2016 Summer League

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Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace today announced that the Grizzlies signed rookie guard Wade Baldwin IV to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Baldwin (6-4, 202) was drafted by Memphis in the first round (17th overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft following a two-year collegiate career at Vanderbilt University, where he appeared in 68 games (54 starts) and averaged 11.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.32 steals in 29.6 minutes while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 42.2 percent from three-point range and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.

The 20-year-old Belle Mead, N.J. native earned Second Team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a sophomore after playing 33 games (30 starts) and averaging 14.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.21 steals in 30.4 minutes last season.

Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies by purchasing 2016-17 Season Tickets can do so by calling (901) 888-HOOP or going online to grizzlies.com. For more information on the Grizzlies, ‘like’ Memphis Grizzlies on Facebook or follow on Twitter (@memgrizz).

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Grizzlies sign 2016 1st Round Draft Pick Wade Baldwin IV to multi-year contract

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 89-79 during their matchup Friday at the Las Vegas Summer League.

Despite never leading by more than 11, Atlanta was in control for the majority of the game. Rebounding was key, as the Hawks brought down 42 boards to the Grizzlies' 25. The Hawks also dominated scoring down low, accumulating 46 paint points, while holding the Grizzlies to just 30.

The Hawks decided to run a shorter rotation for this final game, as all nine players who saw the court received double-digit minutes. Point guard Bryce Cotton led the team in scoring, dropping 18 points and dishing out four assists in the win. Brandon Ashley wasn't far behind, tallying 17 points and seven rebounds at starting power forward. Edy Tavares was the only other starter in double figures, recording 11 points and 10 rebounds en route to a double-double.

Levi Randolph finished off his successful summer league in style for the Grizzlies, as he led the starters with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Vince Hunter led Memphis in scoring (18 points), while adding eight rebounds in a bench role. Despite scoring 11 points, Andrew Harrison really struggled for the Grizzlies, as he shot 3-for-18 from the field and committed six turnovers in the loss.

The Hawks' victory brings their summer league record up to 3-2, while the Grizzlies dropped to 2-3. -- Joel Bartilotta via Rotowire

Grizzlies Game Tracker and Box ScoreGrizzlies Summer League Central

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Grizzlies fall to Hawks in Summer League finale

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Grizzlies vs. Hawks photos

The Minnesota Timberwolves hit key free throws down the stretch to upset the Memphis Grizzlies, 89-85, in the second round of the Las Vegas Summer League tournament Thursday at Thomas and Mack Center.
Trailing 82-81 with 2:15 to play, the 24th-seeded Timberwolves hit 6 of 8 free throws to outscore No. 8 Memphis, 8-3, in the last minute and a half. The Grizzlies went nearly three minutes with only one field goal, a 3-pointer by Levi Randolph with 4.3 seconds remaining that was inconsequential.

In a game with seven lead changes and 13 ties, Minnesota enjoyed a hot hand throughout, shooting 49.2 percent from the field, including 7 of 14 from the 3-point line. While they found their stroke from the foul line late, the Timberwolves were only 18 of 27 from the charity stripe.

Tyus Jones led the Timberwolves (2-3) with 26 points and 10 assists. Silas totaled 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. Coty Clarke paced the reserves with 15 points.
Randolph finished with 26 points for Memphis (2-2), and Andrew Harrison had 16 points, going 12-for-14 from the foul line. Randy Culpepper scored 10 points off the bench. Vince Hunter totaled nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Timberwolves advance to Saturday's quarterfinals where they will play the Toronto Raptors-Golden State Warriors winner. The Grizzlies play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday in a consolation game. - TJuan Blanco via RotoWire

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Grizzlies come up short against T'Wolves

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Grizzlies vs. Timberwolves photos

July 13, 2016, Las Vegas, NV – Back in the 80s when the NBA was ruled by the Showtime Lakers, they were coached by Pat Riley. He had the cool-as-Southern California look: the slicked-back hair, the perfectly tailored suits framing custom dress shirts with distinctive cutaway collars and fastidiously knotted ties.

With a roster featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper, it was presumed by most fans that it simply fell to Riley to roll the ball out to his superstars and then get the hell out of the way and model his Armani on the sidelines.

