Prince trade: Grizzlies ownership offers high praise for Tayshaun Prince

Chris Wallace, general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies offered high praise for Tayshaun Prince. The former Detroit Piston and newest Grizzlies forward was traded along with Austin Daye from the Detroit Pistons. The Grizzlies sent out Rudy Gay to the Toronto Raptors, who subsequently dealt to the Pistons.

This is what Wallace told the media when talking about his new players:

"We wouldn't have done this deal without getting Tayshaun," Wallace said. "He's a versatile 32-year old vet who had won an NBA championship, who has been on an Olympic gold-medal team and who understands what it takes to be a successful pro."

CEO Jason Levien also offered praise for the veteran small forward:

As for this season, he said: "We believe in this season. We gave ourselves an opportunity to compete with anybody. We added a player in Tayshaun who is battle-tested and a guy in Ed Davis who we think is a tremendous talent."

Is this just spin or damage control to calm a team with an angry coach and a restless fan base that just traded Rudy Gay? Probably slightly. But one person who was generally never critical of Prince's play or his contract extension was John Hollinger, formerly of ESPN and now residing in the Grizzlies front office.

Also, it strikes me as perversely funny that it forces me to imagine a scenario where Dumars offered the expiring contract of small forward Corey Maggette, which was then rejected as insufficient. Which would mean Dumars was forced to make an even better trade for his team. Ahhh serendipity.

But really I just think the Grizzlies are happy to have Prince in the fold and as a Pistons fan that makes me extremely happy. I think Prince is going to do great things there and I am rooting for him and the Grizzlies going forward.