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Potential Ownership Change Looms For Grizzlies

September 9th, 2017 at 5:44pm CST by Austin Kent

At some point in October, there may be a transition in ownership of the Grizzlies but it’s complicated. This week, Haley O’Shaughnessy of The Ringer broke down a clause built into the original purchase agreement when majority owner Robert Pera and company took over the franchise from Michael Heisley.

In short, October 25 marks the fifth anniversary of the consortium of owners led by Pera assuming control of the team. Pera’s majority stake of the club, it’s worth noting, is a somewhat modest 25%.

Built into the terms of the agreement at the time was language that ensured that the partial owners with the second- and third-largest shares in the club could potentially buy Pera out at price of their choosing.

In response to the national article published at The Ringer, Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial Appeal clarified some aspects of the agreement. Per Herrington, who wrote one of the original articles that O’Shaugnessy cited, five years after the original purchase (and every three years there after), either Steve Kaplan or Daniel Straus – who each own 14.22% – will have the option to bid for Pera’s shares at a rate that they themselves choose.

At that point, the ball will fall into Pera’s court, who will then elect to either sell his stake at that price or buy the offering party’s stake at that same rate. Pera, therefore, can not trigger the event but his hands aren’t exactly tied either. The onus is on either Kaplan or Straus, if they so dare, to find a pricepoint that will dissuade Pera from simply matching and taking over their own shares.

As O’Shaungessy writes in her piece for The Ringer, the relationship between Kaplan and Pera can be described as strained and Kaplan has aggressively sought a controlling ownership of his own NBA franchise, ultimately coming up short in bids for both the Hawks and the Timberwolves over the years.

Complicating matters is the recent sale of the Rockets for $2.2B that will inevitably bump franchise values across the board up dramatically, including that of the Grizzlies’.

In 2012, the Grizzlies sold for about $350MM (per Marc Stein of ESPN). In 2014, following the sale of the Clippers for $2B, Forbes projected the value of the franchise at $750MM. That, of course, is expected to creep up ever higher in light of the Rockets deal.

There’s nothing set in stone that either Kaplan or Straus will pursue the bid for ownership, especially considering that it could backfire, but it’s something worth keeping an eye on at that fifth anniversary draws ever closer.

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Grizzlies, JaMychal Green Working On Two-Year Deal

September 7th, 2017 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams
  • The Grizzlies initially made JaMychal Green an offer that was “far less” than what he and his camp were seeking, per Kyler. As we learned on Wednesday, Green and the Grizzlies now seem to be focused on a shorter-term contract, likely in the two-year range. There was some speculation that Green could sign his qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2018, but his $2.82MM QO was probably too modest to be a serious threat, says Kyler.
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Grizzlies Consider Gasol, Conley Untouchable

September 6th, 2017 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Although Marc Gasol has been the subject of some trade speculation this summer, the Grizzlies currently consider him – and point guard Mike Conley – “untouchable,” two sources close to the situation tell Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.

As Moore outlines, there have been reports this offseason suggesting that Gasol could become a trade target for a team like the Celtics, who still have plenty of assets at their disposal after moving Kyrie Irving. Gasol’s comments last month that the Grizzlies may have to “revisit things” if they don’t continue to move toward title contention further contributed to trade speculation.

However, the Grizzlies currently view Gasol and Conley as a duo worth building around, and both players remain locked into their contracts for multiple years. As Moore notes, other stars who were traded in recent months were in different situations than Gasol — Irving asked to be traded, Paul George‘s agent indicated his client likely wouldn’t re-sign with the Pacers, and the Bulls moved Jimmy Butler as part of a full-fledged rebuild. Memphis isn’t at that stage.

Of course, if the Grizzlies’ fortunes go south, it’s possible that the team’s stance on Gasol could change. According to Chris Herrington of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (via Twitter), a possible Gasol deal is only a “file away for later consideration if the season tanks and/or he asks” notion.

Moore details some scenarios in which a trade could become more feasible, including the Grizzlies posting a record well below .500, Gasol clashing with head coach David Fizdale, or Gasol himself asking to be dealt. Still, as Moore writes, it would be somewhat out of character for Gasol to make a trade demand, and a polite suggestion that a change might be best for both sides likely wouldn’t be enough to change Memphis’ stance.

