Grizzlies must address offensive woes this offseason
By Daniel Nicks
May 3, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) and Atlanta Hawks small forward Kyle Korver (26) scramble for the ball in the second half of game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. The Pacers won 81-73. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Now that the Grizz have not so gracefully bowed out of the playoffs, it’s time to leave what was otherwise an outstanding season behind us and to look ahead to what the offseason has to offer. With it come the draft and free agency, two opportunities to address needs and shortcomings; opportunities to take your team to the next level.
And in my mind, offense will must be their top priority. After all, you can have the greatest defense in the world, but it won’t matter if you can’t put the ball in the basket.
Because not only do the Grizzlies lack any players that can stretch the floor, they don’t have any pure scorers that are truly capable of creating their own shot – although Mike Conley did show glimpses of potential in that regard.
Here’s a glance at a few of the directions the Grizzlies could go with aforementioned offseason opportunities:
The Draft
The Grizz will have three selections in the second-round, after their first-round pick went to Minnesota via Houston and Memphis received an additional second-rounder from Toronto in the Rudy Gay deal. Memphis received a second-rounder along with Dexter Pitman from Miami for the rights to Ricky Sanchez as well.
This draft is particularly thin at the top, devoid of any true no-brainers, but it does have a bevy of talent that trickles well down into the second-round.
Options Memphis could realistically pursue with the 41st overall selection include the likes of Reggie Bullock and James Southerland, both of whom could fill an immediate need off the bench in their first year.
For more on this visit: Memphis Grizzlies 2013 draft prospects.
Free Agency
Tony Allen, Jerryd Bayless (player option) and Keyon Dooling are the only unrestricted free agents set to come off the books this summer. There are two of them I would actually like to keep, I’ll just let you guess who.
Should Bayless somehow find an excessive amount of worth on the open market or Allen decide to skip two, here are a few of the players that could potentially replace them, or compliment them:
Kyle Korver:
Korver has recently stated that he’s ‘very open to coming back to Atlanta. But with the mind of Danny Ferry in tow and only three players guaranteed to return, there’s no telling what he has up his sleeve.
Should they not make a push for his return, he would be an ideal option for the Grizz – as he’s one of the league’s premiere three-point shooters at over 45 percent. That’s not a fluke either, the 9-year veteran has shot at least 41 percent from beyond the arc over the last four season.
J.J. Redick:
If you just scoffed and mumbled an expletive in my direction, you clearly haven’t seen Redick play recently – well, at least before the trade to Milwaukee.
The six-year veteran still has that silky, smooth stroke that made us all hate him at Duke, but he’s also blossomed into a formidable combo-guard. Don’t believe me? Just check out his splits during his time in Orlando this past season, namely in January where he averaged 17.5 points, 3.6 assists ( which was actually down from his 4.7 the month before) and 2.8 rebounds through 14 games.
When you consider the fact he was shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from downtown, this guy looks like the real deal. Plus, he’s only 28-years-old and still improving.
Anthony Morrow:
I actually think this would be an ideal pick up. Morrow is one of the purest shooters that the average NBA fan hasn’t heard of and he’s shown an ability to create for himself in the past.
It could take some time for the 27-year-old to find his groove after bouncing around the last two seasons, but if he can regain his form from Golden State or New Jersey he would pay dividends.
He averaged 13.0 points and 3.8 rebounds with the Warriors in 2009. He shot .498 percent from the field and .456 from beyond the arc in 69 games.
Honorable mentions: Marco Belinelli, Nick Young, Corey Brewer, Leandro Barbosa, Martell Webster.