During the 2002–03 season, Hubie Brown was hired to coach the Grizzlies.īefore the team could improve, though, one final mistake from the Vancouver era happened to bite them their first round pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, in which they could have had their choice of future All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, or Dwyane Wade, had been traded to the Detroit Pistons in 1997 for Otis Thorpe due to the structure of the lottery, the Grizzlies ended up losing the second overall pick, one which likely could have changed their future route by selecting any of the aforementioned players, for a player who didn't even play a full season for the team, playing only 47 games for the team before being released. After West's arrival the team was changed a great deal from Knight's team, with the removal of Sidney Lowe as head coach after 0–8 start to the season and a great deal of player movement, with players such as Mike Miller and James Posey becoming vital to the team's success. After Knight's departure and the season, the team hired former Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer Jerry West as general manager in 2002, who later received the 2003–04 NBA Executive of the Year Award. However, despite the strong draft class, general manager Billy Knight was let go. After the Grizzlies' first season in Memphis, Gasol won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. They also acquired Jason Williams from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Mike Bibby that same year. Forward Shane Battier was selected with the sixth pick in the same draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. In the 2001 NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks chose Pau Gasol as the third overall pick, trading him to the Grizzlies. In their first three seasons in Memphis, the Grizzlies played their home games at the Pyramid Arena. Memphis became the easternmost city in the Western Conference.
The NBA version of the Grizzlies became the first major professional sports team from the "big four" major leagues to permanently play its home games in Memphis, while leaving the Toronto Raptors as the only Canadian basketball team in the NBA. The original Memphis Grizzlies franchise played in the World Football League from 1974 to 1975. This became the second professional sports team to be named Memphis Grizzlies. The team relocated following the 2000–01 season and were renamed the Memphis Grizzlies. The Vancouver Grizzlies applied to the NBA to relocate to Memphis on March 26, 2001, which was granted on July 3. Main article: Vancouver Grizzlies relocation to Memphis