7:52pm: Memphis has issued a press release confirming Clarke’s extension (Twitter link).
5:34pm: The Grizzlies are signing fourth-year forward/center Brandon Clarke to a four-year, $52MM rookie contract extension, Clarke’s agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Schiffman inform Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets that he anticipates $52MM is the highest possible salary Clarke could earn, implying that various likely and unlikely incentives could be baked into that figure.
Clarke was selected with the No. 21 pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of Gonzaga. Last season, his third in the league, the 26-year-old remained a reliable athletic reserve for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed.
Across 64 games in 2021/22, Clarke averaged 10.4 PPG while nailing 64.4% of his field goals, along with 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.6 steals in just 19.5 MPG.
Woj notes that Clarke finished within the NBA’s top five players in a variety of pertinent departments: paint points, second-chance points, and offensive boards.
Bobby Marks of ESPN adds (Twitter link) that this new deal, once it kicks in, will be pay Clarke 8.6% of the club’s projected 2023/24 available salary money under the league cap.
Memphis has already signed another of its extension-eligible players, veteran starting center Steven Adams, to a two-year, $25.2MM contract extension earlier this offseason.
A third Grizzlies player, 6’7″ swingman Dillon Brooks, has yet to sign a new deal with the Grizzlies. Should Memphis not reach an agreement with Brooks, his contract will expire in the summer of 2023, when he will reach unrestricted free agency. Brooks is currently set to earn $11.4MM this season.
Clarke is the eighth 2019 first-round pick to agree to a rookie scale extension, as our tracker shows. When our Rory Maher previewed Clarke’s case for an extension last month, he estimated a deal in the range of the four-year, $50MM contract Wendell Carter signed with Orlando a year ago.
Great great signing. High energy player with length. Can finish around the rim. Can contest shots and grab rebound win both ends. Has chemistry with the teams core. Cheap deal. A+ for the grizzlies on this one.
Nice get for both sides. Clarke gets security and Memphis locks up a very good player.
This sets Grant Williams market IMO,
A slight overpay but he’s important to them because JJ Jr cannot stay on the Court