Memphis Grizzlies NBA Free Agency Guide

The Memphis Grizzlies suddenly have the foundation for a strong rebuild on their hands. How can this summer’s NBA free agency class strengthen them for 2019-20 and beyond?

It was a sad season in Memphis. In the span of just four months, the last two pillars of the Grit-N-Grind glory days were traded. But Memphis Grizzlies fans barely got to shed tears —  for Mike Conley‘s trade and Marc Gasol‘s NBA World Championship — before reason for new hope.

The Conley trade netted the Grizzlies exactly the mix of draft picks and expiring contracts they needed. Last Thursday, they hit potential home runs drafting Ja Morant second overall, while mining great late-first-round value in Brandon Clarke.

Memphis already has a high-upside core in place with Morant and Clarke alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. They also have several young pieces to work into their long-term plans, including Dillon Brooks, who basically missed all of the 2018-19 season. Rounding out their suddenly-enviable situation, Memphis also has heaps of cap room in 2020; currently just $19.76 million committed next summer. Chandler Parsons‘ blue whale will (finally) expire, as will every contract the Grizzlies took back from Utah.

But before getting too giddy about the future, the focus must remain on the impending free agency circus. The NBA is about to become an utter frenzy of “sources” and Woj-Bombs next week. Fortunately for the Grizzlies, the outcome of their season won’t lie in the decisions of the summer’s main stars. They can, however, feed off the secondary tiers of free agents to improve themselves for both now and next.

The Grizzlies’ current cap situation is a pretty murky swamp of cap holds, trade exceptions, and non-guaranteed contracts. Let’s make some sense of how much money they have to spend, and where they should put it to use.