- Chad Smith of Basketball Insiders explores which teams might make sense as a potential trade partner for the Grizzlies in an Andre Iguodala deal.
- Grizzlies guard De’Anthony Melton, acquired from Phoenix in an offseason trade, initially wasn’t expecting to make his regular-season debut until sometime in November due to a back issue. However, he was cleared for the team’s opener and made a brief appearance on Wednesday in Miami. David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the full story on Melton beating his recovery timeline and what the Grizzlies might expect from him in 2019/20.
Draymond Green addressed last year’s altercation with Kevin Durant on a podcast by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that also includes Warriors GM Bob Myers. Green, who was suspended for one game after the November incident, said he began to question his future with the franchise and his standing with Myers.
“I started to tell myself in my mind, ‘Wow, [Myers is] flipping on me,'” Green said. “And it just felt like, ‘Wow, OK, is this not the guy I’ve known for all these years? Is he turning on me?’ And I started to tell myself all of these things, and then everybody’s like, ‘Oh my God, the Warriors sided with Kevin Durant.’ That was the hardest thing for me, because a lot of people don’t understand me. Bob does.”
Green added that he had to get over his “stubbornness” and accept that he mishandled the situation. He refused to apologize to Durant after being told to do so by Myers and coach Steve Kerr, and didn’t offer an apology “until I came to grips with myself.”
“What people don’t know — which is so hard to know, which requires time and energy — is Kevin and Draymond probably will be the closest guys,” Myers said. “They’re going to be friends for their whole life like this. … In the aftermath when they spoke, they laid it out for each other and they’re like, OK, I got ya. Like, now I know where you’re coming from, from both sides. But that could have happened earlier and that would’ve prevented it.”
There’s more Warriors news to pass along:
- Green is preparing to play the entire season without Klay Thompson, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. Kerr said yesterday that Thompson seems “unlikely” to return from an ACL injury, although the team hasn’t made any official announcement. Green said that it will be an “added bonus” if the All-Star guard can get back on the court by the end of the season.
- Marc Stein of The New York Times believes Andre Iguodala will sign with the Warriors next summer and finish his career with Golden State. Iguodala remains in limbo with the Grizzlies, where the Warriors traded him to open cap space. Memphis is hoping to get something in return for the former Finals MVP and has been reluctant to discuss a buyout.
- Rookie Eric Paschall has a chance to get consistent minutes, writes Monte Poole of NBC Bay Area. Paschall was used at center and power forward during the preseason, but his best opportunity may come at small forward. “Most guys when they come in, they’re just not ready for this level of strength and force that exists in the game,” Kerr said. “Eric’s ready for all that. He’s gonna play a lot this year. We’re really excited about him.”
1:53pm: The Knicks have officially signed Rabb to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
10:15am: The Knicks, one of a small handful of teams with a two-way contract slot available, will fill that opening by signing Ivan Rabb, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sources tell Charania that New York is finalizing a two-way contract with the former Grizzlies forward, who will reunite with his former head coach David Fizdale.
Rabb, 22, was the 35th overall pick in the 2017 draft and spent his first two professional seasons in Memphis, but didn’t really develop into a reliable, consistent rotation player. In 2018/19, he averaged 5.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 49 games (14.7 MPG). The former Cal standout was released by the Grizzlies in advance of this season’s roster cutdown deadline, and cleared waivers on Monday.
While Rabb’s new two-way deal will make him eligible to spend up to 45 days with the Knicks, the team infamously stocked up on power forwards during the summer, so there may not be minutes available in a rotation that already includes Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, and Marcus Morris. Rabb figures to see far more action with the Westchester Knicks, New York’s G League affiliate.
Once the signing is official, the Knicks will have a full 17-man roster, with two-way players Rabb and Kadeem Allen joining the 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts.
The Grizzlies are declining Josh Jackson‘s fourth-year option, which will make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian tweets.
Jackson, who will make a little over $7MM this season, was due to receive $8.93MM in 2020/21 if Memphis had chosen to pick up the option.
Jackson was a huge disappointment in his two seasons with the Suns, who selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2017. He averaged 12.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 1.9 APG in 156 games with Phoenix. He only started 29 of 79 games last year for one of the league’s worst teams.
