| Grizzlies Sign Haddadi |
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| Written by Ben Weixlmann | |
| Monday, 01 September 2008 | |
 After spending last season playing in Iran’s first league, the 23-year-old will be making the jump to Memphis to join another international big man, Marc Gasol. Although it is quite difficult to find information on the dynamic center, he has had his fair share of experience at the pro level. Sure, he is only 23 years old, but he has been playing in the pro ranks in Iran since he was 14 years old. He was eligible for the 2004 NBA Draft, but no team took a chance on Haddidi, so he continued to hone his skills in his home country. Haddidi led his club team to the Asian Club Championship this past year, and should have a relatively large impact for the Grizzlies in a matter of years. He will likely ride the bench for most of the season this year, but will work hard with the NBA coaches to get more physical to compete in the low blocks. One part of Haddidi’s game that needs significant work is his conditioning. He is comparable to UNC-Asheville’s Kenny George, the 7’7” giant, because both can only play limited minutes due to exhaustion. What will Haddidi do in the NBA? No one knows. But if he could be 75% of what Rik Smits was, the Grizzlies should be pretty happy with the signing.         Set as favorite Bookmark Comments
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