Grizzlies Rumors

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/11/18

As we detailed earlier today in a full story, the Knicks assigned veteran wing Courtney Lee to the G League to get in some minutes and improve his conditioning. Lee struggled a little with his shot for the Westchester Knicks on Tuesday night, scoring 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting (1-of-9 on threes).

Here are the rest of today’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

Assignments:

  • The Jazz assigned Grayson Allen and Georges Niang to the Salt Lake City Stars in advance of the team’s game tonight against Austin, the team announced in a press release.
  • Rookie point guard Elie Okobo was assigned to the G League today by the Suns, as Gina Mizell of The Athletic relays (via Twitter). Okobo, who has been in and out of Phoenix’s rotation this season, started at the point for Northern Arizona tonight.
  • The Bucks assigned D.J. Wilson to the G League in advance of the Wisconsin Herd’s two-game road trip this week, according to the club (Twitter link). A first-rounder in 2017, Wilson still isn’t part of Milwaukee’s rotation, having played just two games for the Bucks this season.
  • Sixers rookie Jonah Bolden was recalled from the G League this morning, then re-assigned several hours later, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter links). Bolden has averaged a double-double in four G League contests, posting 15.5 PPG and 12.3 RPG in Delaware.

Recalls:

  • After helping lead the Memphis Hustle to a Monday victory with 25 points and 10 boards, Ivan Rabb was recalled to the NBA today by the Grizzlies, according to the club (Twitter link).
  • The Hawks recalled Daniel Hamilton from Erie, as Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Hamilton posted back-to-back double-doubles for the BayHawks during his latest G League stint.
  • 2018 first-round pick Troy Brown was recalled to the NBA by the Wizards, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brown has averaged 18.3 PPG on 47.5% in four NBAGL games this season.
  • The Pelicans have recalled Frank Jackson from the G League, per a team press release. New Orleans doesn’t have its own affiliate, so Jackson had been with the Texas Legends, Dallas’ NBAGL squad.
  • The Bucks recalled Christian Wood from the Wisconsin Herd today, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Wood has appeared sparingly in just six games for Milwaukee in 2018/19.

Mike Conley Dealing With Dislocated Finger

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/8/18

Here are Saturday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Grizzlies have recalled rookie guard Jevon Carter from their Memphis Hustle affiliate, the team announced on Twitter. Carter was sent to the G League on Thursday.
  • The Hornets have assigned forward Dwayne Bacon to the Greensboro Swarm, according to the team website. This is the second trip to the G League for Bacon, who has played one game for the Swarm and 15 for Charlotte.
  • The Spurs sent forward Chimezie Metu to the Austin Toros so he could play in tonight’s game, tweets JeffGSpursZone.

Noah's Addition Creates Ripple Effect

  • The addition of Joakim Noah has impacted several other Grizzlies players, as Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian notes in his latest mailbag. JaMychal Green, who becomes an unrestricted free agent, might be shopped if the franchise decides it won’t try to re-sign him. It also clouds the future of Ivan Rabb, a second-round pick in 2017, within the organization. Rabb has thrived in the G League but isn’t skilled enough or physical enough at the NBA level, Herrington opines. Noah’s presence should also reduce Marc Gasol‘s workload, Herrington adds.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/6/18

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

Grizzlies Notes: Noah, Conley, Future

While Joakim Noah showed some rust in his first game for the Grizzlies on Wednesday night, he held his own and brought some energy to the court, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic. Noah also played a little more than may have been expected, earning 13 minutes of action his debut, an indication that Memphis plans to make him a regular part of its rotation going forward.

For his part, the veteran center says he’s looking forward to helping his new team in any way he can and believes he can fit right in with the Grizzlies’ grit ‘n’ grind mentality.

“There’s a lot of really good young talent, and it’s a culture that has been known for its work ethic and its grind. And I pride myself on being one of those guys,” Noah said, per David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “So I just want to keep that culture going.”

