HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Oh, how The Franchise has fallen.

Steve Francis, a three-time NBA All-Star, is now out the league and catching flack from the law for sipping a little something, something at the Los Angeles International Airport.

Perhaps this is Karma. After all, Francis was a Prima Donna in Vancouver, Houston, and Orlando. His time in New York and Memphis was laughable.

Hopefully, Francis gets it together. He’s only 33. And has the resources to do anything he wants.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
 

Memphis police have found the body of a man that sources say is former NBA player Lorenzen Wright. The body was found in southeast Memphis and there appears to be a self-inflicted gun shot wound on the body, according to police sources.

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The Grizzlies are merely lukewarm about Mike Conley's future as their starting point guard. However, Memphis is only going to supplant Conley if they acquire an obvious improvement. They reportedly made a play for Chris Paul prior to the draft and they selected Greivis Vasquez at the end of last month.

According to multiple reports, guard Tony Allen will sign with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Memphis Commercial Appeal first reported the deal. Just days after rumors swirled that Allen would re-sign in Boston, Yahoo.com reported he will ink a three-year, $10 million guaranteed deal.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Keeping their nucleus has reportedly cost the Boston Celtics a key reserve.

While Tony Allen had his ups-and-downs, the wing found his niche as a lockdown defender during the 2010 playoffs. For instance, he used his athleticism and length to slow Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals.

His departure leaves the green-and-white without much depth behind Ray Allen and Paul Pierce at the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Meanwhile, Lionel Hollins and the Memphis Grizzlies will love having a scrappy, athletic defender off the bench. And Allen will serve as a nice back-up for both Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo.

-- Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

Rudy Gay has agreed to a five-year, $81.6 million deal with Memphis, including a player option on fifth, his reps at Octagon confirmed to Y!

Via Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter) found on Real GM

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: The first big name of the 2010 market has fallen.

Reports indicate the Memphis Grizzlies have re-signed their own restricted free agent Rudy Gay for five-years and $82 million.

Gay was supposedly a fall-back for clubs with cap-space that failed to land tier-one free agents like LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. The feeling was these teams would float an offer sheet that small-market, cost-conscious Memphis would have trouble matching.

Well, the Grizzlies stepped-up.

In giving Gay – an explosive scorer at the three-spot – market value, Memphis showed they’ll keep young assets, so they can again challenge for a playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference.

-- O. Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at us in the comment box below with thoughts!

David Kahn says he plans to call two agents at 11 o'clock Wednesday, when the NBA's free-agency negotiation period begins. I hear from a good league source that one of those two guys is Memphis forward Rudy Gay.I texted David Kahn for a confirmation or denial Monday evening and he did not respond.

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HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: This makes sense.

The lowly Minnesota Timberwolves should target Rudy Gay, the athletic swing with the Memphis Grizzlies. While young and talented, Gay has been overlooked because this year`s free agent class features superstars Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Joe Johnson, Amar`e Stoudemire, and Dwyane Wade.

But Gay has the explosiveness to become an All-Star. And the Wolves are desperate for a small forward to complement their bevy of point guards and power forwards.

Best of all, Gay is ripe for the picking because Minnesota - which has just $25 million in committed salary for 2011 - can afford to float a big ticket offer, while small market Memphis may lack the resources to match.

So perhaps the Wolves make a splash in this summer`s free agent market.

Got thoughts?

The Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves are close to swapping first-round draft picks, a source with direct knowledge of the situation tells ESPN.com's Andy Katz. The Grizzlies would send their 25th and 28th overall picks to Minnesota for the Timberwolves' 16th pick.

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HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: On the surface, this rumor seems insignificant.

However, it does show that Memphis and Minnesota are looking to improve and will be active during Thursday`s draft and free agency.

For instance, the Grizzlies recently called the Hornets about Chris Paul, while the Timberwolves turned down the Pacers' lottery pick for point guard Jonny Flynn.

Both squads also have larger issues to contend with.

Memphis wants to re-sign restricted free agent Rudy Gay -but only for reasonable money. A sign-and-trade involving Gay is an option.

And Minnesota must decide if forwards Al Jefferson and Kevin Love can play together. They`ve also got to convince 2009 lottery pick Ricky Rubio to cross the Atlantic and run the offense in 2012.

These teams will be linked to more rumors and will be stay all summer.

Got thoughts?

A longtime friend of Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph faces drug dealing charges after he was stopped in Indianapolis driving an SUV owned by the NBA player.

Court documents say the 32-year-old man was arrested May 11 after officers who stopped him for a traffic infraction found more than three ounces of marijuana in a cooler inside the Cadillac Escalade.

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HoopsVibe's Call: Just when Randolph thought he was out, The Hoop Posse pulls him back into the headlines.

The veteran supposedly cut ties with his old entourage that was notorious for breaking the law. And this was why Randolph supposedly had such a banner campaign for Memphis: posting 20-10 numbers, making the Western Conference All-Star team, and helping the Grizzlies crawl closer and closer to respectability.

Apparently not.

To be fair, Randolph isn't yet guilty of anything except poor judgement. But it's never wise to lend/give a friend your car, who happens to roll with three ounces of the 'icky-icky'.   

Randolph, it seems, isn't quite out The Hoop Posse. However, he may want to re-think this relationship, especially heading into a contract year.

Got thoughts on Randolph's boys once again making news? 

Mayo's shaky ball handling and poor decision-making have been major deficiencies throughout his first NBA two seasons. 

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"I'm going to still try to play the guys who are playing the best. The other night our bench guys came in and did a good job. They got significant minutes. It's just a matter of finding the right time for them." 

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