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Resolution On JaMychal Green Expected Before Camp?

September 6th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Luke Adams

9:56am: Appearing today on Sports 56 WHBQ in Memphis, Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal suggested that the Grizzlies and Green are making progress toward a short-term deal (Twitter link via Peter Edmiston).

8:53am: Grizzlies power forward JaMychal Green is one of four restricted free agents who remains unsigned, but there’s an expectation that Green’s situation will be resolved by training camp, a source tells Matt Moore of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). According to Moore, the most probable scenario is that Green will remain with Memphis.

Green, 27, had his best season as a pro in 2016/17, emerging as the Grizzlies’ starting power forward with Zach Randolph moving to the bench. In 77 games (75 starts), Green averaged 8.9 PPG and 7.1 RPG with an efficient .500/.379/.802 shooting line.

Green received a qualifying offer worth approximately $2.82MM from the Grizzlies in June, which made him a restricted free agent. Early in July, Green’s agent suggested that Memphis appeared to be going in a different direction, adding that there were offer sheets and possible sign-and-trade opportunities out there for his client. However, the market for the RFA forward appears to have dried up as potential suitors used their cap space on other players.

We’ve already seen one restricted free agent – Nerlens Noel – sign his one-year qualifying offer, hoping to receive stronger offers on the unrestricted market next summer after playing on a below-market deal in 2017/18. It remains to be seen whether Green is willing to go that route, but the QO remains “very much in play,” according to Moore (Twitter link). One recent report indicated that Memphis is willing to offer more than the QO, but that Grizzlies’ proposal would likely lock up Green for multiple seasons rather than letting him hit the open market with no restrictions in 2018.

As I noted last month, an October 1 deadline looms for Green and the other remaining restricted free agents (Alex Len, Nikola Mirotic, and Mason Plumlee) — at that point, their respective teams are free to pull their qualifying offers on the table, even though they’d still be RFAs. As such, there’s incentive for Green to work something out the Grizzlies this month.

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NBA Draft Rights Held: Southwest Division

September 1st, 2017 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.

When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.

However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.

While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.

For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.

Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Southwest teams:

Dallas Mavericks

Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies

New Orleans Pelicans

San Antonio Spurs

Previously:

Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

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Negotiations With Green Ongoing; Allen Won't Return

August 27th, 2017 at 10:33am CST by Arthur Hill
  • The Grizzlies are willing to go above the $2.8MM qualifying offer to re-sign restricted free agent JaMychal Green, but won’t meet the price he wants, according to Chris Harrington of The Commercial Appeal. He adds that Tony Allen won’t be returning to Memphis, even after free agent addition Ben McLemore suffered a broken foot. Harrington thinks a return to Boston would be the best move for Allen.
  • Memphis still has one two-way contract remaining, and Harrington advocates giving it to someone with professional experience rather than an undrafted rookie. His choice is 23-year-old Vince Hunter, a 6’8″ power forward who played with the Grizzlies’ summer league team and has experience in the G League and overseas.
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Heat May Lose Okaro White To New G League Team

August 24th, 2017 at 9:58pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • The Heat will have to keep Okaro White on their 15-man roster if they want to retain his rights, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The power forward appeared in 35 games for the Heat last season, but spent much of the season with the team’s G League affiliate in Sioux Falls. White was claimed Wednesday in the G League expansion draft by the Memphis Hustle, the new affiliate of the Grizzlies. Because White has a guarantee of more than $50K, he cannot be deemed an affiliate player if he gets cut by Miami. He would have to either report to the Hustle or play overseas.
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2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results

August 23rd, 2017 at 4:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League conducted its expansion draft today, allowing the league’s four new franchises to add the returning rights to 11 players apiece. The league’s previously-existing 22 teams had been permitted to retain the rights to nine players each, leaving the rest of their players unprotected and free to be drafted, though no team can lose more than two players. Adam Johnson recently outlined the full details of the expansion draft process in a piece for 2 Ways & 10 Days.

The G League’s four new teams this year are affiliates for the Hawks (Erie BayHawks), Grizzlies (Memphis Hustle), Bucks (Wisconsin Herd), and Clippers (Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario). The Erie BayHawks have been in the G League for years but are technically an expansion team since the old iteration of the BayHawks was purchased by the Magic and moved to Lakeland, Florida — the Lakeland Magic will retain returning rights for former BayHawks players.

