Before the 2024/25 season began last fall, the Grizzlies declined to exercise their fourth-year team option on forward Jake LaRavia. That 2025/26 option was worth $5,163,127.
Because his option was declined, LaRavia is now on track for unrestricted free agency in 2025 instead of restricted free agency in 2026. It also made his free agency more complicated than it is for most players — the team he ended the season with cannot offer him a starting salary that exceeds the declined option.
With those factors in mind, the Grizzlies wound up trading LaRavia to Sacramento ahead of February’s deadline, even though he was having his most productive campaign as a pro.
At his end-of-season press conference on Sunday, executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman admitted he made a “mistake” by turning down that option, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“I think we should’ve picked up Jake LaRavia’s team option,” Kleiman said. “The mistake was there. … I think Jake could’ve helped us down the stretch.”
According to Cole (Twitter link), Kleiman explained that he thought Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson would be able to replace LaRavia in the rotation. Both players dealt with injuries in the first few months of the season and returned to action before the deadline.
“I probably overweighted just how much of a burden they would have been able to put on in a playoff push,” Kleiman said.
Memphis was eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday after being swept in its first-round series with Oklahoma City.
It would be nice if another GM owned up to his mistakes *cough* Nico *cough*
He finally did half-heartedly, and it somehow was the 30th instance of making things worth. By betraying he didn’t know the Mavs fanbase whatsoever. No redeemable path for him
Does anyone think Nico gets another FO job ever once he is eventually fired? I dont even know if Nike would take him back after the reputational hit he has taken…
I doubt he makes it through the offseason with a job
He’s been working for the lakers hasn’t he?
lol yeah he’s been a lakers plant in the Mavs organization this whole time
Picking up an option and trading an All-NBA are totally the same.
Totally agree. I love the honest answer, people not making excuses.
Luckily for the Grizzlies they have spending money this offseason. Only Aldama is their resigning that is needed.
The money is for Jackson’s extension, actually (Renegotiate & extend, i.e. using cap space). Not sure if Aldama showed in these playoffs he is worth paying.
Huh? Aldama didn’t show? Meanwhile the guy you’re caping for put up 4 and 3 and was too was scared to even sniff the paint. Lol btw aldama outplayed JJJ in an elimination game…
Stating the facts = caping? Finish up high school kiddo.
Marcus Smart’s salary dump was explicitly because of JJJ’s looming extension. His base salary is too low for a normal extension to be appealing, which is why RN&E is necessary. They can’t let him hit UFA or the odds of him joining a contender / big market team like the Lakers are too high.
What did Aldama do in the first 3 games? Who gives a **** what he did down 3-0 in an “elimination game” lmao. He’s not tough enough for the playoffs. 2 Offensive Rebounds, 1 Block and ZERO Free Throw Attempts in four playoff games (122 minutes).
Good regular season bench player but he’s just as soft as you are.
Lol I mean he out played JJJ the first game too….
I mean if you don’t care about winning, just say that. Down 3-0 and JJJ can’t score 20. Lol morant didnt even play so Im confused on what his excuse was, maybe yall can sit at the table and talk it over or something. Lol you don’t even realize JJJ isn’t even a free agent, which means we can just trade him to the highest bidder before he “walks”. 345 million for 4pts in a playoff game is pure idiocracy
One of these players will make All-NBA and All-Defense this season.
Highest bidder? For a player on an expiring contract? LOL
There’s a reason why the extension matters. You’re not getting s*** in a trade if he’s just a rental.
Also lose JJJ and this team might as well rebuild LOL. You obviously have no idea about the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lol you realize the new team can hand out an extension right? You do realize you just proved my point if the all nba player can’t outscore the bench player. Lol JJJ got out played by a washed Marvin Bagley but Aldama is the problem?
A new team can’t re-negotiate and extend dummy.
The issue with JJJ extending is he makes too little on his current contract, which limits the size of the veteran extension that can be offered (a max of 4Y / 147M), an AAV of 36.8M, well below his market value.
