The new Grizzlies front office passed draft week with flying colors. The Mike Conley-to-Utah trade checked every box a trade for a rebuilding team should, bringing back assets in the form of first-round draft picks and a young player, cap flexibility and immediate roster help.
Two days later, the Grizzlies drafted their point guard of the future in Ja Morant with the second overall pick and pulled off a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder to draft Brandon Clarke, a forward with elite athleticism and intelligence who has the tools to become an elite role player.
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Now we move into free agency, and Jason Wexler and Zach Kleiman will see if they can keep their hot streak going. Thanks to the Conley trade, the Grizzlies go into next week with additional room below the $131 million luxury tax line, which should allow them to bring back unrestricted free agent Jonas Valanciunas and restricted free agent Delon Wright. Memphis also created a $25M trade exception which can be used to bring in a bad contract in exchange for additional assets. The Grizzlies likely won’t be able to use all of it without crossing into the luxury tax, but it’s possible that they will use some of it.
Below is a quick primer of the roster situation going into Sunday, which is when the free agency period starts.
Guaranteed players
- Nine (Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, CJ Miles, Kyle Anderson, Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen, Chandler Parsons and Jevon Carter)
Partially-guaranteed players
- Avery Bradley ($2M of $12.96M guaranteed if waived before July 3)
- Kyle Korver ($3.44M of $7.5M guaranteed if waived before July 7)
- Ivan Rabb ($371,758 of $1,618,520 guaranteed if waived before July 15)
Non-guaranteed players
- Bruno Caboclo (300K guaranteed if not waived before July 10)
- Dillon Brooks
Restricted free agents
- Delon Wright
- Tyler Dorsey
Unrestricted free agents
- Jonas Valanciunas
- Joakim Noah
- Justin Holiday
The Grizzlies have more than $84 million in cap holds, which eliminates their maximum potential cap space of $27.3 million and gives them access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is $9,246,000 this summer based on the cap projection of $109 million.
It’s impossible for Memphis to bring back all of Bradley, Korver, Rabb, Caboclo and Brooks next season given that the Grizzlies reportedly want Valanciunas back and are expected to try to re-sign Wright as well. They would need 16 roster spots to retain everyone. If Memphis intends to use its MLE, it would require an additional roster cut. Waiving Korver and Bradley would clear $14.4 million off of the books, open two roster spots and could be the most straightforward path here.
The Grizzlies also have access to their bi-annual exception, worth $3,619,000. Using it would require yet another roster cut.
Dorsey appears to be in a tough spot, as Memphis may not have the roster flexibility to retain him. Keep an eye on what the Grizzlies decide to do with his qualifying offer, which is for $1,818,486.
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Shooting appears to be Memphis’ biggest need this offseason. Here are eight unrestricted free agents the Grizzlies could target.
Tobias Harris
Hear me out.
The Athletic reported in late April that the Grizzlies have interest in pursuing Harris, who averaged 20 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 47.7/39.7/86.6 percent shooting splits with the Clippers and Sixers last season. At the time, it seemed unlikely that Memphis would have the means to pursue him with Conley on the books and Valanciunas expected to pick up his $17.6 million player option.
Two months later, Conley’s money is off the books, Valanciunas is a free agent and the Grizzlies suddenly have the ability to afford Harris. But it would cost them. First they would have to renounce all of their cap holds, which would force them to forfeit their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, $28M in trade exceptions and Valanciunas’ and Wright’s bird rights. Next, they would have to waive Bradley, Korver, Rabb, Caboclo and Brooks to open up $27.3 million in cap space. Lastly, Memphis would have to stretch Parsons’ $25.1 million owed next season in the final year of his deal. It would reduce his salary to $8.34 million next season and open up an additional $16.7 million in cap space, putting the final figure at about $44 million.
That would be enough to afford Harris, who is seeking a maximum salary worth $141 million over four years if he signs with a team other than the Sixers. Memphis would have more than $9 million in cap space left over after signing him.
Would this make sense for Memphis? Harris will be 27 within the next month, making him a full eight years older than Jackson and Morant. As good as he is offensively, he’s limited on defense and doesn’t provide much on offense beyond scoring. But he’s an elite scorer, and scoring the ball has been the Grizzlies’ biggest weakness for years. Having Jackson behind him in the paint could help mask some of his shortcomings. It’s also unclear if Harris is willing to leave a very good Sixers team, who can pay him more money, for a Grizzlies team that wouldn’t contend in the Western Conference with him next season. Adding Harris and stretching Parsons would add more than $40 million to the cap sheet each year through the 2022 season. Is Harris worth all of that? If there’s mutual interest there, we’ll soon find out.
