The Memphis Grizzlies announced that they have signed Iranian center Hamed Haddadi today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Haddadi led all 2008 Beijing Olympians in rebounds and blocks, and was the only player to average a double-double in the Olympics, with 16.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. If the Grizzlies start him, it will be just like when they had Pau Gasol. He really shined when Iran played bronze medal winner Argentina and had 21 points and 16 rebounds.
He will become the first Iranian player to play in the NBA, but he played in the Rocky Mountain Revue in SLC, Utah, which sort of counts as NBA, just not as high-leveled. There, he averaged 1! 4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 2 games.
He gave Iran their first Olympic basketball berth since 1948 when he dominated Lebanon in the 2007 FIBA Asian Championship with 31 points and 10 rebounds.
I like this mixture of OJ Mayo, Haddadi, and Rudy Gay. This should be a pretty good year for Memphis. And it will probably get them past their nasty record of 22-60 from last year.
Hopefully…
