via Memphis Grizzlies talk to Houston Rockets about Shane Battier » The Commercial Appeal:
MINNEAPOLIS — The Grizzlies had serious discussions Wednesday with the Houston Rockets regarding a proposed deal that would swap second-year center Hasheem Thabeet for forward Shane Battier.
A deal would hinge on Memphis’ willingness to also include a future first-round draft pick in its bid to reunite with Battier. The Griz failed in their initial attempt to acquire Battier earlier this year and may try to enlist a third team to avoid sending the Rockets a pick.
This is one you’d jump all over, though I can’t see Memphis capitulating on that demand for a pick. It’s promising though that based on this report, the Grizzlies seem the more desperate party, having tried to string together a deal earlier in the year. Let’s hope the pick isn’t a dealbreaker for Daryl because Thabeet is tremendous value for a guy in Battier who you could lose for nothing regardless at summer’s end.
Regarding Thabeet, it’s not true to say he’s shown nothing in this league as is being tossed around with any mention of his name. I still stand by what I saw on March 17th, last year:
The box score shows Hasheem Thabeet as having only 4 blocks, but it seemed as if he had 10. The big man was everywhere, establishing his presence from the very start. I’m not ready to don him the next Dikembe Mutombo quite yet, but I definitely feel he will be an impact player in this league, at least at some point in the future. The sooner we erase this stigma associated with the D-league, the sooner more organizations can glean benefit from its existence.
Thabeet may have regressed, or merely not have improved, but there was absolutely a stretch last season, after his return from the D-league, albeit a short one, where he showed flashes of potential. With the coaching staff that turned Othella Harrington into an NBA player, and the cost of an expiring contract, taking a flier on that kind of size would be an absolute no-brainer. Best case–well, the best case is obvious–you end up down the road with a 7’3 monster with a natural-born affinity to Hakeem, capable of anchoring your frontline for the next decade; worst case, you lose Battier.
(see 2:04 mark for Thabeet)
When I asked him, Hasheem said he was looking forward to again working out with Hakeem in the summer, though I’m not sure if those plans were in cement. Regardless, this is a guy who can bypass Dream’s well-documented reluctance to tutor complete scrubs.
On Battier: I’m conflicted. For my selfish reasons, I dread the day he is dealt just because there is so much more to ask him regarding the role of statistical analysis in basketball. There will be a sort of emptiness upon walking into that lockerroom on Saturday night, the day before he is inevitably dealt. I will have lost a real fountain of empiricism and that cripples Red94 in ways unimaginable. At the same, I recognize that for this team to rebuild, it needs value from every stone yet unturned.
