SPORTSbyBROOKS » Grizz GM Accidentally Tells Iranian Center He's #1

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Grizz GM Accidentally Tells Iranian Center He's #1

Posted by Scott on Oct. 02, 2008, 6:45pm

Chris Wallace hasn’t exactly had the best run as the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies. First, he gives away Pau Gasol for next to nothing, now he’s inadvertently heightening tensions between the U.S. and Iran. And how bad are the Grizzlies that they’re mining Iran for talent?

During Tuesday’s practice, Wallace decided to display a sign of encouragement to young Iranian center Hamed Haddadi by giving him the thumbs up. Unfortunately, the thumbs up doesn’t exactly have the same meaning in Iran that it does here.

Basically, replace a “thumb” with a “middle finger” and you have an idea of what the gesture means to Haddadi. Man, Wallace can’t even get complimenting his players right. At least now I know why Roger Ebert is such a hated man in Tehran.

The MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL-APPEAL’s Ronald Tillery has the story in his team notebook, and goes on to say that Haddadi is getting a lot of attention:

Soon, NBAE [NBA Entertainment] will trail Haddadi as he experiences a slice of Memphis with teammates Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry for a lunch on Beale Street.

I’m sure this is exactly what Rudy Gay thought the NBA would be like: taking Iranian dudes out to lunch.

The 7′2″ Haddadi will be the first Iranian NBA player. He gained notoriety at the Beijing Olympics, where he led the tournament in blocks and rebounds. I’m sure the fine folks of Tennessee will have no problem with a Middle Eastern guy playing for their crappy team.