Grizzlies Rumors

Grizzlies Sign MarShon Brooks To Multiyear Deal

The Grizzlies have officially locked up shooting guard MarShon Brooks to a new multiyear contract, the club announced today in a press release. Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link) first reported late last night that Brooks would be signing a new deal with Memphis after his first 10-day contract expired.

As Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports, Brooks’ deal will be fully guaranteed for the rest of this season and for the 2018/19 campaign. Memphis faced some competition for Brooks, who drew interest from multiple playoff-contending teams as his 10-day deal neared an end, according to Charania. However, the 29-year-old was able to work out a new agreement with the Grizzlies. Charania suggests the club used its leftover mid-level exception money to give Brooks a slight salary bump for the rest of this season.

No NBA player has posted more impressive numbers on a 10-day contract this season than Brooks, who returned to the league after a four-year absence and posted three consecutive 20-point games. In total, the former first-round pick has averaged 23.3 PPG and 3.7 APG so far, with a scorching .571/.647/.846 shooting line.

Brooks had been occupying the 15th and final spot on the Grizzlies’ NBA roster, so the club no longer has any openings as the regular season nears an end.

Grizzlies Sign Marquis Teague For Season

The Grizzlies have signed point guard Marquis Teague for the remainder of the 2017/18 season, the team announced today in a press release. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) first reported the agreement. Teague had been on a 10-day contract with Memphis, which expired overnight on Monday.

Teague, 25, was a first-round pick in 2012, but before signing with the Grizzlies in March, he hadn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, when he split time between the Bulls and Nets. In two games during his first 10-day stint in Memphis, Teague averaged just 4.0 PPG in 26.5 minutes per contest, but did pick up five assists in each contest.

The Grizzlies are still carrying MarShon Brooks on a 10-day deal and will make Teague their 14th player on a guaranteed contract, filling up their 15-man roster. As we noted earlier today, the Grizzlies hadn’t yet given a second contract to any player they signed to a 10-day deal — Teague becomes the first.

Grizzlies Sign MarShon Brooks, Cut Brice Johnson

12:39pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Brooks to a 10-day deal, the team announced in a press release. To open up a roster spot, Memphis has waived Brice Johnson.

Johnson, acquired from Detroit in a deadline trade last month, appeared in nine games for the Grizzlies. Like Brooks, he’s a former 25th overall pick.

11:33am: The Grizzlies intend to sign guard MarShon Brooks to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Brooks, a first-round pick in 2011, had a decent rookie season with the Nets, averaging 12.6 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 56 contests. However, his minutes were cut back the following year, and Brooklyn traded him in 2013. Brooks bounced around the NBA during the 2013/14 season, appearing in games for the Celtics, Warriors, and Lakers.

Since the end of the ’13/14 campaign, Brooks has played international ball, primarily in China with the Jiangsu Dragons. This season, the 29-year-old filled up the box score with 36.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 5.7 APG in 36 Chinese League games for Jiangsu.

The Grizzlies currently have a full 15-man roster, so there are three possibilities for the team to open up a roster spot and finalize Brooks’ reported signing. Memphis could terminate Marquis Teague‘s 10-day contract, wait until after Teague’s deal expires on April 2, or waive another player with a guaranteed contract.

Grizzlies Sign Marquis Teague To 10-Day Contract

MARCH 24: The Grizzlies made their 10-day deal with Teague official, according to a press release from the team.

MARCH 23: The 10-day contract of Grizzlies guard Briante Weber expires today, and league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that Memphis will sign former first-round pick Marquis Teague of the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, Memphis Hustle, to the open roster spot vacated by Weber as early as tomorrow.

Teague, 25, was drafted by the Bulls with the 29th pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but failed to make an impact in the league. Chicago traded Teague to Brooklyn, who subsequently traded him to Philadelphia, who waived him before his rookie-scale contract expired. In 88 career NBA games, he has averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 assists in only 9.5 minutes per game.

Recently, Teague played for Ironi Nahariya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League before being drafted by the Hustle in the G League expansion draft last summer. This season, he has averaged 17.6 PPG, 6.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG while shooting 42.7% from long range in 47 G League games.

With two seasons of NBA experience under his belt, Teague’s 10-day contract will count as $83,129 against Memphis’ cap.

Parsons Confident For Next Season

  • It has been a frustrating tenure so far in Memphis for Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons, but as reported by Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com, Parsons believes he can get back to form next season barring any additional injury setbacks. “Obviously, there were high expectations coming here and I haven’t come close to meeting them. But in my head, it’s all health. I know if I’m healthy, I can play with the best of them. And I’ve shown flashes of that this year when I’ve played minutes.”

Team Needs More Shooters, Athleticism

  • Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will be looking for better shooters during the offseason, as he told Michael Wallace from the team’s website during a Q&A session. Asked about the upcoming draft, Wallace spoke in general terms about what type of players he’d target. “As far as our team need, you can always use outside shooting in the NBA of 2018,” he said. “It’s such a premium placed on the three-point shot, you can never have enough guys who can shoot the three. We also have to get more and more athletic.”

Grizzlies Notes: Ownership, Losing Streak, Evans

The unusual ownership situation in Memphis appears set to take a step forward, according to a report from Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal. As we’ve detailed in the past, the nature of the agreement between the Grizzlies’ various owners gives controlling owner Robert Pera the opportunity to buy out two of the club’s top minority stakeholders, or to sell his shares to one of them.