Which is why the re-negotiation (as the Kings did with Domantas Sabonis, and the Pacers did with Myles Turner) is necessary. But by all means, keep talking out of your ass about things you don’t understand.
I believe I clearly said that someone would be a fool to pay him 345million earlier….
Secondly, who says he wouldn’t want to resign with his new team?
You champion JJJ for his bs and that’s okay, but I aint putting up with it
There is a pretty wide gap between 147M and 345M. Nobody is saying Supermax JJJ. The point is he is worth a lot more than Jerami ****ing Grant money, which you can’t seem to get through your neanderthal skull.
“who says he wouldn’t want to resign with his new team?”
Ask the Raptors about Kawhi
“You champion JJJ”
I’m just stating reality about the NBA landscape, whereas you’re in your feelings because I said a backup didn’t exactly show he was ready for a larger role on a playoff team.
Lol I just stated a fact jjj got outplayed and had 1 good game out of 3 games in the playoffs, got out played by the bench players, who you called soft btw, not to mention was scared to touch the paint all series, and you want us to break the bank for him? Yeah, with that mindset we aint never winning a chip 😂😂😂
What was ACTUALLY said:
R2K: The money is for Jackson’s extension
Young Moron: Meanwhile the guy you’re caping for
Biggest mistake was drafting LaRavia in the first place. I never caught his apology for that. Letting Dillon Brooks go is the mistake that set this franchise back a few yrs tho
If anything the Grizzlies got out from that albatross. In his time in Memphis, his efficiency was far below the average, and his value over replacement player was one of the lowest, if not THE lowest for active players. He’s been a small part of the Rockets success, admittedly – but Memphis was wise to let him walk.
Memphis didn’t need to let Brooks walk, they needed a coach that was going to get him to stop shooting. He’s fine for HOU because he has appropriate shot selection for his role.
would you have been happy to give him the contact that Houston gave him @sankara?
I been a huge fan of Dillon since he was a beast at Oregon. I badly wanted my Hawks to draft him coming into the league. He is EXACTLY the type of guy we’ve been missing over the past like 30yrs. Tbh we’ve never had a guy like Dillon & that’s a big reason for our lack of success. We traded up & drafted Dre Hunter #4 & had him at the 3 during the time Dillon was doing #s in Memphis. I love Dre, I feel like we won that trade when we moved up & got him. He lived up to what he was supposed to be as a top5 pick. That being said I definitely would have rather had Dillon than Dre. I would trade Trae rn for a package headlined by Amen/Dillon or Jalen/Dillon.
Guy is just a winner plain & simple. He’s been 1 of the best wing defenders in the league his whole career, he’s 1 of the toughest players in the league & he can put up buckets when called on (ask Team USA). He’s basically the modern day Ron Artest.
Sankara is right. Brooks was in Memphis before everyone. Loyal and then Memphis used him as a scapegoat and said right after their playoff loss to LeBron that they will not resign him. Low move by Memphis. Always being dirty to their players. Plus Jake L is nothing special
Yea, I was disappointed when they drafted Jake. I was hoping that Agbaji or Eason were going to fall to them. However, when neither of them did, I was thinking Braun or Kessler. THEN they select Roddy shortly after, which was another head scratcher.
I was ok with letting Brooks walk. He was great defensively and early in his career was a decent offensive asset. However, his offensive efficiency dropped off the last two years with them imo, and his shot selection was down right awful at times.
You don’t see GM’s admit to being wrong very often. Maybe 10+ years later, but not less than 1 year later.
It’s rarely a good idea to decline a RSC option (particularly for a guy drafted that low). But Kleiman’s worst move, as it relates to MEM’s finish to the season, was firing his HC with a few weeks left in the year. That’s a move that can ONLY be about him and the HC, not the organization or the team. That’s the move that may cause him to lose the confidence of ownership and/or the players, and, eventually, his job. Nothing regarding late FRP is going to cost a FO guy a job.