The truth doesn't hurt Pau Gasol.

Losing every NBA playoff game he's ever attended is what stings the Grizzlies' franchise player.

That said -- plus those recent, brutally honest comments made by the team's newcomers -- Gasol seems convinced that the additions of Damon Stoudamire, Bobby Jackson and Eddie Jones will make him a better player, and help the Griz do more than punch tickets in the postseason.

Gasol traveled from his native Spain to Memphis this week to handle personal business. And, yes, Gasol knows all about how Jackson and Stoudamire referred to him during their introductory press conference.

Said Stoudamire: "His initials are PG, but I want him to be rated R."

Jackson chimed in with "what I've heard is that he doesn't have a lot of heart. If I don't like what I see, I'll say, 'Hey, you can't let guys run over you.'"

Gasol already has placed those words into the category labeled leadership -- the constructive, not combustible kind.

"Good," Gasol said Thursday when asked his reaction. "They're positive comments. I'm going to have to step up to a higher level and be a little more dominant. I want my teammates to challenge me because I want to be the guy.

Lorenzen Wright deals have poured in from at least a half dozen teams.

The most persistent suitors have been Toronto and San Antonio but both teams are offering less serviceable players and bloated contracts.

The Grizzlies have rejected those as wells as offers from Utah, Sacramento, Minnesota.

Jason Williams, James Posey, Stromile Swift and Bonzi Wells were large nails in the Grizzlies' reconstruction over the past several seasons.

Their recent departure represents just how much the team plans to renovate before the start of the 2005-06 season.

With Earl Watson expected to leave in free agency and a possible Lorenzen Wright trade on the horizon, the Grizzlies hardly have completed their much-needed and much-anticipated refurbishment.

Holding firm through all of the changes is Griz president Jerry West.

"If this does not work out, it's my fault," West said in a telephone conversation while traveling to Memphis. "This is what you have to do in my job. We all have our favorites. But you can't sit there and not try to improve our team."

That was West offering his general thoughts on shipping Wells to Sacramento for point guard Bobby Jackson, and later sending Williams, Posey and Andre Emmett to Miami for veteran guard Eddie Jones.

The Griz eventually came to terms Friday with free-agent point guard Damon Stoudamire to continue the overhaul of their roster.

Memphis Grizzlies President of Basketball Operations Jerry West announced today the team has signed free agent guard Damon Stoudamire to a four-year contract. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not released.

Stoudamire, a 10-year NBA veteran, joins the Grizzlies after playing in Portland for the past eight seasons. In 2004-05 he produced his best season as a member of the Blazers with highs in points (15.8 ppg), field goals made (457), three-point field goals made (181) and free-throw percentage (91.5%) while averaging a team-high 5.7 assists in 81 games played. He ranked fourth among NBA league leaders in free-throw percentage and tied with Paul Pierce for fifth in triple-doubles with two.

?I?m excited about becoming a part of the Grizzlies and the Memphis family,? said Stoudamire. ?I know all of the Grizzlies fans are looking for that first playoff win, and I look forward to not only getting that win, but reaching the ultimate goal and winning a championship for Memphis.?

The 5-10, 171-pound guard, finished his career in Portland ranking second behind Terry Porter on the Trail Blazers? all-time three-pointers made list (717), second all-time in three-point attempts (1,998) and third all-time in assists (3,018). In eight seasons with the Blazers, he averaged 12.8 points, 5.7 assists and 33.1 minutes in 529 games played.

?Damon is an experienced veteran and proven leader on the court,? said West. ?We feel we have added a significant player to our team and know that he will help take us to a different level than where we are today.?

Point guard Jason Williams resides in Orlando during the offseason. Eddie Jones once was Jerry West's lottery pick in Los Angeles.

When NBA training camps begin in October, Williams won't have far to travel and Jones will reunite with the man who gave him an NBA start.

The Grizzlies completed their part in a five-team, 13 player deal Tuesday -- the largest trade in NBA history -- that will send Williams, James Posey and Andre Emmett to the Miami Heat for swingman Eddie Jones.

The components of the five-team deal came together when Memphis chose to deal with Sacramento straight-up in a separate trade that sent Bonzi Wells there for Bobby Jackson and Greg Ostertag.

Memphis, along with Utah, then worked with Miami, Boston and New Orleans on the larger deal.

The breakdown is as follows:

Memphis will receive Jones, who is scheduled to earn more than $30 million over the next two seasons, and Utah's Raul Lopez, who will not suit up for the Griz after having his contract bought out as a condition of the trade.

Miami will get Williams, Posey, Emmett and Antoine Walker, who agreed to a six-year, $52 million sign-and-trade deal.

Utah will receive Ostertag.

New Orleans will get Utah's Kirk Snyder and Miami's Rasual Butler without losing players because it has money under the salary cap.

Boston will receive Curtis Borchardt (Utah), Qyntel Woods (Miami -- and Carver High School in Memphis) and Miami's $1.9 million trade exception as well as the rights to the Heat's 2004 second-round pick Albert Miralles and two more future second-round picks.

