SLCSL2019

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LAS VEGAS – Although both Ja Morant and DeAnthony Melton are sitting out of summer league action, the Grizzlies made a strong play this week off the court to solidify the point guard position by agreeing to terms with restricted free agent Tyus Jones.

Tyus Jones #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves handles the ball during the game against the Toronto Raptors on April 9, 2019 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Jordan Johnson via Getty Images.

Memphis signed Jones to a three-year, $28 million offer sheet and Minnesota bypassed Tuesday night’s deadline to match the terms to retain the fourth-year playmaker. Timberwolves president Gersson Rosas confirmed the decision in a statement wishing Jones “nothing but the best in Memphis."

In the 23-year-old Jones, the Grizzlies land a player who statistically ranks among the most sure-handed point guards in the league. He averaged 6.9 points and 4.8 assists in 68 games for the Timberwolves last season, committing just 47 total turnovers in 1,560 minutes.

Jones, a first-round pick in the 2015 draft, stands to be the most experienced point guard on a roster in major transition at the position. Memphis traded franchise pillar Mike Conley and backup Delon Wright in separate deals that became official in recent days. Morant was added with the No. 2 pick in last month’s draft and Melton was acquired in a trade with Phoenix.

TAKE TWO: Stingy Grizzlies topping Vegas charts

The Grizzlies, at 3-0, entered Wednesday’s games at the MGM Resorts Summer League as one of five unbeaten squads in the 32-team field. While new coach Taylor Jenkins’ up-tempo offense has garnered attention, the Grizzlies’ defense has largely set the tone for their early success.

Head Coach Taylor Jenkins of the Memphis Grizzlies coaches during a game against the the Phoenix Suns during Day 5 of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2019 at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by David Becker via Getty Images.

Memphis ranks first in scoring defense in Vegas league play, having held its three opponents to just 73 points per game. The Grizzlies have also outscored opponents by an average margin of 16 points, which is the third-best differential among the field. The team’s performance in Las Vegas is a continuation of the spark ignited last week in the Salt Lake City Summer League.

Memphis is 5-1 overall in summer play, counting its performance in both leagues, and has won all five games by double figures. Balance has defined the team’s play, with five different players leading the team in scoring, including twice when two players were tied as the top scorers.

“As we’re trying to build this environment in Memphis, we want great people that compete, that are great teammates, that are willing to get better,” Jenkins said. “We’ll have great balance. Hopefully, in this system that we’re going to play, guys can feel the freedom they’re going to have. Everyone from the point guard to the five man will have the ball in his hands. Defensively, just play the right way and stick to our principles. In the end, we’re building chemistry now that will carry into the regular season.”

UP NEXT: Grizzlies vs Celtics, Thursday 9:30 p.m. (central) ESPN2

The Grizzlies close out the preliminary portion of the Vegas schedule with Thursday’s game against the Celtics in a battle of 3-0 teams at Thomas &amp; Mack Center. Memphis and Boston were both idle on Wednesday.

The Celtics are led by former Purdue point guard Carsen Edwards and Las Vegas crowd sensation Taco Fall, the 7-foot-7 rookie center from the University of Central Florida. Edwards scored a game-high 23 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three-point range in Tuesday’s win over Denver. Fall is averaging 7.3 points on 77-percent shooting from the field, along with 3.3 rebounds and a block in 13 minutes off the Boston bench.

The Grizzlies are led by Yuta Watanabe in scoring (13.5), Ivan Rabb in rebounding (10.5) and John Konchar in both assists (3.7) and steals (3.0) in Las Vegas entering Thursday.

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

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MikeCheck: Two takeaways from Grizzlies 3-0 Vegas start and a look-ahead to Celtics clash

LAS VEGAS – The waiting was excruciating.

Just imagine unwrapping a gift, but then being prevented from opening it, embracing it and enjoying it for more than two weeks. Having to juggle that anticipation, that angst and that nervous energy for that long was essentially unbearable for Brandon Clarke and Grayson Allen.

“It’s been tough - it sucks,” Clarke said of coping with the delay. “I haven’t been able to practice. I’ve been doing individual work. Now, all of that is done and I’m just glad I can be a full part of the team.”

“The last two weeks, maybe more, has been the waiting game and I’ve been waiting for it to become official,” Allen explained. “It feels good to put on that jersey and it feels like things are starting to get going for next season. My energy level started to build and I got excited. I’m looking forward to it now.”

