With the cap increasing for another season, the Memphis Grizzlies will be one of many teams with some extra space. Can they lure free agents for a consecutive season?
As it stands right now, the Memphis Grizzlies’ payroll for the 2016-2017 season will be $111.6 million, however, their salary for next offseason will be at $94.1 million and the salary cap is projected to be at $107 million. Just under $13 million cap space. Could that be enough for the Grizzlies to add another quality asset?
But first…
For the Grizzlies to have max money for next season, they will have to free up a decent number of cap space. In order to keep their three stars (Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons and Marc Gasol), they’d need to make some trades and cut non-guaranteed players, allowing them to then have up to $33 millionin cap space (the aforementioned three make a total of $74 million that season). Here’s how five of next year’s top free agents could be a fit in Memphis.
Next: Paul Millsap
Paul Millsap
Paul Millsap would be the perfect player for the Grizzlies. Millsap is the perfect replacement for Zach Randolph while being able to shoot from 3 and defender better than Z-Bo.
In Atlanta last season, Millsap averaged 17.1 points, 9 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game while also grabbing 1.7 blocks and 1.8 steals. Those are star numbers, but they don’t even show how good really he is. He had a career high 6.0 defensive win shares, a career-high 4.2 defensive box plus minus, while having a 21.3 PER and a .556 TS%.
Those numbers and his recent success with the Atlanta Hawks show that he can be a good offensive and defensive option at the power forward spot and at 32, would not be looking for much more than the contract he’s on right now ($21.4 million next season).
A perfect player for the new-look Grizzlies.
Next: JJ Redick
J.J Redick
The second player on the list isn’t a marquee signing, but he’d be a perfect fit with the Grizzlies as it stands (and perfect with the above free agent). Let’s face it, the Grizzlies lack shooting so why not go for the second best shooter in next year’s free agency (first, obviously, being Steph Curry).
Last season in Los Angeles, Redick made 200 3s shooting at a .475% clip. The man is one of the top shooters in the world. To put those number into perspective, the Grizzlies as a whole put up 1521 3s, making 504. Redick made 300 less than the whole Grizzlies but took 1100 less shots. That’s 72 percent less shots but still 39 percent of the Grizzlies’ overall makes. And that’s one player.
Playing with Gasol, Parsons and Conley (and hopefully Millsap) would create so many wide-open opportunities for Redick. And he would be on a below-max contract ($12-15 million range) so an easy addition to add next one another all-star.
Next: Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin
Now, hear me out before you scream no. Yeah, Memphis is not Los Angeles, but in terms of championship contention, choosing Memphis over L.A is the right choice. He’ll just have to learn to love BBQ.
In my opinion, Blake Griffin is the best power forward in the game if we don’t class small-ball 4s. We all know he can score, his career average 21.5 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting, but it’s his other skills that make him the best.
What makes Griffin such a commodity is his elite shot-creating abilities. When Chris Paul is out injured, Griffin normally becomes the primary ball handler and puts up amazing stats. In 2013-2014 when Chris Paul missed 18 games, Griffin averaged 27.5 ppg and 4.4 assists. 3.4 points. This shows Griffin can run an offense and that was reflected when he came third in the MVP voting.
If Griffin was the alpha dog on the new-look Grizzlies, he could go back to his old ways of being primarily an inside scorer (due to Marc Gasol’s ability to shoot). Also the idea of having the best passing front court in the league would create huge advantages for the Grizzlies.
Next: Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward
Yes the Grizzlies have just picked up a great small forward in Parsons. This signing would be on the premise that Memphis became a small-ball team and moved Parsons over to the 4.
Hayward has always been underrated, even though he put up close to a 20-5-5 last season (19.7, 5.0, 3.7 to be exact), he always flies under the radar in the Salt Lake. But his advanced stats and the old-fashioned eye-test show he’s an elite player that could be the missing piece on a contending team.
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Hayward, for his career, has a .556 TS% and a 16.9 PER. How he’d fit into Memphis would evolve the team from a post-oriented, grinding team, to a small-ball, 3-ball team. A team of Conley, a shooter at the 2, Hayward, Parsons and Gasol could create nightmares for other teams. With a mix of ball-handling and shooting with the necessary defense to contend.
Hayward doesn’t seem the right option from a casual viewer, but he brings a lot if Memphis want to change into a small-ball team.
Next: Can they do it?
Can they do it?
A lot of these free agents will be on high salaries and will be hard for Memphis to create. However, the Grizzlies can make this space enough to add another star to already strong existing trio.
Can Memphis lure one of these? If the current team play well this season, these players could be in the blue and gold next season.