As Kaplan details, Steve Kaplan and Daniel Straus intend to place a valuation of just over $1 billion on the Grizzlies. Once the two minority owners make that price official, Pera would have to decide between buying out their shares or selling his own shares at the price of their valuation. According to Kaplan, most observers of the process expect Pera to keep the team, but if he sells, Kaplan and Straus would have to determine which of them will become the controlling owner.

While Pera may ultimately buy out Kaplan and Straus, that decision seems less obvious now than it has in the past. As Grizzly Bear Blues outlined last month, Pera’s company Ubiquiti Networks saw the value of its shares drop by 25% after the SEC issued subpeonas to look into the company’s finances and structure. However, Kaplan estimates that Pera’s shares in the telecommunications firm would still be worth nearly $4 billion today.

As we wait to see how the Grizzlies’ ownership situation plays out, let’s round up more notes out of Memphis…

  • The Grizzlies’ 18-game losing streak has done wonders for the club’s odds of landing a top pick in the 2018 draft, but all those losses are taking a toll on many of the team’s players, writes Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I’m offended about losing. I’m just tired of losing,” JaMychal Green said. “I’d rather win so we won’t be talking about this. I’m trying to stay positive. … It’s tough for us to lose. I’m trying not to let the losing affect me and my game and my spirit. I want to just finish strong.”
  • According to Tillery, Tyreke Evans probably won’t return to the court for Memphis before the end of the regular season, in part because it’s simply not worth the risk as he prepares to enter free agency.
  • The Grizzlies signed Briante Weber to a 10-day contract on Wednesday to fill the roster spot vacated by Xavier Rathan-Mayes. We have that story right here.

Grizzlies Sign Briante Weber To 10-Day Deal

MARCH 14: The Grizzlies have officially signed Weber to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through next Friday, March 23.

In order to create room on the roster for Weber, Memphis waived Xavier Rathan-Mayes, whose 10-day contract had been set to expire tonight. We had previously noted that Rathan-Mayes wouldn’t be getting a second 10-day pact from the Grizzlies.

MARCH 13: The Grizzlies have agreed to a deal with Briante Weber, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The contract will be a 10-day pact.

Weber appeared in 13 games for the Rockets earlier this season, playing under a two-way deal. The point guard saw 118 minutes of action and scored 7.9 points per contest. After the Rockets waived him, he caught on with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the G League.

This will be Weber’s second stint with Memphis, as he played seven games with the club during the 2015/16 season. He has also spent time with the Warriors, Heat and, Hornets. For his career, he has 40 games (four starts) under his belt and nearly 500 minutes worth of court time.

Walt Lemon Jr., Xavier Rathan-Mayes Won’t Be Re-Signed

Two players won’t be re-signed as they reach the end of their 10-day contracts, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.

The Pelicans have decided not to retain Walt Lemon Jr., Haynes tweets. The 25-year-old guard completed two 10-day deals with the team and would need to be signed for the rest of season to remain in New Orleans. Lemon appeared in five games during his 20 days with the Pelicans, averaging 3.4 points in 7.0 minutes per night.

The Grizzlies’ impending signing of Briante Weber means guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes won’t receive a second 10-day contract (Twitter link). The 23-year-old saw action in five games with Memphis, playing 23.6 minutes per night and averaging 5.8 points.

Also expiring overnight was a second 10-day contract for Antonius Cleveland, whom the Hawks are expected to sign to a multi-year deal.

Marc Gasol Talks Losing Season, Goals, And Future

In a Q&A with the Commercial Appeal, veteran center Marc Gasol discussed an array of topics, including the Grizzlies‘ poor season, his goals for the rest of the year and looking ahead beyond 2017/18. Gasol is in his 10th NBA season and despite his usually solid numbers, it has not translated into team success.

Gasol has only been part of one other losing season in Memphis, his rookie season, when the team went 24-58. Currently, the Grizzlies own an 18-47 record, so Gasol could be part of his worst Memphis team to date. The 33-year-old has been candid about his frustrations with the team and their performance but he is also taking positives out of the experience.

The Commercial Appeal’s piece is well worth a full read but we’ve pulled a few of Gasol’s’ more memorable quotes. Let’s check them out…

On how quickly the Grizzlies fell out of contention:

I don’t know. There’s a process to everything. I think we lived on credit for a little too long, forgot the small details of things.

“Obviously, we had pretty talented players on both ends of the floor who fed off each other and complemented each other. There was one non-negotiable rule: We competed. No matter who the other team was, we always competed and did our job. Now, it’s not the same.

“We’re trying to figure out our strengths and weaknesses to try to put something together that’s somewhat stable.”

On Gasol’s goal for the rest of the season:

“I mean, win a game, right? Win some games. Winning puts a stamp on it and reassures you. It sends a message that the things you’re trying to do, the consequences are winning.

“So, I think winning, finding consistency, trying to build on something, finding something solid you can have a foundation to build on for whatever you’re trying to do next year. Because at this point, if you don’t find that consistency, it’s going to be really hard. You’re going to start from zero and you don’t want to start from zero again.”

On trying to stay in the present and not worry about the losses building up and look to the future:

We’ll talk about it after the season. That’s when you do it. During the season, you put everything on hold and not allow your mind to go there. But, obviously, there are a lot of things we need to figure out as a franchise.

“Right now, there’s nothing we can do about that. We have to build momentum going into the off-season and get clear ideas about what guys – and myself – need to work on for the future.”