- Though he considers Memphis home, Zach Randolph will be a free agent this season and will look at options other than simply remaining with the Grizzlies. Michael Wallace of Grind City Media writes that the veteran could serve as a specialist on a contender.
The Timberwolves have finalized the purchase of the Iowa Energy, a D-League franchise, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Energy previously had a partnership with the Grizzlies, but we learned back in January that the Wolves would be taking over control of the Des Moines-based club going forward.
In the wake of today’s announcement, it makes sense to take stock of where things stand in regard to NBA teams and their D-League affiliates. In 2016/17, 22 NBA clubs had one-on-one relationships with D-League teams, leaving eight NBA franchises without their own affiliates. However, changes are in store for the 2017/18 season, as the Development League becomes known as the Gatorade League.
Here are the changes expected for the 2017/18 G-League season, including updates on all the teams without affiliates:
- Atlanta Hawks: Will take over the Erie BayHawks, with an affiliate of their own in College Park, Georgia lined up for the 2019/20 season. Previously unaffiliated.
- Denver Nuggets: No concrete plans reported.
- Los Angeles Clippers: Hoping to operate new affiliate in 2017/18.
- Memphis Grizzlies: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Southaven, Mississippi. Previously affiliated with the Iowa Energy.
- Milwaukee Bucks: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Previously unaffiliated.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Will take over the Iowa Energy. Previously unaffiliated.
- New Orleans Pelicans: No affiliation for 2017/18. Intend to own and operate a new affiliate for the 2018/19 season. Search reportedly narrowed to six cities.
- Orlando Magic: Will own and operate a new affiliate in Lakeland, Florida. Previously affiliated with the Erie BayHawks.
- Portland Trail Blazers: No concrete plans reported.
- Washington Wizards: No concrete plans reported.
With cornerstone pieces like Mike Conley and Marc Gasol locked up for the long term, the Grizzlies looked to add another player to their core last summer, and landed on Chandler Parsons, who signed a maximum salary contract with the team. Parsons’ first year in Memphis was derailed by injuries, which prevented the club from taking a step toward title contention. With Parsons’ pricey deal on the books for three more years, the Grizzlies will have to hope he’s able to contribute something going forward, since his contract – combined with Conley’s and Gasol’s – will make it very difficult for the team to add any other marquee players.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Grizzlies financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Mike Conley ($28,530,608)
- Chandler Parsons ($23,112,004)
- Marc Gasol ($22,642,350)
- Brandan Wright ($5,955,760)
- Troy Daniels ($3,408,520)
- James Ennis ($3,028,410)
- Wade Baldwin ($1,874,400)
- Jarell Martin ($1,471,382)
- Deyonta Davis ($1,312,611)
- Andrew Harrison ($1,312,611)
- Jamaal Franklin ($163,296) — Waived via stretch provision
- Total: $92,811,952
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Wayne Selden ($1,312,611)
- Total: $1,312,611
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
- JaMychal Green ($2,820,497 qualifying offer / $2,820,497 cap hold)
- Total: $2,820,497
Cap Holds
- Zach Randolph ($15,542,168)
- Tony Allen ($10,460,674)
- Vince Carter ($8,101,708)
- Wayne Selden ($1,312,611) — If team option is declined
- Total: $35,417,161
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: $6,556,818
- With no cap hold for a first-round draft pick to worry about, the Grizzlies would have $94,443,182 on their books if they only kept their players on guaranteed salaries, plus a pair of empty roster cap charges. In that scenario though, their projected cap room would be less than the mid-level exception, and it would mean renouncing free agents like Green, Randolph, Allen, and Carter. As such, Memphis is far more likely to stay over the cap and make an effort to re-sign at least a couple of those players.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
At age 40, Vince Carter believes he still has two more years left in the NBA, according to Real GM.
Carter remained productive in his 19th professional season, averaging 8.0 points in 73 games with the Grizzlies. He started all six playoff games against the Spurs and played 32.5 minutes per night.
“I said to myself ‘I want to play 15 years’. I don’t know where I got that from,” Carter said. “And then I got to 15 years and I kept going. I never capped it, but at the same time I’ve had a lot of players remind me of things I’ve said. I’m still saying ‘two more years and I’m done.'”
Carter will be a free agent after making a little more than $4.26MM this year. He came into camp with only a $2MM guarantee, but managed to stay on Memphis’ roster the entire season.
The Grizzlies haven’t indicated whether they plan to bring Carter back, and the team faces difficult decisions with Zach Randolph, Tony Allen and JaMychal Green also headed toward free agency. With big contracts for Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons and Marc Gasol already in place, Memphis enters the offseason with only about $6MM in cap room.
But Carter insists that he will be ready if he does return to the Grizzlies, saying, “I could play three more rounds of basketball right now.”