Those were the emotions Clarke and Allen carried into their first official appearance with the Grizzlies, when finally freed to unleash all of their pent-up energy to combine for 34 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks in Sunday’s victory over the Clippers in the Las Vegas Summer League.

And it’s that same vibe that will push them to build on that debut when the Grizzlies return to action in Tuesday’s game against the Suns. Clarke and Allen were acquired by the Grizzlies as part of the June 19 agreement between the Grizzlies and Jazz that sent Mike Conley to Utah in exchange for three players and two first-round draft picks.

Grayson Allen #3 of the Memphis Grizzlies dribbles up court against the LA Clippers during Day 3 of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 2019 at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Garrett Ellwood via Getty Images.

A day later, the Grizzlies moved two spots up in the June 20 draft from No. 23 to No. 21 by trading the first of those two picks from Utah to Oklahoma City to select the uber-athletic Clarke out of Gonzaga. Because of salary-cap implications and the complexity of those deals, the trades could not be completed until the NBA’s annual moratorium was lifted on Saturday.

In essence, that meant Clarke and Allen had to sit idle for 19 days before they could join the Grizzlies. No wonder they exploded the way they did at the first opportunity to join the summer movement in Memphis. In the 6-foot-8 Clarke, the Grizzlies landed one of the draft’s most athletically gifted forwards to pair in with 19-year-old, All-NBA rookie team pick Jaren Jackson Jr. in a potentially dynamic frontcourt.

The 6-foot-5 Allen, a 2018 first-round pick who played 38 games last season for the Jazz, joins a backcourt rotation anchored by point guard Ja Morant, who the Grizzlies selected with the No. 2 overall pick in last month’s draft. Although both Jackson and Morant are sitting out of summer league play, both have been with the team in Las Vegas and were animated on the bench each time Clarke or Allen made a highlight-level play in that first outing.

Considering Clarke and Allen combined for nine of the team’s first 11 points in that game, it meant Jackson and Morant were every bit as active on the sidelines as their new teammates were on the court. The remaining summer league games, practice sessions and meetings are opportunities to get Clarke and Allen acclimated to new coach Taylor Jenkins’ up-tempo, free-flowing offensive system. The Grizzlies are 4-1 overall, counting both the Salt Lake City and Vegas summer leagues, and have won all four games by double-figure margins with one of the most prolific offenses in the field.

Based on initial impressions, the Grizzlies added two seamless fits.

“Fun is the word,” Jenkins said in describing how it feels to finally get to work Clarke and Allen into the system he’s developing. “Coaching basketball, I’m blessed to be where I am and to be able to put a young team together with our group. Summer league is a short amount of time, with guys coming in early, coming in late, it doesn’t matter. They’re hungry, a hungry group that wants to play together and get better. And that’s exciting to me as a coach.”

Clarke insists he had a “rusty” performance in his first summer game. That rust included the combo forward knocking down his first four shots – three dunks and a three-pointer – and pumping in 17 points in 17 minutes, with Memphis outscoring its opponent by 23 when Clarke was on the floor.

Brandon Clarke #15 of the Memphis Grizzlies drives to the basket against the LA Clippers during Day 3 of the 2019 Las Vegas Summer League on July 7, 2019 at the Thomas &amp; Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Garrett Ellwood via Getty Images.

“There are still a lot of things I’d like to show, but it’s a very long journey that I have, so I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Clarke, who led the nation in both field-goal percentage (68.7%) and blocks (117) as a junior last season at Gonzaga. “Playing here is something I’ve been working toward forever, and to finally be here and get off to a great start, I’m just looking forward to more of those moments.”

Clarke’s connection with the Grizzlies goes back well before the team targeted him in the draft. Born in western Canada, the first NBA game Clarke ever attended was when his family took him as a toddler to see the then-Vancouver Grizzlies 20 years ago. Clarke’s family relocated to Arizona, where he grew up trying to pattern his game after his favorite players, including former Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire.

While waiting on his trade to Memphis to become official, Clarke worked on his conditioning and three-point range, determined to improve on a shot he rarely took in college. Clarke shot just 4-for-15 from beyond the arc in 37 games last season. So despite Clarke’s handful of vicious dunks the other night, the plays that drew the most satisfaction from Jenkins were Clarke's chase-down blocked shot in transition and then seeing him confidently step behind the line early to drain his only three-point look.

“Obviously the athletic ability – the rolls defensively and offensively around the rim – is incredible,” Jenkins said of Clarke. “He’s a competitor at heart, and that jumps out even beyond him dunking and making threes. It’s great when you’ve got that in your arsenal. He made his first NBA three. I know he’s been working really hard on that in his game, and that’s where we’re going to challenge him.”

