It never seemed like a legitimate possibility that the Warriors would match Quinten Post's three-year $30 million offer sheet from the Grizzlies. But now, the deal is official, and the Grizzlies have another quality addition to the frontcourt.
Jock Landale may not be in Memphis anymore, but the process to trade him back in February and sign Quinten Post this week was a genius move by the Grizzlies. Last summer, Jock Landale signed with the Grizzlies for the vet minimum and was having career-best offensive production before being traded in the Jaren Jackson Jr. deal.
Understandably, Landale was becoming a fan favorite, and the trade left the Grizzlies' frontcourt even more depleted after the trade deadline. When factoring in his production with both the Grizzlies and Hawks, Landale averaged 10.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 68 games this past season.
Jock Landale ended up signing a one-year $14 million deal (fully guaranteed) this offseason to return to the Hawks. It's an incredible story considering he was signed to a vet minimum deal last summer, and he had contemplated playing overseas again. However, fast forward to now, and it's looking pretty clear that the Grizzlies made the right decision to move on when they did.
The Quinten Post deal suddenly looks way better for the Grizzlies
Before more details came out about Quinten Post's deal, there were plenty of concerns about the Grizzlies overpaying for a third center. When factoring in that Quinten Post is making $9 million next season and it's the only fully guaranteed year, the deal suddenly looks a lot better for the Grizzlies.
Similar to Quinten Post, Jock Landale showed a very impressive ability to hit threes for a center, as he shot 38.1% from behind the arc in Memphis. Despite this, it is important to consider that not only can Post fit the same floor spacing role, but he is also four years younger than Jock Landale. The Grizzlies are making a wise gamble on potential, and it is likely Landale is close to his peak as a player.
Post entered the league as an older rookie, but the difference in age could mean the Grizzlies could likely develop him even more. While Post likely won't come close to the level of rim protection of guys such as Zach Edey and Isaiah Stewart, he will still likely end up being a better defensive option than Landale was in Memphis.
The Grizzlies simply made the right choice to move on from Jock Landale despite how consistent his offense was. While it wasn't solely on Landale, since the Grizzlies were slammed with injuries last season, his rim protection proved to be a major liability when the team was trying to win games before the trade deadline.
It would've been impossible to have justified keeping Landale in Memphis the whole season and bringing him back to the same deal that the Hawks gave him this summer. Instead, getting Isaiah Stewart via trade and signing Quinten Post to fill Landale's role was a much better solution to boosting the center depth behind Zach Edey.
In fairness, this wasn't the best center market around the league, especially after Mitchell Robinson went to the Boston Celtics. Teams had to pay significantly more to get the best center options remaining. However, when considering Landale's deal in Atlanta and Post's deal in Memphis, it seems pretty clear that the Grizzlies look genius for both decisions they made this year.
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