While cornerstone pieces like Mike Conley and Marc Gasol remain under contract for multiple years, the Grizzlies will see some key players hit the open market this summer, including Tony Allen. Speaking today to the media after Memphis was eliminated from the postseason, Allen said he’s “not trying to break the bank” in free agency and is “confident” he’ll return to the Grizzlies, per Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Allen had previously expressed a desire to stay in Memphis, likening the possibility of leaving to a “divorce” and suggesting that he didn’t want to think about that scenario. At the time, the veteran guard said that he’ll always be a Memphian even if he doesn’t re-sign with the club.
Allen, 35, is coming off his 13th NBA season, and has spent the last seven of those years in Memphis. His production has remained remarkably consistent during that seven-year stretch — he has never averaged fewer than 8.4 PPG or more than 9.8 PPG, and continues to provide the club with solid defense on the wing, though he missed the end of this season – and the playoffs – due to a calf injury.
Allen’s salaries during that stretch have also been fairly consistent. He earned $3MM in his first season with the Grizzlies back in 2010/11, and has seen that figure rise a little each year — he made about $5.5MM in 2016/17.
With nearly $93MM in guaranteed salary already on their books for 2017/18, the Grizzlies won’t have the flexibility to use cap room if they intend to re-sign Allen and/or Zach Randolph. Still, they hold Allen’s Bird rights, allowing them to offer him anything up to the max. Despite Allen’s assertion that he’d not looking to “break the bank,” another modest raise seems fair if he intends to remain in Memphis.
JaMychal Green, who is eligible for restricted free agency this summer, also said today that he hopes to return to the Grizzlies, indicating that Memphis “feels like home” for him (Twitter link via Tillery).
Last year’s NBA Finals combatants, the Cavaliers and Warriors, made quick work of their first round playoff opponents, dispatching the Pacers and Trail Blazers respectively in four games apiece. However, many of the other first round series around the NBA remain very much up in the air.
Currently, four series are tied at 2-2, with two of those Game Fives scheduled for tonight, and two more on tap for Wednesday. The Clippers and Jazz have each split their home games, resulting in a 2-2 tie, while the No. 7 seeded Grizzlies won two home games over the Spurs following David Fizdale‘s post-Game 2 “take that for data” rant, pulling even in that series. Those four teams will be in action tonight.
Over in the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seeded Celtics find themselves tied with the No. 8 Bulls in an unusual series in which road teams are 4-0 so far. Meanwhile, the Hawks ripped through the Wizards‘ defense in two games in Atlanta, evening that series at 2-2. Both of those series will resume on Wednesday.
In each of those four series, the higher seed maintains the advantage, with two of the final three games on their home court. But most of those higher seeds don’t look as formidable as they did entering the postseason.
What do you think? Will any of these series result in upsets? If the Jazz are able to knock off the Clippers, should that series even be viewed as a legit upset, given the absence of Blake Griffin and the teams’ identical regular season records?
Vote below on which lower seeds will make it through the first round — you can pick as many as you want. After placing your vote, share your thoughts in the comments section!
Which lower seeds in 2-2 series will make it through the first round?
Jazz (5) over Clippers (4)
59.08%
(914 votes)
Hawks (5) over Wizards (4)
14.87%
(230 votes)
Bulls (8) over Celtics (1)
13.70%
(212 votes)
Grizzlies (7) over Spurs (2)
7.56%
(117 votes)
None
4.78%
(74 votes)
Total Votes: 1,547
The NBA handed out a pair of fines on Wednesday, docking Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale $30K for his post-game rant about the officiating following his team’s Game 2 loss in San Antonio. The league also fined Marcus Smart $25K for making an obscene gesture toward home fans during the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the Bulls.
Fizdale was a lock to be fined even before his Monday night rant concluded with the “take that for data” line that instantly went viral. The Grizzlies head coach spent time after Monday’s loss pointing to the free throw discrepancy between the two teams, after Kawhi Leonard shot more free throws than the entire Grizzlies squad.
According to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal and Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links), Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley sent Fizdale a text early on Tuesday morning thanking him for his comments. Conley and his teammates intend to reimburse Fizdale for the $30K fine as a sign of appreciation for aggressively taking a stand on their behalf.
Meanwhile, Smart received his $25K fine after TNT cameras showed Smart appearing to exchange words with a fan in Boston before flipping him the bird. Head coach Brad Stevens called the incident, which came midway through the fourth quarter with the Celtics trailing the Bulls by a 14-point margin, “unacceptable.”
Tony Allen has been diagnosed with a strained calf and is out indefinitely, according to a team press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical notes (Twitter link) that the timetable for this sort of injury is roughly a month.