Clarke accepts that challenge, largely because he knows it’ll make him a more compatible threat on the floor alongside the 6-11 Jackson, who's already a versatile scorer from the post to the three-point line. Ultimately, the Grizzlies see Jackson and Clarke ideally developing as an interchangeable tandem at the forward spots. Clarke said he experienced a similar chemistry dynamic at Gonzaga where he played with rookie lottery pick Rui Hachimura, a 6-8 forward selected ninth overall by the Wizards last month.

“I think it can be a great fit,” Clarke said of meshing with Jackson and being another target for Morant. “I’m a player that (makes aggressive) plays like that always. Jaren is obviously a really great talent and Ja is, too. Ja is a great passer, so I play really well with guys like that and can help with their games. Playing with Rui last year, I’m used to playing with another active big. So I feel like I’ll pair up well with Jaren.”

Grayson Allen #24 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz practice at FedExForum in Memphis on March 08, 2019 in Memphis, TN. Photo by Melissa Majchrzak via Getty Images.

Meanwhile, Allen hopes to earn a bigger role in Memphis than he had in Utah, where playing time on the wing was sparse behind Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum, Kyle Korver and Royce O’Neale. The Grizzlies are operating with a clean slate, having already traded all five starters from last year’s season opener and having moved on from nine of the 12 players on the active list for April's regular season finale.

Memphis has executed nearly 10 trades since February, including a flurry the past few weeks to reshape the roster and stockpile future assets under a restructured basketball front office headed by executive vice president Zach Kleiman. The team is prioritizing a younger core, which underscores the importance of what the Grizzlies are building on the court through summer league play.

Jenkins isn’t simply searching for prospects to add to the franchise’s developmental pipeline. There are key rotation spots up for grabs heading into next season, with first steps taken right now. So, there’s no longer time to waste for those who got caught in the waiting game for transactions to officially clear.

That's why Allen has quickly traded his angst for fresh opportunity.

“There’s always that initial day of being in shock – I was in Utah for our first day of (summer) workouts when it happened,” Allen said of how he handled the trade-and-wait process. “Then I had to bounce. Then after that, you start looking forward to things with Memphis, like, ‘Who are we going to draft? Who are we going to get? What’s next?’”

Many of those exciting answers are starting to arrive.

For Clarke and Allen, especially, the wait is over.

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MikeCheck: With waiting game behind, Clarke and Allen getting up to speed with revamped Grizzlies

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Grizzlies vs. Cavaliers photos 7.03.19

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Grizzlies @ Utah photos 7.01.19

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that Jevon Carter, Ivan Rabb and Yuta Watanabe will headline the team’s 15-man roster at the 2019 Salt Lake City Summer League presented by the University of Utah Health and the Utah Sports Commission. The event will be held from July 1-3 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Grizzlies’ full roster for the 2019 Salt Lake City Summer League is below.

The Grizzlies will compete in three games while in Salt Lake City, tipping off against the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m. on July 1, against the San Antonio Spurs at 6 p.m. on July 2 and against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 6 p.m. on July 3 (all times Central). Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins will serve as head coach of the Salt Lake City summer league team, joined on the sidelines by assistant coaches Vitaly Potapenko, J.J. Outlaw, Brad Jones, Alex Lloyd, Brett Burman and Michael Noyes.

After completing the 2019 Salt Lake City Summer League schedule, the Grizzlies will depart for Las Vegas to participate in the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2019 from July 5-15. The team’s roster for NBA Summer League 2019 in Las Vegas will be announced at a later date.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.SLCSummerLeague.com, on the Utah Jazz mobile app, by calling (801) 355-DUNK or visiting the Vivint Smart Home Arena box office during regular business hours.

For the most up-to-date and exclusive coverage and analysis of the Grizzlies participation in the 2019 Utah Jazz Summer League and NBA Summer League 2019, Grizzlies fans are encouraged to visit grizzlies.com for Grind City Media coverage. Grind City Media will provide up-to-the-minute analysis, exclusive video and daily podcasts throughout both summer leagues. For more information and behind-the-scenes access sign-up for Grizzlies E-News or Grind City Media News at grizzlies.com or visit GrindCityMedia.com, like Grind City Media on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram (@GrindCityMedia).

Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies and purchase 2019-20 Season Tickets can do so now by calling (901) 888-HOOP or going online to grizzlies.com/tickets.

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Memphis Grizzlies announce 2019 Salt Lake City Summer League Roster

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