At this point, Memphis Grizzlies fans may be used to action-packed offseasons. In the past three years, Memphis has brought in Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, and Jonas Valanciunas, making a couple of big trades along the way.
On Beale Street, things have been extremely busy. There hasn’t been a boring offseason yet, with big signings and trades that have almost all worked out in the Grizzlies’ favor.
But the 2021 offseason might be a little bit different.
The Grizzlies’ roster is almost entirely intact. Right now, there aren’t many moves to make. At most, we’ll see a contract extension for Jackson, Kyle Anderson, or Grayson Allen. Here’s why.
The Memphis Grizzlies have too much to worry about in their future to make any big signings
Memphis is in a unique spot from a financial perspective right now, with almost the entire roster being on contract for just the next couple of seasons. The only notable players who are penciled in beyond 2022 are De’Anthony Melton and John Konchar, both of whom are technically role players.
These two will be earning around $12 million combined in 2022-23.
Outside of them, Memphis has almost an entire roster to re-sign. Ja Morant is almost guaranteed to have a max contract in his future. Jaren Jackson Jr. will likely have a large contract, close to the maximum. Even Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks have carved themselves out as elite players who should be paid accordingly.
The bitter-sweet part is that the Grizzlies’ current nucleus is working. Outside of maybe Kyle Anderson, it wouldn’t make sense to let any of these players go. It may even make sense to bring back Justise Winslow, who was one of the worst players in the league last season after returning from injury.
All of this puts Memphis in a sticky situation.
Rather than bringing in a new face to a team that reached an impressive level of team chemistry, it seems much more likely that the Grizzlies will re-sign Justise Winslow, try to extend as many players as possible, and sign a big free agent in the next couple of years if the door remains open.
It’ll be a boring one, but this is what’s best for the team.