MEMPHIS – After making significant roster moves by trading for veteran guard Marcus Smart and dealing their way out of the first round of last week’s draft, don’t expect the Grizzlies to be key players when NBA free agency opens this weekend.
Just don’t count them out, either.
With an open roster spot available should an upgrade opportunity develop, the Grizzlies aren’t exactly committed to being bystanders when the negotiation period commences Friday evening.
“We have one spot open to potentially look at, but I wouldn’t expect any kind of grand addition,” Grizzlies president of basketball operations and general manager Zach Kleiman said. “We’re very happy looking forward with where the balance of the roster is. I wouldn’t expect anything groundbreaking from here from us, a major kind of swing. We really like this group.”
It’s a group in transition, and one that will enter the 2023-24 season facing initial challenges with superstar guard Ja Morant missing the first 25 games to serve an NBA suspension. Filling that looming void was one of the motivations behind Memphis getting a jump on the offseason action earlier this month.
Smart, a playoff-tested combo guard who was the NBA’s 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, arrived in a three-team trade in which the Grizzlies sent productive point guard Tyus Jones to Washington. Memphis also sent the No. 25 pick in last week’s draft as well as one of their two first-round picks in the 2024 draft to Boston to complete the deal.
In that deal, the Grizzlies addressed their need for a proven wing defender and an additional playmaker in the backcourt. They also preserved flexibility on the roster, with the opportunity to take on an additional salaried player by using their mid-level exception in free agency. Beyond that, Memphis could also explore the sign-and-trade route to address any further needs.
Kleiman and the front-office have already started the process of sorting through free-agency priorities. The Grizzlies opened the week by exercising their 2023-24 option on fourth-year post player Xavier Tillman, which guarantees his reported $1.9 million salary for next season.
That deal prevented Tillman from potentially entering restricted free agency this summer at a time when injuries and surgery recovery have impacted the Grizzlies depth in the frontcourt. Tillman finished a career season as the starting center after both Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke sustained season-ending injuries in January and March, respectively.
Last week, Kleiman was reassuring in his comments after the draft that Adams should be recovered from his knee injury and available for the start of the upcoming season. Meanwhile the team is optimistic that Clarke, who tore his Achilles, will return at some point in the season.
On the other end of the financial spectrum, the Grizzlies anticipate reaching terms on a long-term contract extension with shooting guard Desmond Bane in the coming weeks. Bane, the team’s second-leading scorer last season at a career-high 21.5 points a game, is eligible for a five-year deal that could exceed $200 million based on the league’s new salary cap numbers.
The plan is clearly for Memphis to invest from within, with Bane expected to soon join Morant and 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. on lucrative long-term contracts. With Smart now joining a core of Morant, Jackson and Bane, the Grizzlies believe this team can reach NBA title contention after finishing with the second-best record in the Western Conference the past two seasons.
Smart was a starter or key rotation player on Celtics teams that reached the Eastern Conference finals four of the past five seasons, including a loss to Golden State in the 2022 NBA Finals. The nine-year veteran will add a battle-tested voice on and off the court for a Grizzlies team that admitted there are maturity issues to overcome. Memphis saw its season end in the second round to Golden State two years ago and in the first round to the Lakers this past season.
“We sat there in the locker room and said, ‘This ain’t going to happen again. We’ll be back and we’ll be better for sure next year,’” Bane said recently as he reflected on the feeling immediately after that disappointing series ended against the Lakers.
Count Bane among those who are confident that major roster changes aren’t needed this summer. The boost that Smart should provide, along with relatively good health and a motivated return from Morant following the suspension, should push the Grizzlies forward.
“Marcus brings a lot to the team . . . it’s going to be fun,” said Bane, who is recovering from an offseason toe procedure and expects to resume basketball workouts in July. “I don’t know if there’s any team in history that’s had two defensive players of the year on the same team in back-to-back years. We had a great defense last year, and that’s going to go up a notch. That allows Ja, myself and others a chance to get out in transition and play to our strengths.”
Continuity is also a strength of this team. But there will be some level of change within the Grizzlies’ core. In addition to Jones’ departure in the trade, there’s also a strong chance starting small forward Dillon Brooks will move on in free agency.
Brooks, a second-team NBA All-Defensive Team selection this past season, is an unrestricted free agent and has already been reportedly linked to interest from other teams. After spending his first six years in the league in Memphis, both Brooks and the Grizzlies were noncommittal on a potential return on a new deal moving forward. However, there is an option in which the sides could work together on a potential sign-and-trade deal that could benefit Brooks financially and allow Memphis to address a positional need and maintain roster flexibility.
Every team needs that veteran leadership, somebody who’s already been that way and can tell them what’s going on. I love the move a lot, what Zach and the organization did bringing in Marcus. He’s definitely got that grit and grind in him. He’ll definitely fit in around here.
Zach Randolph
In any scenario moving forward, Kleiman likes his options. The Grizzlies are eagerly planning for a bounce-back season, while also maintaining an eye on future spending down the line. Should Bane agree to an extension this summer, the Grizzlies will have three players operating on max or near-max contracts entering the 2024-25 NBA season.
“We have some thoughts in mind,” Kleiman said regarding the Grizzlies final open roster spot entering free agency. “The focus of our team building strategy is, ‘How do we put ourselves in the best position to be effective in the context of playoff basketball?’ We’re grateful we have an owner in Robert Pera who cares about winning championships. We’re willing to push in chips. When you look ahead to the season after this coming season, the payroll is certainly continuing to go up. But the goal is to win championships, and that just comes with the territory.”
From a distance, the Grizzlies’ moves already have received a stamp of approval from one of their former legendary players.
The addition of the rugged and tough-minded Smart alone gives Memphis a throwback-type player from the franchise’s heyday, retired forward Zach Randolph insists.
“When things go a certain way, there’s someone who can put you back on track,” Randolph said. “Every team needs that veteran leadership, somebody who’s already been that way and can tell them what’s going on. I love the move a lot, what Zach and the organization did bringing in Marcus. He’s definitely got that grit and grind in him. He’ll definitely fit in around here.”
The Grizzlies have already secured some additional grit in Smart.
They’ll soon grind through lucrative extension negotiations for Bane.
Any potential roster tweaks beyond that are gravy during July free agency.