But that would be to dramatically shortchange Riley’s contribution to the game of basketball. After one particularly disappointing playoff series, Riley set about knocking out walls and building an area in his house in which he could do nothing but watch video and figure out what had gone wrong. Riley took the concept of video to an ever-higher standard, using game clips to not only point out shortcomings and areas of improvement to players, but also to motivate them.

Riley might also be one of the founders of the analytics movement in the NBA. Following the 1986 season, Riley developed a program that he called the Career Best Effort (CBE). His goal was to assign a quantifiable score to a number of categories and thus create a statistical portrait of the player when he joined the Lakers.

Jackie MacMullen described it thusly in her book When the Game Was Ours:

Push ahead thirty years and you’ll see David Fizdale standing in the middle of a high school gym in Las Vegas, urging his players to improve “one percent.”

“I’m so thrilled for him to have this opportunity,” says current Heat coach Erik Spoelstra during a recent interview. “He’s a first class individual. This business is tough and when you come across somebody that you can really trust, that is not only competent – that's a different bucket – but somebody who has great character, great integrity,” continues Spoelstra. “It’s not just coming from me or anyone from the Heat. If you ask anyone who knows him around the league, that’s what they talk about.”

The bond of friendship is strong between Fizdale and Spoelstra. In fact, Spoelstra is now coming to grips that for the first time, he’ll have to coach an NBA game without one of his dearest friends on the staff.

Their friendship derives in part from parallel histories: small-college point guards who weren’t good enough to play in the NBA, but through grit and hard work, caught the attention of one of the game’s legends – Pat Riley.

Riley’s razor-sharp appearance on the Laker sidelines was no mere affectation. It was a reflection of who he was and how he ran the Lakers. Practices were organized and efficient with little wasted motion. No detail was too small to escape his notice.

And when Riley came to Miami, he brought his devotion to video. Just prior to Riley’s appointment, Heat GM Dave Wohl had hired Spoelstra as the team’s video coordinator. Riley recognized Spoelstra’s work ethic – and let’s remember that Spoelstra was the video coordinator before the advent of NBA League Pass and when a video room was stacked floor to ceiling with VHS tape machines and computer-based editing was years in the future. Putting together edits was a tedious and time-consuming effort.

“Video guys around the league are the grunts, so you really learn early on how to put in a twenty-hour day,” recounts Spoelstra. “You get all the reps, all the information, all the preps, all the hours. You really learn the pro game very quickly when you’re working in the video room.”

After a couple of years, Spoelstra went from grinding out pick and roll edits on Heat opponents to scouting opponents in person and filing detailed scouting reports. When Riley handed Spoelstra the reins of the Heat, the Hall of Fame coach pointed out that, "This game is now about younger coaches who are technologically skilled, innovative, and bring fresh new ideas.”

And the guy who hired David Fizdale to do the job that he once did? Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra saw in Fizdale the same qualities that Riley had seen in Spoelstra:

Part of that schooling for Fizdale took place during three previous NBA stops, but perhaps it’s his experience at the Heat’s video coordinator that gave him the most valuable insight into being an NBA head coach.

“When you’re the video coordinator, you’re probably the second-closest person to the head coach,” according to Spoelstra. “I would say the majority of coaches in this league, the person sitting next to them on the plane is the video coordinator.

First it was Spoelstra stepping into the position after working with Riley in Miami and now the wheel turns as Fizdale takes on a team after learning from Spoelstra. Now that Fizdale has stepped into the Grizzlies coaching job, you can already see that he has command of the gym. He has a plan: introduce a concept, reinforce it, practice it and then stack another concept on top. Don’t oversaturate young minds with too much information. Give them just enough to become proficient and then add on to that.

He’s also demanding accountability. Fizdale won’t hesitate to step in and correct a mistake. And when he corrects, he’s not yelling from the sidelines. He’s on the court, making eye contact with the offending player and demonstrating exactly what went wrong. He has the gift of being firm in his chastisement while demonstrating that he cares about his players as people.

And he demands that Riley-esque “one percent” improvement.

