Memphis Grizzlies reserve guard Greivis Vasquez is expected to sign a contract with Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem this week.The deal reported will include an opt-out clause that will allow Vasquez to return to the Grizzlies once the NBA lockout is settled.Vasquez appeared in 70 games with Memphis in his rookie season, averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 assists.

Iran’s players have turned on teammate Hamed Haddadi after some crucial mistakes by the Memphis Grizzlies centre in their shock quarter-final 88-84 loss to Jordan at the Asian Championships.

WUHAN, China — Iran’s players have turned on teammate Hamed Haddadi after some crucial mistakes by the Memphis Grizzlies centre in their shock quarter-final 88-84 loss to Jordan at the Asian Championships.

A day after defeat denied Iran a berth at the London Olympics, the two-time reigning regional champs spoke to the media after taking out their frustrations with a 98-66 consolation-round drubbing of Taiwan.

“Hamed is good but sometimes not all the big NBA players can play good, he missed some shots and had some bad passes,” point guard Mahdi Kamrany said.

“We are very disappointed, but that happens, that is basketball. The loss was very bad for my country, we just couldn’t make it happen.”

Before Iran came crashing back to earth, the giant Haddadi had promised another regional crown for Iran and proclaimed himself the best centre in Asia after Chinese superstar Yao Ming retired in July.

“We will be champions, our biggest opponent is China, but we can beat them,” Chinese media widely quoted Haddadi as saying.

His comments did not help Iran’s cause, said forward Samad Bahrami.

“The media, the reporters, they helped Iran lose, they keep saying ‘you are the best, you are the best’, we had too much pressure,” Bahrami told AFP.

“The best player in Asia is the player that wins the championship, you cannot say that one player is the best in Asia when his team finishes sixth or seventh.

“Hamed is a very good player, but we should find the best player in the final.”

Although Haddadi led Iran in scoring with 27 points and 14 rebounds against Jordan, he committed a costly foul and missed several shots in the crucial waning minutes.

[
[ [['I am happy. They were my clients', 16]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/iran-sentences-2-american-men-to-8-years-in-jail-1313849049-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/wyTJZ396gZ0vEnzMmr.ZMg–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMTk7cT04NTt3PTQ1MA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2011-09-21T193348Z_01_BTRE78K1ICG00_RTROPTP_2_IRAN.JPG’,
’450′,
‘ ‘,
‘Reuters’,
],

[ [['near the city of Hamamatsu', 10]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/typhoon-roke-1316521844-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/j2b1ByiZJ.JIzdkhWXhmDw–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00Mzk7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2011-09-22T083020Z_01_TOK807_RTRIDSP_3_JAPAN-TYPHOON.jpg’,
’630′,
”,
‘Reuters’,
],

[ [['Mark MacPhail', 11]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/protests-held-in-troy-davis-execution-case-1316203452-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/RY5R84xVvbHnF3hpyZerVg–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zMDY7cT04NTt3PTUxMg–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/2c5f258853007015f90e6a706700e283.jpg’,
’512′,
’306′,
‘AP’,
],

[ [['was the 20th pilot to die at the races since it began 47 years ago', 8], ['Such cooperation helped save Ed Larson', 8]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/air-race-crash-in-reno-1316226189-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/jT0jFrsFHrewPZ071fT3PQ–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00NDg7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4bab4a3a056b2715f90e6a706700e664.jpg’,
’630′,
’448′,
‘AP’,
],

[ [['Republican Guards have bigger ones in the capital and elsewhere in Yemen', 5], ['opposition forces loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen ', 8]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/yemen-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/yTSW.ChjWpuNd2xkNlyO9A–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MDA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/2a02a9aa19483b15f90e6a7067000fb0.jpg’,
’630′,
’400′,
‘AP’,
],

[ [['Bold farmers in Indonesia routinely', 5]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/farmers-flee-as-world-s-deadliest-volcano-rumbles-1316477446-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/4MZiE5yYjUwrsb4DR3K_RQ–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjE7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/3ab5b6ca173a3215f90e6a706700b0e0.jpg’,
’630′,
’421′,
‘AP’,
],

