Zach Randolph has a nose for trouble

Grizzlies' Zach Randolph has nose for wrong people, wrong places

By Scott Cacciola (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Sunday, July 19, 2009

When Zach Randolph asked team officials for some time off after his girlfriend's cousin was murdered in March 2007, the Portland Trail Blazers granted the talented but troubled forward "bereavement leave" to attend the funeral back home in Indiana. But the next night, while the Blazers were losing to Seattle, Randolph was across town at the Exotica International Club for Men. He left in the wee hours, without paying his tab.

And so, amid the smoke-filled haze of a strip club, the final chapter of Randolph's tenure in Portland was written. He was dealt three months later to the New York Knicks for little more than table scraps, which was as much an indictment of his reckless lifestyle as his inability to play team basketball.

It made no sense: Randolph, who was officially acquired by the Grizzlies on Friday, could be such a commanding presence, a 6-9, 260-pound dynamo with quick feet and soft hands ... one of which he balled into a fist to smash teammate Ruben Patterson's face at practice in April 2003.

He could be so competitive on the court ... and on the streets of Portland, where police cited him for drag racing with friends at 3:15 a.m. in June 2006.

"Certainly, at times, I think he showed poor judgment," said Steve Patterson, the Blazers' former president and general manager.

The Grizzlies, who need low-post scoring, are banking on Randolph despite mounting evidence that his All-Star caliber numbers -- averages of 20.7 points and 10.2 rebounds over his last three seasons -- are a smokescreen for his considerable baggage, on and off the court.

"How many 20-and-10 guys get dealt for Channing Frye?" asked Kevin Arnovitz, who runs ClipperBlog.com.

John Canzano, a sports columnist with The Oregonian, recalled the day Randolph was traded from Portland. Canzano said his inbox and voicemail were flooded with messages from Randolph's neighbors, who were ecstatic. Randolph was living in an upscale neighborhood, which he had transformed with late-night parties that featured, according to Canzano, "friends shooting off guns at 3 a.m. and girls falling off the backs of ATVs."

"When he was traded," Canzano said, "one of his neighbors told me he was going to celebrate by going into his own backyard and shooting off his gun."

And so now Randolph is Memphis' asset. His talent has ensured fifth and sixth chances when lesser players would have been dumped after blowing their first or second. But amid the wreckage of his past, he has those who support him.