The Grizzlies have agreed to a non-guaranteed deal with four-year NBA veteran Yakhouba Diawara, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It’ll be his first NBA contract since 2010. The signing will ostensibly round out the camp roster for Memphis, which already had signed contracts or verbal agreements with 19 players.
Diawara, a native of France, has been playing overseas since he last appeared in the NBA with the Heat. He averaged 13.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game with OpenJobMetis Varese of Italy this past season, though he shot only 28.3% from behind the arc. Outside shooting has never been his strength, however, as he connected on just 30.1% of his three-point attempts during his NBA career with Miami and the Nuggets.
Memphis is no stranger to taking chances with veterans during the preseason, having signed Michael Beasley and Earl Clark to camp deals last year. Neither made it to opening night with the team, and Diawara faces an uphill battle if he’s to stick for the regular season this year. The Grizzlies also have reportedly agreed to sign center Ryan Hollins, and 14 other players have fully guaranteed contracts. Memphis has started each of the past three seasons with fewer than the maximum 15 players for opening night.