Ok, so the Grizzlies get Steve Francis, the return of their 2009 draft pick and some cash in exchange for a conditional 2nd round pick in 2011.  That's the factual account of things, but let's get all opinionated on things, shall we?

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Rockets have traded Steve Francis, a 2009 draft pick and cash considerations to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a conditional 2011 draft pick.  The 2009 pick is reported to be the one that Houston had acquired from Memphis in the Darrell Arthur trade. 

By dealing away Francis, the Rockets are now under the luxury cap and would be able to sign an additional player, if the need should arise.  According to Hoopshype, the veteran guard is scheduled to make $2,634,480 this season, the last year of his contract.

Some think that Francis will be bought out and waived without ever reporting to Memphis, but we cannot confirm that at this time, as the team is on a plane right now.  We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

UPDATE: Hamed Haddadi is being recalled to the Grizzlies in the next few days. That was always the plan according to Chris Wallace, GM of the Grizzlies. If anything his return was delayed by some bad weather in Bismark. Looks like he is going to be granted a Christmas wish after all.

Hamed Haddadi moved from Iran to Memphis to North Dakota in the span of about 8 weeks. He doesnt' speak a lot of English. He doesn't know many people over here being that he is the first Iranian to play professional basketball in the USA.

At 7-2 I am sure he is more than just noticable on the streets of Bismark these days.

Talk about transition shock. And the NBA felt the move from high school to the pros was too difficult for players? That would be a piece of cake compared to what Haddadi has done.

Memphis enters the Christmas break on a decidedly different note than they started the month on. Losers of two straight games and staring a 3rd in the face in Dallas. Memphis has never been successful against the Mavericks and the match ups these days don't make it likely this time either. This will be the Grizzlies first road game since December 10th against New Orleans. An optimist  could say that the Grizzlies haven't lost on the road since December 3rd in Atlanta which would be one of the longest stretches in the NBA. Of course that is only two games ago as well. The Grizzlies can take some solace in the Lakers game where they fought the Lakers tooth and nail down the stretch but their star hit a big three and our star of the future turned the ball over twice in the final minute. Youth is tough at times.

1:10 left to play in a game where the Griz generally played a great game against a superior team.  The Lakers just pulled ahead by 3 on a classic Pau (boo!!!!!) post move.  96-93.  The Griz give the ball to Mayo to bring up the court and be the point guard.  Kobe checks him above the top of the arc.  Rudy goes up to be the pick setter on the high pick and roll.  Lakers switch.  Ariza on Mayo, giving him more cushion than Mayo's seen all season.  So, Mayo elevates straight up and nails the triple over Ariza's outstretched arm.  Sparkling cold ice-water powered shot.  Wow!  OJ is just a killer, plain and simple.  Tied ball game.  96-96.  One minute to play.  I am positive every Griz fan would have gladly taken a tie game with a minute to play.

On the next possession, Fisher passes to Kobe at the top of the key, he is checked by QRoss.  Kobe doesn't see a sure scoring opportunity as the Griz are all sagging into the lane and Mayo rushes to double team, so Kobe dishes to Odom in the short corner.  Darko steps out and takes away the drive.  Odom badly airballs a circus reverse layup.  Great defensive stand by the Griz.  But wait!  All 5 Grizzly players are in the lane and soft-as-tissue-paper Gasol (boo!!!) comes up with the offensive rebound over 3 Grizzly defenders.  He quickly gets it out to a wide open Bryant, who in typical fashion, nails a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down.  99 to 96 and the game essentially ends there.  Of course, the Griz had a chance, with an eternity of 34 seconds on the clock, to score or extend the game, but Ivy calls the over-used out of bounds play that worked against Orlando and Rudy's contested triple falls short.  Griz lose a game that could easily be called another moral victory for a young team looking to improve and be competitive on a nightly basis.

Ryan at Hoops Addict has the helm for this week's Blogger Power Rankings.  The Celtics are still on top and the Thunder are on bottom, but plenty has changed in between those ends.  There's more than enough snark and satire to go around, so be sure to head over there and check it out.

It really isn't that difficult to be the Lakers this season. Sure they have a dominating interior game, some solid play on the perimeter and their bench is strong but it isn't that difficult to beat the Lakers if you can do one thing: get their starting bigs in foul trouble and force them to beat you on the outside.

  Memphis had a chance to really make a statement Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats. The statement they made was that they aren't ready to compete night in and night out in the NBA. Playing as if the Bobcats were supposed to roll over and play dead the Grizzlies were routed in front of their home town fans for the 2nd time this season. The optimism of the 4 game winning streak being  forgotten with the horrendous effort on Friday night. This actually could be a make or break game for the Grizzlies. Not for their season but for their ability to draw fans to games. A lethargic effort in front of a packed house could be fatal to drawing anyone back to games this season. 

Another weekend and another opportunity for the boys at 3 Shades of Blue to sit down with one of the beautiful and talented Grizz Girls. You know, we really like this blog thing! Today we get to interview Saida, a rookie on the team and as you will find out a very talented and engaging young lady. This is the 2nd interview in the series where we are working hard to interview all 19 Grizz Girls by the end of the season.

And no this is not what most people consider work!

Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale believes that all the recent firings is simply a sign of the times.

"I think you're going to see more and more shorter term stuff in our league," McHale said. "Just because the access now, there's so much media availability and everything else. There's just so many bloggers; everybody's got an opinion. There's all kinds of stuff going on. Sometimes that starts forming the opinion of people in front offices, too, and owner. It's been kind of a crazy year so far."
Twin Cities.com

Is Kevin McHale actually trying to blame the messengers? The media has always been around. Heck the Media is smaller than it was 10 years ago. So is he saying that bloggers have a big enough impact to fire an otherwise qualified individual?