Follow Grizzlies TV Play-By-Play Announcer, Pete Pranica on Twitter @petepranica and on Instagram @petepranica. Stay tuned as Pete shares his perspective on the Grizzlies' performance at 2016 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas right here on Grizzlies.com.

Check out Grizzlies Summer League Central for more exclusive stories.

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Pete's Perspective: Fizdale's roots

Tuesday July 12, 2016, Las Vegas, NV --- It’s Sunday afternoon at Thomas &amp; Mack Center and I sit down next a familiar face. Wearing a bright yellow polo shirt and peering over a pair of reading glasses, Joey Crawford watches the Kings-Rockets Summer League game with a trained eye.

He offers a smile (yes, Joey Crawford does smile) and a handshake, asking me about my recent trip to Switzerland. He knows because we’re Facebook friends. Stunning, I know.

Now officially retired as an active NBA official, Crawford is now in management with the NBA’s referee operations department. I ask him what he’s doing and he opens a folder to show me a sheaf of evaluation sheets.

You see, it’s not just players who are nurturing their NBA dreams during the Samsung Summer League. There is another group of young and hungry professionals who are also nurturing NBA aspirations.

Summer League games are assigned to D-League officials and younger, less-experienced NBA referees. The Summer League games are opportunities for both to enhance their careers.

For the D-League referees, it is an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of larger audiences, national television, and the keen eyes of senior NBA referees and front office personnel.

For the junior NBA referees, it’s an opportunity to get in more reps before the season starts and an opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a crew chief, which carries extra pressure and responsibility.

In the stands of section 103 at the Thomas and Mack Center and along one wall of the Cox Pavilion, members of the NBA’s referee operations department, assisted by current referees, evaluate the officiating of Summer League games.

Later Sunday afternoon, Zach Zarba, one of the twelve referees selected to work the NBA Finals this season as well as last, watches the Chicago-Philadelphia game unfold. He notes in a black notebook the times of particular plays that he’d like to look at again on video and discuss with the crew. He is not formally evaluating the officiating crew on a call-by-call basis, but is there to note certain items such as clarity and precision in hand signals, positioning and on-court presence.

When halftime comes, he walks down to the officials’ locker room and goes over the first half video with them. Meanwhile, in the row of seats behind me, three D-League officials quiz each other on the rules.

One of their conversations deals with what happens when a team is down to five eligible players and one is assessed a sixth foul that, under normal circumstances, results in disqualification. What do you do? That player has to stay in, but that sixth foul (and subsequent fouls by that player) is a personal foul and a technical foul. Even if a player has been disqualified by fouls and there are only four eligible players left, the NBA doesn’t let you play five on four.

These are the types of conversations that referees have, constantly reviewing rules and officiating the game from the stands. The longer you are around them, the more you understand how much they care for the game and how badly they want to make the right call.

And you understand that they’re human. Zarba tells me that the legendary referee Steve Javie (whose father was an NFL official) encouraged him to involve his dad in the important moments in Zarba’s career: first game, first playoff game, etc. Zarba’s first NBA game was in Orlando and so his father (a former baseball umpire) was in the stands. The younger Zarba was understandably nervous, but when he looked up and saw his father, “he was white as a sheet.”

His father can be more relaxed these days as Zarba has now worked his way into the upper echelon of NBA referees and now passes on his knowledge to a new generation of officials – and curious broadcasters.

Visit Grizzlies Summer League Central for more in-depth coverage, highlights, and more.

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Pete's Perspective: Summer League Officiating

Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace today announced that the Grizzlies signed rookie center Deyonta Davis to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Davis (6-11, 237) was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round (31st overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft after his freshman season at Michigan State University, where he competed in 35 games (16 starts) and averaged 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.83 blocks in 18.6 minutes while shooting 59.8 percent from the field and 60.5 percent from the free throw line. His draft rights were traded by Boston to Memphis with the draft rights to Rade Zagorac (35th overall in 2016) on draft night for a future protected first round draft pick.

Last season, the 19-year-old Muskegon, Mich. native set a Spartans freshman record for total blocks (64), which is the second-most in a single season in program history. He blocked a career-high six shots on Jan. 28 vs. Northwestern.