When the Grizzlies moved to Memphis from Vancouver last summer, they conceded this team probably would struggle as it looked to lay the foundation for what they hoped would be a brighter future.

Honesty was definitely the best policy, because just having an NBA team might have been good enough to appease the fans of a lovely, somewhat remote Canadian city, but it never would fly in Memphis.

The city is the home to a traditional college basketball power (University of Memphis) and annually produces some of the country's top basketball talent. People there know the game; they understand nuances, nooks and crannies and can distinguish between good hoops and lousy hoops. And they knew the Grizzlies were lousy.

So it shouldn't have come as a surprise when Memphis residents didn't jump into the Mississippi River for joy just because a historically bad NBA team was coming to town.