The news everyone expected but few wanted to hear came down this afternoon. Rudy Gay has been included in the 15 man roster heading for final cuts in New York City but O J Mayo failed to make it the team.

A hero fell in Memphis sometime in the early morning of July 19th. It took 9 days for the people of Memphis to find out.

It shouldn't have ended this way. This is not the way to remember Ren as he was lovingly called by fans.

Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright was trying to stretch one more year out of his body. One more chance to run up and down the court, laughing and hustling and being the man Memphis grew to love. He was scheduled to head to Isreal last week to tryout for a team in the competitive Israeli league. He never made that tryout.

The Grizzlies second first round draft pick (28th overall), Greivis Vasquez, had bone spurs removed from his ankle yesterday according to ESPN and a press release from the Grizzlies. The operation was described by the Grizzlies as successful but no timetable for when Greivis should be able to return to practice was announced but he is expected to be ready to go by the beginning of training camp in late September.

The surgery was performed in Baltimore not at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis that handles most of the Grizzlies players surgical needs. No reason was given for the operation taking place outside of Memphis but Baltimore is home to Johns Hopkins hospital, considered one of the finest in the nation. Vasquez is also unsigned right now so that may have had something to do with the decision.

Everyone is aware that the Grizzlies haven't signed either of their first round draft picks yet.

However, what people may not be sure of is what the actual hold-up is. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) states what the scale is for rookie salaries and, while there is wiggle room around that number, the standard operating procedure has been for teams to give rookies 120% of the cap number which is the maximum amount allowed by the CBA.

What with all the fireworks going off this summer, it's easy to forget that next summer, the NBA itself just might explode. And it won't be near as much fun to watch.

That's because next summer, owners & players are supposed to negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement, which will set forth new rules under which NBA owners can offer contracts. And lest we forget, in 1998-99, we NBA fans got 50 games in an NBA season that started Jan. 20, 1999, and provided us with the so-called "asterisk" next to San Antonio's run to a title that year.

Rudy Gay led the Blue Team in scoring with 23 points, two blocks and two steals but had only 5 rebounds and turned the ball over 7 times. O J Mayo chipped in with 18 points, 7 rebounds and no turnovers as the White team ran away from the blue team 114-96 to close out the training camp activity.

People all over Memphis are talking about the Memphis Grizzlies and once again for all the wrong reasons.

Despite signing Rudy Gay to an extension with a contract that is favorable to both sides (Rudy gets paid and the Grizzlies aren't laden with a contract filled with trade kickers or heavy front end cash), signing Tony Allen as a perimeter defensive stopper with playoff experience to boot and drafting local favorite Xavier Henry and ACC Player of the Year Greivis Vasquez the Grizzlies are being bad-mouthed for not spending money this summer.

This is the fifth and final part of the exclusive Chris Wallace interview 3 Shades of Blue had with the General Manager and Vice President of Business Operations of the Memphis Grizzlies. In part one we discussed the Grizzlies 3 Year Plan and where they go from here. In part two we discussed Chris Wallace's new contract and other issues. In part three we discussed the way the Grizzlies run their pre-draft activities. In part four we discussed the recent draft selections 

3SOB: You've mentioned Greivis Vasquez a lot in this interview. Vasquez by most mock drafts and so called experts was considered a mid second round selection. We took him much earlier than expected. What did you see...

CW: Well let me step back on that for a moment.

While I respect the work that all those guys do in preparing their mock drafts, they do work hard and are around a great deal, but what really counts is what the team is going to do. I don't think he would have made it to the mid or late second round. I really believe he would have been selected within 5 picks of us if we hadn't taken him. 

This is the fourth installment of the 3 Shades of Blue exclusive interview with Chris Wallace, Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of the Memphis Grizzlies. Part one dealt mostly with the 3 Year Plan and where the Grizzlies go from here. Part Two dealt with Chris Wallace's new contract and more of the business side of the team. Part three dealt with scouting and drafting and the difficulties that this entails. Part four continues with the Thabeet discussion as well as the new workout regimes and summer league expectations.  

3SOB: I remember when Olajuwon and John Koncak played against each other in college as freshman and I never thought they would develop into on the one hand a top 6 player in the NBA draft and the other the top pick in the draft and one of the top 50 players of all time. A that time they were two of the most uncoordinated players I had ever seen but they did develope so I understand the idea of giving Thabeet time. But I have to ask the question, do you believe the Grizzlies got they type of player that can become that type of star that you need to win a championship? 
CW: I can't sit here and guarantee that he or anyone else we've selected is going to be a star. I have a very strict definition of stars. I think that in any particular year there are hardly more than just a handful of stars in the NBA. Just because you make the all-star team doesn't make you a star. You can be an all-star simply because you score a lot of points.

For 22 hours from Midnight July 22nd until 10:00 PM the Grizzlies are selling select Club Level Seats for the upcoming season for $22 a game. That's over 50% of the regular price!  

As many readers know I am very frustrated at times by the lack of concern around Memphis for the Memphis Grizzlies. Part of this has to do with my being one of the writers of a blog about the Grizzlies. Obvioulsy my passion is with the team and I want them to succeed. Most of it has to do with the belief that a full FedEx Forum would provide an atmosphere that could propel the team to greater success than an empty one.

However I have always tried to appreciate the reality that NBA ticket prices can be expensive and the season is long. Sure Memphis has the $5 tickets in the upper endzone area of the Forum (napkins are provided for the nose bleads free of charge) but the good seats can be very expensive for the middle class of Memphis.