4 popular free agent targets Grizzlies should avoid at all cost

Paul George

Among the top of this year's free agent class (holds a player option to remain with his team) is none other than Paul George, a perennial All-Star finding himself at a fork in the road in trying to decide on his next move.

George, who spent the last several years playing for the Los Angeles Clippers alongside a variety of other key players, is still in search of his first title after several lackluster playoff runs.

Although the veteran represents what some would consider to be the ideal player to drop into almost any scenario, as he's a wing defender who has the shooting efficiency to remain a threat on offense and the strength to be a presence closer to the rim, it would be a larger gamble for Memphis than the team can afford.

Individually, George could potentially be given a prominent offensive role that could be entirely hit or miss.

Memphis as a team has been capitalizing greatly upon their overall youth movement to dominate the league, which is spearheaded by cornerstones Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., as well as up-and-comers such as G.G. Jackson.

While George would seem a safe pick, the idea of inserting a 34-year-old into the mix would directly contradict what has made the Grizzlies as potent and fierce as they have been over the last few years (when healthy, at least) and would act as a sizable gamble to make considering the contract he'd likely command.

While there would logically be a desire to address the depth of wing players on the team, there's no true cure-all that can magically stick the team together.

A carefully laid out lineup that capitalizes both on the tenacity of Memphis as well as the versatility of both paint and wing dominance can help be established by high proficiency shooters, but relying on a player such as George, who can turn into a streaky outside shooter, can end up hurting too much in the long run.