The players added today by the G League’s four expansion teams won’t necessarily play for them this season — in fact, it’s not all that common for expansion draftees to suit up for their new clubs. Many of those players will try to catch on with an NBA team or will end up playing overseas, if they’re not already on an NBA or international roster. Still, the expansion draft gives the G League’s new teams some assets as they start to build their rosters for the coming season.

Listed below are the results of today’s expansion draft, per the G League’s official announcement. The player’s former G League team is noted in parentheses, and picks are ordered by round. The teams will hold their players’ rights for the next two seasons:

Erie BayHawks (Hawks)

  1. DeAndre Daniels (Raptors 905)
  2. Sean Kilpatrick (Delaware 87ers)*
  3. Ronald Roberts (Reno Bighorns)
  4. Terran Petteway (Maine Red Claws)
  5. Casey Prather (Windy City Bulls)
  6. Jordan Crawford (Grand Rapids Drive)*
  7. Jordan Sibert (Iowa Energy)
  8. Beau Beech (Long Island Nets)
  9. Raphiael Putney (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  10. Luke Harangody (Lakeland Magic)
  11. Will Bynum (Windy City Bulls)

Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies)

  1. Marquis Teague (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  2. Okaro White (Sioux Falls Skyforce)*
  3. D.J. Stephens (Iowa Energy)
  4. Omari Johnson (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)
  5. Jamaal Franklin (Long Island Nets)
  6. Adonis Thomas (Grand Rapids Drive)
  7. Manny Harris (Texas Legends)
  8. Mark Tyndale (Reno Bighorns)
  9. Jordon Crawford (Canton Charge)
  10. Jimmer Fredette (Westchester Knicks)
  11. Terrence Drisdom (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Wisconsin Herd (Bucks)

  1. Vince Hunter (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
  2. Gracin Bakumanya (Northern Arizona Suns)
  3. Perry Ellis (Greensboro Swarm)
  4. Corey Walden (Maine Red Claws)
  5. Josh Davis (Greensboro Swarm)
  6. Michael Dunigan (Canton Charge)
  7. Jarvis Summers (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
  8. James Siakam (Raptors 905)
  9. Kyle Casey (Northern Arizona Suns)
  10. Cady Lalanne (Austin Spurs)
  11. Tyler Harvey (Lakeland Magic)

Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers)

  1. Andre Dawkins (Texas Legends)
  2. Bryce Cotton (Oklahoma City Blue)
  3. Corey Hawkins (Delaware 87ers)
  4. Will Cummings (Delaware 87ers)
  5. J.J. O’Brien (Salt Lake City Stars)
  6. Jamil Wilson (South Bay Lakers)
  7. Keith Steffeck (Santa Cruz Warriors)
  8. Julian Jacobs (South Bay Lakers)
  9. Aaron Craft (Salt Lake City Stars)
  10. Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Westchester Knicks)
  11. Youssou Ndoye (Austin Spurs)

Players marked with an asterisk (*) are currently on an NBA roster. If they remain under contract and are assigned to the G League, they would join their current NBA team’s affiliate.

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Marc Gasol Suggests Changes May Be Needed In Memphis

August 17th, 2017 at 8:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

After nine seasons in Memphis, Marc Gasol may be ready for a new start, according to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. In an interview with a Spanish media outlet, the all-star center indicated the Grizzlies should shake things up if they can’t put together a serious run in the playoffs.

“I’m very ambitious and I’ve wanted Memphis to be a great franchise,” Gasol said. “We’ve grown a lot the last 6-7 years, but we have to keep growing. If this is not lined up, maybe we may have to revisit things.”

Gasol still has two years and nearly $47MM left on the extension he signed in 2015, plus a player option worth nearly $25.6MM for 2019/20. So it will be a while before he has any leverage to force Memphis into a trade.

He is a three-time all-star and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. He appeared in 74 games last season, averaging 19.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per night.

The Grizzlies already lost Zach Randolph, who signed with the Kings after eight years in Memphis, while Tony Allen, another key player from the “grit and grind” era, remains a free agent and appears unlikely to return.

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