Damon Stoudamire

The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the league’s hottest teams, and Stoudamire was their leader, when a major knee injury cut Mighty Mouse’s season short after just 27 games. But the Grizzlies are confident that Stoudamire will be back at full strength this season; he’s been putting his knee to the test, participating in quickness and agility drills since late July. He’ll start the season on top of Memphis’ point guard depth chart, ahead of Chucky Atkins and rookie Kyle Lowry.

Two seasons ago, Stoudamire averaged 13 points and six assists for the Trail Blazers. Portland management responded by adding Nick Van Exel and Sebastian Telfair to the roster. Even with the additional competition for the point, Mighty Mouse posted solid totals: 15.8 points and 5.7 assists. Stoudamire is also an excellent source of threes and a very good free-throw shooter. This season he gets a fresh start in Memphis, and head Grizzly Jerry West is reportedly a long-time Stoudamire fan. The one potential fly in the ointment is Bobby Jackson, but Jackson is probably better suited to a super-sub role with Stoudamire as the starter.

The Portland front office made more of their...interesting personnel choices this offseason by adding Nick Van Exel and Sebastian Telfair after Stoudamire put up a strong 13-point, 6-assist per game performance. We still expect Stoudamire to get the majority of the playing time and match his numbers from 03-04. Stoudamire averaged two threes a game last year, and added 1.3 steals as well. Watch the news from camp to see if Stoudamire emerges as the clear starter, and if he does, snap him up as your No. 4 guard.

Off-court problems leave Stoudamire's status for the 2003-04 season unclear. He's got two more years remaining on his contract, meaning he has minimal trade value this season. If the Blazers are serious about turning around their image, this could be where they start. Jeff McInnis is capable of taking Stoudamire's job as the club's starting point guard. Stoudamire’s numbers fell off dramatically after his fourth season and again last year, after his eighth. He shouldn’t be too high on many guard lists until we get a look at his role during preseason games.