After heading into the fall with playoff aspirations, the Grizzlies had a disastrous 2017/18 season. Standout point guard Mike Conley only played in 12 games, while fellow max-salary veteran Chandler Parsons appeared in 36. The team’s other highest-paid player, Marc Gasol, remained healthy, but clashed with head coach David Fizdale, ultimately resulting in Fizdale’s ouster. All three of Memphis’ max players are still under contract next season, so there’s some optimism that the club could return to playoff contention with better health, but it will be an uphill climb following a 22-win season.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Grizzlies financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2018:
Guaranteed Salary
- Mike Conley ($30,521,115)
- Marc Gasol ($24,119,025)
- Chandler Parsons ($24,107,258)
- JaMychal Green ($7,866,667)
- Ben McLemore ($5,460,000)
- Jarell Martin ($2,416,222)
- MarShon Brooks ($1,656,092)
- Deyonta Davis ($1,544,951)
- Dillon Brooks ($1,378,242)
- Ivan Rabb ($1,378,242)
- Rade Zagorac ($1,378,242) — Waived
- Wayne Selden ($772,476) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Jamaal Franklin ($163,296) — Waived via stretch provision
- Total: $102,761,828
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Andrew Harrison ($1,544,951)
- Omari Johnson ($1,378,242)2
- Wayne Selden ($772,475) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Total: $3,695,668
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- No. 2 overall pick ($7,243,344)3
- Tyreke Evans ($3,948,000): Non-Bird rights
- Mario Chalmers ($1,499,698): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $12,691,042
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Projected Cap Room: None
- Even before taking into account a cap hold for their lottery pick, the Grizzlies are over the projected cap with nearly $103MM in guaranteed contracts. Any path to cap room would involve major trades and/or cuts, so we can expect Memphis to be an over-the-cap club this summer, with the full mid-level exception available. The Grizzlies won’t have their bi-annual exception available this offseason after using it in 2017/18 to sign Evans.
Footnotes:
- Selden’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 10.
- Johnson’s exact contract details, including guarantee info, aren’t yet known.
- The Grizzlies are second in the draft lottery standings. They could end up picking anywhere from No. 1 ($8,095,595) to No. 5 ($5,310,672).
Note: Rookie scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.