[ [['It is difficult to assess how many birds are affected', 7]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/sweden-hit-by-substantial-oil-spill-1316444749-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of the oil spill’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Ii9HcyoayObiPRmw7Ik4PQ–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2011-09-18T165741Z_01_STO04_RTRIDSP_3_SWEDEN.jpg’,
’460′,
’341′,
‘Reuters/Erik Abel/Scanpix Sweden’,
],

[ [['But after we launch this hamburger', 6]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/wendy-s-new-dave-s-hot-n-juicy-burger-1316446426-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of the burger’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/h06REdlvxDSPkkD2nze19w–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00ODQ7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/fed2a27116a82f15f90e6a7067005e96.jpg’,
’460′,
’353′,
‘AP/Paul Vernon’,
],

[ [['villages where people are trapped under collapsed houses', 8]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/6-9-quake-strikes-india-nepal-1316432147-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of the quake aftermath’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ArZHT7_ugJNvdNZr7rXg7A–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zNDA7cT04NTt3PTUxMg–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/AFP/photo_1316422839782-8-0.jpg’,
’512′,
’340′,
‘AFP’,
],

[ [['The absence of Borders is going to be felt across the industry', 6]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/last-borders-bookstores-close-1316449248-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of the closing of the last Borders’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/B__uksKyx_HwEP3gUum2qA–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MzM7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/aed64c8a04652215f90e6a706700965e.jpg’,
’460′,
’313′,
‘AP/Amy Sancetta’,
],

[ [['Anders Behring Breivik', 8]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/norway-attacker-anders-behring-breivik-1311602377-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of the confessed mass killer’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/_E5OB1E6rdgShUt41KVZaw–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00ODk7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2011-07-25T141034Z_01_SIN725_RTRIDSP_3_NORWAY.jpg’,
’460′,
’357′,
‘Reuters/Jon-Are Berg-Jacobsen/Aftenposten via Scanpix’,
],

[ [['like there is no way out', 9]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/the-faces-of-poverty-real-lives-real-pain-1316453315-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/OlSRGp1pKLgvYSpy6XCRkw–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0zOTM7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/45d7db4304d12415f90e6a706700ca26.jpg’,
’460′,
‘ ‘,
‘AP/Robert F. Bukaty’,
],

[ [['including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops', 5], ['Violence has flared anew in Yemen in frustration', 6]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/yemen-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of unrest in Yemen’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UUZ_CmgwS6mLf75U4D9flA–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/ea314f80041a2115f90e6a706700681f.jpg’,
’460′,
‘ ‘,
‘AP/Hani Mohammed’,
],

[ [['Dolores Hope', 7]],
‘http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dolores-hope-dies-at-age-102-1316466341-slideshow/’,
‘Click image to see more photos of Dolores’,
‘http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/PVmQlI81830Gw1RqCrESFA–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MzA7cT04NTt3PTUxNg–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4ca0b51519923d15f90e6a70670063b1.jpg’,
’460′,
‘ ‘,
‘AP’,
]
]

Though the NBA lockout is the top news story in the league, trade rumors and free agency talk are still all the buzz on the internet. The latest rumor as reported on Bleacher Report has the Memphis Grizzlies looking to acquire Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Howard is in the last year of his current contract and most experts believe this will be his final year in Orlando. If the Magic don’t think Howard will return, look for the front office to trade their star center and acquire the most talent possible for his services.

Memphis has plenty to offer and though some other teams will covet the big man, the Grizzlies can give the Magic enough in return that Orlando won’t be in rebuilding mode. The rumor has Memphis sending Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, and draft picks to Orlando for Howard.

This trade would make the Grizzlies a prime contender in the Western Conference as Howard would add a tremendous defender and rebounder, giving the rest of the team more chances on the offensive end. Orlando would get two terrific players and the team could actually be much improved on both ends of the floor with Gay as the scorer and Gasol as a defensive specialist.

It is not too often that a trade works out for both teams, but this deal could benefit both team on the floor and with their fans.