5 players the Grizzlies never should have signed
By Elaine Blum
2. Hasheem Thabeet
In a draft that included Stephen Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, and Jrue Holiday the Grizzlies selected Hasheem Thabeet second overall and thus signed him to their roster.
While playing for the UConn Huskies, Thabeet emerged as an interesting defensive prospect, winning Big East Defensive Player of the Year and National Defensive Player of the Year during his collegiate career.
His game did not carry over to the NBA, however.
As a rookie, Thabeet averaged 3.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 13 minutes per game, and that was actually his best season.
In February 2010, he was assigned to the Dakota Wizards for several games, making him the then-highest-drafted player to be sent to the D League. The year after his production plummeted to 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in only 8.2 minutes per game.
The Grizzlies paid Thabeet over $4 million during his rookie season, which is more than their starting point guard Mike Conley and their starting center Marc Gasol made at the time.
It is safe to say that that money would have been better spent on someone else and even though Thabeet was not a free agent signing, he still belongs on this list.
Widely regarded as one of the biggest draft busts ever, the Grizzlies never should have drafted him, which subsequently led to his signing.