklehead. He doesn't play defense. No, he doesn't get a "Pau Gasol-like" contract. I hope the Grizz can work out a deal, but it needs to be reasonable. The Grizz are reportedly offering 3 years/$40 million. That seems about right to me, but we'll see.

What is Marc Gasol going to cost? I am of the opinion that the Grizzlies must sign Marc Gasol. Must. The question is what is that going to cost? Al Horford just signed a 5 year/$60 million contract. I hope Marc will do the same. Sadly, the Grizzlies cannot negotiate with Marc until the offseason. Hopefully, we get this done.

Will OJ adapt to coming off the bench? Last week, Coach Hollins made a very important decision for the future of this team. He moved rookie Xavier Henry into the starting five and made OJ Mayo the sixth man. I for one have been calling for this for a while. The fact is that OJ is a flawed player. Mainly, he is too small and not athletic enough to be a dominant NBA two guard. Putting that aside, he can ball. The problem is with Mike Conley at point guard the Grizz have a very small backcourt. Also, with Rudy Gay, Zack Randolph, Marc Gasol and a newly aggressive Mike Conley in the starting lineup OJ is reduced to the third option in the offense at best. That lineup really just needs a guy to space the floor. OJ can do that, but he can do a lot more. Add to that the fact that the bench has been a huge problem for the past couple of years and Xavier is big, athletic and can space the floor and you have perfect opportunity to move OJ into a sixth man role. I think it's a good call by coach and I look forward to seeing how it works out in the next couple of weeks.

So, that's it for today. In the future we'll take a closer look at Xavier Henry, Darrell Arthur, Tony Allen and Hasheem Thabeet. Until then, go Grizzlies!!!