Regarding Noah’s time in New York, Grizzlies head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he has “no questions” about the way things ended between Noah and the Knicks, as Cobb relays for The Memphis Commercial Appeal. According to Sankofa, Noah said this week that he has “nothing bad to say” about the Knicks and is focused on contributing in Memphis.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

  • Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian confirms (via Twitter) that Noah’s new one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Grizzlies is fully guaranteed.
  • In a conversation with Michael Lee of The Athletic, longtime Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley talked about transitioning to a new stage of his career and his desire to finally make his first All-Star team. “I look for respect and to try to earn the respect of a lot of people,” Conley said. “If you make the All-Star team and you get the label next your name, for whatever reason, people will think, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s good now.’ But if you don’t have it, it’s, ‘Well, he’s never made it, he’s never done anything, so why would you think he’s any better than this guy or the next guy.’ It kind of keeps me under this glass ceiling that I’m trying to bust through.”
  • The Grizzlies are one of five teams that Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports believes should consider “blowing it up” sooner rather than later. Despite Memphis’ solid start to the season, Smith suggests that the team doesn’t currently have championship upside, and should consider targeting more young talent to complement building blocks like rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. and second-year forward Dillon Brooks.

Carter And Rabb Recalled

  • The Grizzlies recalled rookie guard Jevon Carter and big man Ivan Rabb from their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, per a tweet from the team’s communications department. Carter, 23, has yet to play for the Grizzlies this season, while Rabb has averaged 6.3 minutes per game in nine contests.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/4/18

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Jazz have recalled Grayson Allen and Georges Niang from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s Twitter feed. It was each player’s only G League assignment of the season.
  • Jevon Carter and Ivan Rabb had an eventful day. The Grizzlies assigned the pair to their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle for morning shootaround, per the team’s Twitter feed. The two were then recalled for the Grizzlies’ mid-day practice before being re-assigned to the Hustle to play in their night game.
  • The Pelicans have assigned Frank Jackson to the G League, according to a team press release. New Orleans doesn’t yet have its own affiliate, so Jackson will play for the Texas Legends, pursuant to the flexible assignment system.
  • The Pacers have recalled Alize Johnson from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, per the team’s website. Johnson has been with the G League affiliate since November 7.
  • The Nets have assigned Dzanan Musa to their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

Grizzlies Officially Sign Joakim Noah

12:41pm: As expected, the Grizzlies have officially signed Noah, the club announced in a press release.

11:58am: Free agent center Joakim Noah has now undergone a physical with the Grizzlies and is set to officially sign his new contract with the club today, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). A report last Friday first indicated that the two sides had reached an agreement on a deal.

Noah’s contract will be a one-year, minimum-salary pact. It will pay him a prorated salary of $1,731,173 and will count against Memphis’ cap for $1,093,858. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies won’t need to waive anyone to open up a roster spot for their newly-added center — the team has had an opening on its 15-man squad since releasing Andrew Harrison earlier in the season.

Noah, who spent two seasons with the Knicks after signing a four-year, $72MM deal with the team in 2016, appeared in just 53 games during his time in New York. He was sent away from the club last spring following a run-in with then-coach Jeff Hornacek, then was waived before this fall’s regular season opener with two years left on his contract.

Although Noah’s time as a Knick didn’t work out, he put up decent numbers in 2016/17 with the team, averaging 5.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 46 games (22.1 MPG), so it’s possible he could still be productive in a limited role.

That’s the Grizzlies’ hope, as they’ll add the former Defensive Player of the Year to a frontcourt that has already features plenty of defensive talent, with veteran Marc Gasol and rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. manning the middle.

Grizzlies Could Look To Build On Strong Start

The Grizzlies have been one of the surprise teams to start the season, as they sit firmly in the Western Conference playoff picture at 13-8. As the season continues to unfold, it looks more and more clear that the Grizzlies hit on nearly all of their offseason moves as they’ve built a team that thrives on playing tough, physical defense at a slow pace.

Mark Giannotto of The Commercial Appeal is now asking another question related to the Grizzlies’ season, focusing on how the team can improve its roster during the year to capitalize on this fast start. While the Grizzlies do have some expiring contracts on the roster in the form of Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green, those two are key cogs in the team’s rotation, especially defensively.

The Grizzlies could use another go-to perimeter player to help Mike Conley, but it may be tough to find an ideal trade that doesn’t see the Grizzlies sacrifice too much on the defensive end. Regardless, Memphis may become an active buyer at the trade deadline should their strong play continue.

  • In a recent mailbag for The Daily Memphian, Chris Herrington addresses potential trade targets for the Grizzlies as they look to address their needs on the perimeter.