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Rodney Hood
Grizzlies fans will recall that Memphis passed on Hood in the 2014 draft. Perhaps it’s time for a reunion. Hood averaged 11.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 35.6 percent from 3 last season. He shot 37 percent from 3 in his first four seasons in the league with Utah.
Hood is the type of rangy wing the Grizzlies have been in short supply of. He and Crowder would round out the starting five and give the Morant-Jackson pick-and-roll room to breathe. Hood made $3.47 million last season after accepting the qualifying offer last summer.
Trevor Ariza
Ariza may not be quite the player he used to be, but the veteran forward would fill a need on the court for Memphis and be a steady presence for a young team off of it. Ariza averaged 39.9 percent shooting from the field and 33.4 percent from 3 with the Suns and Wizards last season. Neither are eye-popping numbers. But he’s only a season removed from shooting about 37 percent on seven 3-point attempts a game with the Rockets.
Ariza earned $15 million last season on a one-year deal and appears to be due for a pay cut.
Jeremy Lamb
The former 12th pick of the 2012 draft just put together the best season of his career, averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while draining nearly 35 percent of his 4.8 3-point attempts per game.
Still only 27, Lamb could offer some stability at the shooting guard position for Memphis. He earned $7.5 million last season in Charlotte, so the MLE would only represent a modest salary increase for him.
Wesley Matthews
A career 38 percent shooter from 3, Mathews’ reputation as a shooter would be a deadly weapon alongside the Morant-Jackson pick-and-roll. He played 69 games total last season with Indiana, New York and Dallas.
He isn’t quite the same player he used to be, but his shooting remains great. He made just $737,715 last season and is due for a pay raise.
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James Ennis
Ennis was a good role player for the Sixers last season, averaging 6.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and shooting 35 percent from 3. He made about $1.62 million last year and is a serviceable option for the Grizzlies for wing depth.
Ennis is reportedly looking for a payday. It’s possible he’ll be too expensive for Memphis. But the MLE would represent a sizeable pay raise. The Grizzlies may have to compete for his services.
Wayne Ellington
The 6-5 Pistons guard had an underrated season last year, shooting 37 percent from 3 on nearly eight attempts per game during his 28 games in Detroit. Memphis fans may already be familiar with him as he played 40 games with the Grizzlies during the 2012-13 season. His combination of volume and accuracy would bring a much-needed dynamic to Memphis’ offense, which figures to be a bit more fast-paced than the norm next season.
Ellington made $6.2 million last season and could be looking to cash in at age 31.
Justin Holiday
Memphis may not have to look far. Holiday, a mid-season acquisition, had some great stretches for the Grizzlies. He’s a good defender, good shooter and good locker room presence who would provide additional experience for a young team.
Bringing back Holiday with the MLE could be seen as underwhelming to some. But as a pure catch-and-shoot player, he has clear value next to Morant, as he could defend bigger guards and make things easier for the rookie as a 3-point target on offense. I would also be curious to see if a potentially faster pace would have a positive impact on his game. At times, he appeared to have too much responsibility last season. The Grizzlies should have more ball-handling this year with a healthy Anderson, which would make things easier for Holiday.
Bonus: Willie Cauley-Stein
If Valanciunas ends up not returning to Memphis, the Grizzlies will be in need of a rebounding center. Enter Kings center Cauley-Stein, who told The Sacramento Bee last week that he wants out of Sactown. If the Kings decline to extend a qualifying offer, Cauley-Stein would become an unrestricted free agent. Otherwise, Memphis could offer the full MLE and hope he doesn’t receive a bigger offer elsewhere.
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The big man out of Kentucky averaged 11.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 27 minutes a game last season. He isn’t much of a shot blocker, but Jackson and Clarke would be able to cover that weakness. If Cauley-Stein can be had for the MLE, he would be a cheaper option than Valanciunas and ensure that the Grizzlies would run more of their offense through Jackson next season.
(Top photo of Tobias Harris: Tom Szczerbowski / USA Today)