The Grizzlies play the Spurs in the opening round of the NBA playoffs and the team’s coaching staff is preparing for the matchup as if Allen will not be available, Wojnarowski adds.
San Antonio is favored to win the series against Memphis and if that outcome occurs, Allen may have played his last game for the team. The 35-year-old will be a free agent this offseason and he stressed that he wants to return. However, the Grizzlies are facing salary cap issues this summer, which could prevent them from offering Allen a fair-market deal.
Allen was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league this season. He ranks third among shooting guards in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus and he ranks eighth among non-bigs in NBAMath’s Defensive Points Saved.
Tony Allen is a fan-favorite in Memphis, but since he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, there’s a chance he finds himself playing for a team other than the Grizzlies next season.
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Allen said about the possibility of leaving over the summer (via Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal). “What I embody for this organization, everything that I embody, it would be almost like a divorce if I go somewhere.”
Memphis wants Allen back, but if the shooting guard is aiming for one last sizable deal, he may have to look elsewhere.
“I’ve already talked to the front office, and if it works out for us that we can have him back, I love him,” said coach David Fizdale when asked about Allen’s future “But I also know that we have to make some decisions based on what’s best for the unit. That’s where we’ll come together and we’ll see what’s on the table and we’ll give our input on what gives us our best chance moving forward.”
Next season, the franchise will pay approximately $74MM in salary to Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, and Chandler Parsons. The 2017/18 salary cap is expected to come in at $101MM, which doesn’t leave the Grizzlies with much salary cap space for its other dozen roster spots.
Allen, who turned 35 this season, was one of the best perimeter defenders in the league this season. He ranks third among shooting guards in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus and he ranks eighth among non-bigs in NBAMath’s Defensive Points Saved.
It’s arguable that he’s the best perimeter defender in the history of the franchise. His playing style ushered in the team’s Grit-and-Grind era and the city of Memphis embraced the movement. Even if the era comes to an official end this summer, Allen will remain a part of the town.
“Even if I don’t sign here, I’m going to still live here,” he said. “I’m thankful, I’m glad that the city embraced me, my hard work and my work ethic. That’s what made that connection, that bond, that made me want to call myself a Memphian. You know I’m born in Chicago but I’m a Memphian.”
Allen is making slightly more than $5.5MM this season. I speculate that he could fetch a short-term deal with similar annual values in free agency. Given their cap woes, it remains to be seen whether the Grizzlies are willing to pay the market rate. Regardless, Allen knows where he wants to be.
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen, but what I do know is, my heart is here,” Allen said. “That big ‘ol blue face, that Grizzly bear, that’s where my heart is.”
Count Courtney Lee among the latest NBA players to complain about opponents putting up shots in the final seconds of a decided game. On Friday night the Grizzlies laid waste to Lee’s Knicks, culminating in rookie Wade Baldwin IV standing at half-court with the ball and a 10-point lead as the game clock neared expiration.
Just before time ran out, however, Baldwin hoisted a deep three and nailed it. The basket pushed the Grizzlies above the triple-digit mark earning Memphis fans in attendance free chicken.
Lee, unhappy to lose by 10 but considerably angrier losing by 13, went after the rookie but was thwarted by a handful of Grizzlies veterans.
“For him to do that, what are you doing it for, bro?,” Lee told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Think about the people who’s doing it. They got bad luck in this league. … I don’t know what made him want to do it.”
Lee’s reaction is a common one among NBA players but should it be?
Just last week Lance Stephenson incited his own commotion by adding a layup in the final seconds of a win over the Raptors. Then, Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan called the moot field goal “disrespectful to the game“. This, naturally, was followed up by Stephenson exposing an instance of DeRozan’s teammate Norman Powell doing similar to the Sixers earlier this season.
Ultimately, the NBA and fan community that drives it need to decide what is permissible in the waning seconds of a ball game and what’s just sour grapes. In response to the Stephenson/Raptors theatrics, Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweeted “I’m so tired of these unwritten rules in basketball. If you don’t want a player to shoot at the end of the game then play some D.”
On one hand, it’s easy to empathize with players like Lee or DeRozan who see the unnecessary field-goal attempts as salt in the wounds of a fresh defeat. On the other, its a thin line expecting everybody to subscribe to the same unwritten rules of a game.
Should players adopt Marks’ stance and play defense if preserving a spread is so important to them? Or should players on the winning end know not to shoot when the game is out of reach?
Factors to consider are that some veterans will go so far as to let the shot clock expire before hoisting a shot at the buzzer resulting in their being assigned a turnover. Another is the fan factor, such as that which was in effect for Baldwin IV. Reaching certain point milestones, usually 100 points, can sometimes trigger benefits for fans in attendance. Does this impact the appropriateness of a last second basket?
You tell us in the comments below!