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.