His unspectacular play, coupled with some troubling incidents off the court, convinced Phoenix to ship him to Memphis this offseason in what was essentially a salary dump.
He will start this season in the G League after skipping training camp. However, if Jackson can turn his career around, the Grizzlies might still be interested in re-signing him, Herrington adds.
The Grizzlies have exercised their 2020/21 contract options on big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and guard Grayson Allen, according to a team press release.
Jackson, the fourth pick in the 2018 draft, averaged 13.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 1.4 BPG during his rookie campaign. He’ll now make a guaranteed $7,257,360 next season after collecting approximately $6.93MM during his second season. The option was a mere formality for Memphis, which is building around Jackson and 2019 lottery pick Ja Morant.
Allen was selected with the No. 21 overall pick last year by the Jazz. He averaged 5.6 PPG in 10.9 MPG over 38 appearances with Utah.
Allen was part of the package Memphis received in the Mike Conley blockbuster. Allen, who is making approximately $2.43MM this season, will receive $2,545,320 in 2020/21. Allen is competing for minutes at shooting guard with Dillon Brooks and European import Marko Guduric.
1:17pm: The Grizzlies have issued a press release confirming that Rabb and Plumlee have been waived. The team has also cut Bennie Boatwright, according to the announcement.
1:05pm: The Grizzlies will set their regular season roster by parting ways with Ivan Rabb and Miles Plumlee, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Memphis had 17 players with full or partial guarantees and could only retain 15, so Rabb and Plumlee are the odd men out.
Rabb, 22, was the 35th overall pick in the 2017 draft and has spent his first two professional seasons in Memphis, but hadn’t developed into a reliable, consistent rotation piece. In 2018/19, he averaged 5.8 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 49 games (14.7 MPG). His deal included a partial guarantee of $371,758, which the Grizzlies will have to pay.
As for Plumlee, he was one of the two players acquired by Atlanta earlier this summer in the Grizzlies’ Chandler Parsons trade. Memphis had hoped that Plumlee and Solomon Hill, who each have expiring contracts in the $12-13MM range, would be easier to use as salary-matching pieces in subsequent trades than Parsons. However, the Grizzlies won’t get a chance to flip Plumlee in another deal and will be on the hook for his $12.5MM cap charge.
By releasing Rabb and Plumlee, the Grizzlies are in position to retain Andre Iguodala, Josh Jackson, and Bruno Caboclo. Iguodala and Jackson have guaranteed contracts, but aren’t expected to be with the team to begin the season — Iguodala reached an agreement not to report to the Grizz as they consider trade options, while Jackson is joining the Memphis Hustle in the G League.
Caboclo, meanwhile, never seemed in danger of being cut, but only has a $300K partial guarantee at this point.
- Ivan Rabb‘s 2019/20 salary will become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived today, so the Grizzlies have a decision to make. The team has 17 candidates for its regular-season roster with only 15 spots available, so veterans like Rabb and/or Miles Plumlee could be released, Marks notes.
[SOURCE LINK]
For a fourth consecutive day, the Grizzlies have waived a player 24 hours after signing him. Shaq Buchanan, who signed with Memphis on Thursday, is headed to waivers today, according to the club, which announced in a press release that Buchanan has been replaced on the roster by Bennie Boatwright.
Boatwright, a 6’10” forward, spent the last four years at USC before going undrafted this spring. As a senior in 2018/19, he averaged 18.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.5 APG with a .474/.429/.702 shooting line in 31 games (33.5 MPG).
On Monday, the Grizzlies signed Dusty Hannahs to replace Matt Mooney. The team subsequently replaced Hannahs with Ahmad Caver on Tuesday, Caver with Jarrod Uthoff on Wednesday, and Uthoff with Buchanan on Thursday.
All six of those players, including Boatwright, appear likely to ultimately end up with the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate.
- With Gerald Green potentially out for the season due to a foot injury, the Rockets are “scouring the market” for help on the wing, says Charania. Houston discussed some Andre Iguodala trade scenarios with the Grizzlies, but is reluctant to go way into luxury-tax territory by trading for Iguodala, Charania adds.
- Free agent swingman Iman Shumpert has spoken to a few teams, including the Bulls and Grizzlies, Charania reports.
[SOURCE LINK]