The Grizzlies were stunned to see 24-year old small forward Sam Young available to them at the #36 pick of the NBA Draft last night. Young played in 143 games in four seasons at Pitt and he averaged 13.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Young improved every season at Pitt and there’s plenty of reasons to believe that he hasn’t played his best basketball quite yet. Young will be a backup this season but I wouldn’t be surprised if he earns a starting job for the Grizzlies in the very near future. This was a outstanding pick for the Grizzlies who had a fine draft.

The Grizzlies have acquired 29-year old SG/SF Quentin Richardson from the Knicks for 24-year old PF/C Darko Milicic. Richardson played in 72 games (51 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He has now played in 601 games (389 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Richardson will likely add firepower off the bench for the Grizzlies this season. Darko Milicic played in 61 games (15 starts) for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 17.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. This was a good trade for the Grizzlies.

The Memphis Grizzlies selected 22-year old forward DeMarre Carroll with the 27th pick in the NBA Draft last night. Carroll is a polished player having stayed in school all four seasons. Carroll played in 134 games with Missouri and Vanderbilt in which he averaged 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Carroll could develop into a starter down the road for the Grizzlies who would just be happy if he gives them some quality minutes off the bench as a rookie.

The Memphis Grizzlies have selected 22-year old center Hasheem Thabeet with the 2nd pick of the first round of the NBA Draft. Thabeet is a big guy at 7’3″, 263 pounds and he plays a power game. He played in 100 games (99 starts) at UConn and he averaged 10.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 4.2 blocked shots per game. Thabeet is a enforcer in the paint and the Grizzlies have been dying for a player like him. Look for Thabeet to be a starter from Day #1 for the Grizzlies who finally seem to have picked the right player.