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Welcome back to your Grizzlies Insider, where we deliver the latest NBA news and analysis straight from Daily Memphian staffers Drew Hill, Chris Herrington and Geoff Calkins right into your inbox.
First impressions are important.
But newly acquired Grizzlies big man Steven Adams hopes they aren’t too important.
At his first public event since being traded to the Grizzlies on Wednesday afternoon — boxing up teacher kits for 650 classrooms — the 7-foot New Zealander was hoping a little bit of community service would go a long way in mending his relationship with Memphis. In 2014, his first season in the league, it got off to a rocky start.
Chris Herrington: Herrington: After a rough year downriver, Steven Adams is poised for a Memphis comeback
Longtime Grizzlies fans certainly have not forgotten.
“My reputation here is actually not that great I don’t think,” Adams said. “Because Z-Bo (Zach Randolph) punched me in the face as a rookie, and then you guys lost Game 7 because of it — just to bring up some old stuff.”
Whoops. Here is the good news: Adams can appreciate that intensity now — he laughs about it.
“I definitely remember the type of battles (in Memphis), because they had a real gritty team,” he said. “(Oklahoma City) had a gritty team. Memphis had a gritty team. But Memphis has always been known as the Grindhouse, you know what I mean?
“I think I have a good idea (what the culture is like), from playing against it. But I’ll just have to see what it is like when you are a part of it.”
So it’s time to put the past away, Grizz fans.
Adams’ cheery attitude and jovial personality belong in Memphis now as the new gargantuan in the frontcourt. All that is left to do is explore the city and get to know his new teammates.
“Everyone is bloody young, mate!” Adams shouted. “Everyone is young! But we are here to play basketball, and that’s how we communicate through that. You get to know everyone that way.”
 Steven Adams
But there was at least one familiar face waiting for Adams in Memphis when he arrived last month — assistant coach Darko Rajakovic. It was Rajakovic who once famously fixed Adams’ free throw shooting as an Oklahoma City assistant by repeatedly punching him in the stomach.
No, seriously.
“So what he does is, he’ll come and, like, punch me in the stomach,” Adams told The Oklahoman in 2016. “I swear to God. He’ll come punch me in the stomach or slap me on the arm really hard and he’ll just say, ‘Make a free throw.’”
As unusual as it might sound, it was effective. He had a career-high free-throw percentage that season (61%).
“It actually worked out really well,” Adams said. “(My free-throw percentage) has dropped off over the years because I haven’t been taking too many blows there, mate. I say we can pick it back up this year, eh?”
So welcome to Memphis, Steven Adams. Here’s a piece of advice: It might be best to save the punches for the media punchlines.
“He’s a funny guy, and a caring guy, and a team-first-guy,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. “He’s going to have a lot of great soundbites for y’all.”
More from your insider:
The Memphis forward wants to keep his focus on getting better as a player, not his contract extension talks.
As a coach, Taylor Jenkins feels like a teacher. It’s part of why he pledges $10 to Shelby County Schools for every Grizzlies assist.
Ben Simmons is dominating NBA trade talks. While the Grizzlies don’t seem like a good fit, there are players in other scenarios who seem intriguing.
The Grizzlies brought back their former franchise star in a trade with the Lakers.
Marcus Tucker, a military veteran and Memphis police officer, recounts his journey to becoming the Grizzlies’ public address announcer.
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