The Grizzlies also received a $4.9 million trade exception by convincing Utah to participate in the larger deal. That money can't be spent on a free agent but it could be used in a trade to acquire a player during a specific time frame.

Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and James Posey could soon be coming to the Miami Heat in a proposed five-team trade that was nearing completion Tuesday, according to a lawyer and league official both familiar with terms of the complicated deal.

"Unless something strange happens, it's going to happen," said the lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Miami -- which signed Shaquille O'Neal to a $100 million, five-year deal earlier Tuesday -- would obtain Walker in a sign-and-trade from the Boston Celtics, then add Williams, Posey and rookie Andre Emmett from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for veteran swingman Eddie Jones.

The trade -- which has been submitted to the league for approval -- was first reported by The Miami Herald. League and team officials generally do not openly discuss proposed trades until they become finalized.

Walker, Williams and Jones are the headliners in the proposed deal, one that also includes the aftereffects of a three-team deal agreed to earlier Tuesday by Sacramento, Memphis and Utah.

As part of the Walker deal, Boston would obtain Qyntel Woods, the rights to Spanish center Albert Miralles and the Heat's $1.9 million trade exception.

Walker, a three-time All-Star who averaged 19.1 points and nine rebounds last season for the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics, would be a welcome addition to the Heat, said forward Udonis Haslem -- who formally signed his $30.7 million, five-year deal Tuesday.

"We're two different players and we can bring two different things to the table," Haslem said. "If we put that together, we should have a pretty good tandem."

The Celtics would get Borchardt from Memphis; Borchardt was part of Tuesday's earlier trade in which Sacramento acquired guard Bonzi Wells from Memphis for guard Bobby Jackson and center Greg Ostertag.

Memphis was then expected to send Ostertag to the Utah Jazz for guard Raul Lopez, forward Kirk Snyder and Borchardt. Snyder would be sent to New Orleans, along with the Heat's Rasual Butler, and Borchardt would head to Boston.

Jones, a career 16.4-point-per-game scorer, averaged 12.7 in the regular season and 13.7 in the playoffs as Miami's third option. Williams averaged 10.1 points and 5.6 assists for the Grizzlies last season.

"He's one of the best playmakers in the game," Haslem said of Williams.

Posey was limited to 50 games this past season because of injuries, and only 18 starts. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Hoopsworld.com is reporting that a major five-team deal could be brewing in the NBA. Other reports have the deal being reduced to four, while some have it going as high as six.

Deals as big as these are very complicated to complete in the NBA, and can take days, weeks, or can even fall apart at the twilight hours.

It's been widely rumored that Miami is tryng to acquire both Jason Williams and Antoine Walker. The Memphis Grizzlies already have a deal reportedly in place with Utah sending Greg Ostertag back home to the Jazz for Curtis Borchardt, Kirk Snyder and Raul Lopez.

The monster deal is said to expand the Memphis/Utah deal with Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler and possibly Michael Doleac leaving the Heat to various destinations. The Heat would get back Williams, Walker and small forward James Posey. The additional teams are said to be the New Orleans Hornets and Boston Celtics, though the exact list of players being swapped is unclear. But, it is believed that Butler, Borchardt, Snyder, Lopez, Doleac and picks might be split between the Hornets and Celtics; both of whom are rebuilding through youth.

The Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics have reached a tentative agreement on a three-team trade according to an NBA source close to the negotiations who spoke with DraftExpress.com?s Jonathan Givony.

The Miami Heat will receive Antoine Walker via a sign-and-trade from Boston, as well as Jason Williams and James Posey from the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies will receive Eddie Jones from Miami and Marcus Banks from Boston.

The Celtics will receive Earl Watson via a sign-and-trade from Memphis, as well as Dorrell Wright or Miami?s trade exception.  

Watson?s inclusion in the trade is a new twist to the deal, satisfying their need for a starting point guard.  He will reportedly receive the mid level exception.

Report written by RealGM's Christopher Reina.

Not satisfied with the makeup of a team that was one game from the NBA Finals, Heat president Pat Riley is considering making significant moves that could include trading swingman Eddie Jones and acquiring Memphis point guard Jason Williams, according to several NBA sources.

Among the moves being considered is a trade that would send Jones to Memphis and bring Williams and small forward James Posey to Miami.

Williams played three years with the Sacramento Kings and four with the Grizzlies, earning a reputation as a talented but troubled player. The Grizzlies have been trying to move him all offseason. However, Williams is among the best passers in the league, can run both a fast break and halfcourt offense and is a three-point threat.

Posey is a quality defender with a versatile offensive game, but he spent much of last season battling nagging foot injuries that limited him to 50 games.

Jones was the Heat's third-leading scorer last season and best perimeter defender, proving his worth during last year's run to the Eastern Conference finals. But trade rumors have surrounded the 11-year veteran since his first year in Miami.