The Grizzlies have opted not to exercise Jake LaRavia‘s rookie scale team option for the 2025/26 season, according to Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).
LaRavia is currently earning $3.35MM in his third NBA season. His fourth-year option would have been worth $5,163,127, but the Grizzlies will turn it down, putting the forward on track for unrestricted free agency next summer.
As Hill explains, Memphis is “encouraged” by the progress LaRavia has made and have interest in retaining him beyond the current season, but want to retain some roster and cap flexibility. The Grizzlies already have 12 other players on guaranteed contracts for 2025/26.
LaRavia, who will turn 23 on Sunday, has appeared in 75 NBA regular season games since being drafted 19th overall out of Wake Forest in 2022. He has averaged 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 17.9 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .393/.335/.780.
LaRavia was one of four players selected by the Grizzlies in the 2022 draft. Memphis has since traded David Roddy and waived Kennedy Chandler, making No. 47 overall pick Vince Williams the team’s most successful selection in that class — Williams was elevated from his two-way contract to the standard roster last season, agreeing to a four-year deal with the Grizzlies.
The deadline for teams to exercise 2025/26 rookie scale team options was 11:59 pm Eastern time on October 31. Pistons wing Wendell Moore was among the other players who had his option declined, confirms Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Detroit had five players with rookie scale options for ’25/26 and announced on Oct. 21 that they’d exercised four of those options. That was a very strong signal they weren’t picking up the fifth one, Moore’s, which was worth $4,574,283.
A former No. 26 overall pick, Moore was acquired from the Timberwolves by the Pistons in a salary-dump deal during the offseason and has essentially only ever played garbage-time minutes at the NBA level, logging just 229 total minutes in 55 appearances.
Like LaRavia, Moore will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025 if he plays out his current contract. The teams that have those players on their rosters at season’s end will be prohibited from offering them starting salaries exceeding what their options would have been worth.
You can view all of this year’s rookie scale option decisions right here.
Surprised by the LaRavia decision. He’s showing he can do it all – rebound, facilitate, play high energy D and when he’s got momentum, score in bunches. He’ll be worth more than $5mil by season end.
He just had a double double +30 in 33 mins in a big win?
All about cap flexibility. Teams have to be careful not to end up overcommitted if they can avoid it.
“LaRavia was one of four players selected by the Grizzlies in the 2024 draft”
I think you mean 2022.
True. That’s been fixed, thanks.
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