The Grizzlies posted a photo of Link and Randolph posing with children at the orphanage on the front page of their official website.
Without a doubt, the Grizzlies were now most concerned about the team's image. They were doing everything they could to salvage it.
However, a team's image could not be maintained through off-court events alone. The best way to make fans fall in love with a team was to win!
Yet lately, the Grizzlies had been fairly ordinary when it came to winning.
In the first two games after Mayo's suspension, people discovered that Link had replaced the former golden boy as the Grizzlies' starting shooting guard. On the 16th and 18th, the Grizzlies faced the Dallas Mavericks and Bulls respectively, managing only one win and one loss.
Against the Dallas Mavericks, Link put in a solid, unremarkable performance. With Gay and Randolph taking most of the shot attempts, Link recorded 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. In the end, with Nowitzki leaving the game injured midway through, the Grizzlies easily took down the Mavericks.
Link still remembered that the Dallas Mavericks won the championship that year. It could even be said that the Mavericks were one of the most unexpected champions in history.
After all, the Lakers had not yet completely declined, the Thunder were rising, and the Spurs remained powerful. Meanwhile, the Miami Big Three had only just formed in the East. Logically speaking, a Mavericks team with only Nowitzki had little hope of winning the title.
Yet they had miraculously won it all. With that championship, Nowitzki shed the label of "soft" in one stroke and greatly elevated his historical standing in the NBA.
But playing the Mavericks now, Link truly could not feel that they were a championship-caliber team. Perhaps they were not