Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Talks Stall Between Grizzlies, Zach Randolph

June 25th, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Chuck Myron

11:08am: The impasse came about when negotiations “went beyond” Wallace from the Grizzlies side, Tillery writes in a subscription-only piece. That indicates that owner Robert Pera is hesitant to spend too freely on Randolph, but that’s just my speculation. In any case, Randolph is leaning toward opting out, according to Tillery.

10:38am: Two others Western Conference teams are paying close attention to the talks and preparing strong pursuits of Randolph should he hit free agency, according to Tillery (on Twitter).

9:58am: The number of years involved in the deal aren’t the stumbling block, but the two sides are split over money, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.

JUNE 25TH, 9:35am: Randolph and the team have hit a snag over money and the length of a new deal, and he’s giving serious thought to turning down his player option and hitting free agency next month, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Memphis wants a three-year deal while Randolph is pushing for a four-year arrangement. Since extensions can only add three years onto an existing deal, that presumably means Randolph prefers to opt out and ink a new deal with the team in free agency.

JUNE 20TH: The Grizzlies and Zach Randolph seem close to a deal that would keep the power forward in Memphis for the next several seasons, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. A report last month indicated that the Grizzlies and the Raymond Brothers client were in talks on an extension, but it’s not clear whether the deal would involve an extension or a scenario in which Randolph opts out and signs a new long-term contract. The 32-year-old has a player option worth more than $16.9MM for next season.

Tillery also casts a degree of doubt on this week’s report that indicated that GM Chris Wallace would remain in charge of the team, though he describes him as the front-runner for that role. Wallace is “ardent” about coming to terms with Randolph, and he’s had frequent discussions with Brothers, according to Tillery.

“It’s going forward,” Wallace said of the talks. “We’re very excited about what Zach’s done in the past and hope to have him here in the future. This has really been a terrific boon for both sides. He’s obviously meant a great deal to us on and off the court. And Memphis has worked for him. This has been, by far, the best stop for him since he’s been in the NBA. So we’re working towards that goal.”

Brothers also sounds optimistic about reaching a deal, Tillery notes. It’s a change of pace from the Grizzlies’ stance under ousted CEO Jason Levien, who, as Tillery reveals, attempted to trade Randolph for Eric Gordon before the start of the season until the Pelicans rebuffed his efforts. It was one of at least two attempts Levien made at trading Randolph, as the then-CEO was high on Ed Davis, believing in him as a replacement for Randolph at power forward, Tillery says.

It appears that market value for Randolph is akin to a deal worth $30-35MM over three years, which would represent a significant dip in annual salaries over what he would earn on his option next season. Still, both sides are liable to make concessions given their mutual admiration, as Randolph has spoken on multiple occasions of his affection for Memphis. There’s chatter regarding a role within the Grizzlies organization for Randolph after he retires as a player, Tillery adds.

Draft Notes: Payton, Embiid, Knicks

June 24th, 2014 at 11:12pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In Jeff Goodman’s latest mock draft for ESPN (Insiders only), Elfrid Payton gets selected by the Timberwolves at No. 13. In response to that projection, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN said that Minnesota doesn’t have any interest in drafting the former Louisiana Lafayette guard with that pick. It probably won’t matter anyway, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe hears that Payton has been greatly impressive in workouts and won’t slip past the top 10 on draft night (Twitter links).

With that aside, we’ll keep tabs on this evening’s draft-related news here:

Add Sweden’s Viktor Gaddefors to the list of players that Memphis is bringing in for a second workout on Wednesday, notes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.
The Hornets appear primed to add at least one big man with either the 24th or 45th pick in this year’s draft, and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer lists Mitch McGary and Johnny O’Bryant as potential targets.
Former Florida big man Patric Young is on Phil Jackson’s draft wish list, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman also points out that the Knicks worked out Jahii Carson recently.
Following up Andy Katz’s earlier ESPN report that the Kings have three deals in place regarding their No. 8 pick, ESPN’s Marc Stein identified the Celtics, Suns, and 76ers as the potential trading partners.

Earlier updates:

The Pelicans are making a concerted effort to acquire a first-round pick, tweets NBA.com’s David Aldridge.
According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, Joel Embiid is strongly in play for the 76ers at No. 3 and the Magic at No. 4; the worst-case scenario is that Embiid won’t fall past the Kings at No. 8 (Twitter link).
The Knicks remain confident that they’ll land a first-round pick and/or a second-round pick in Thursday’s draft, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
The Pistons are without a first-round pick this year, but team president/head coach Stan Van Gundy says that one team picking between No. 26 and No. 30 is open to shedding their pick for the best offer. “There’s one team that’s saying “give us your best deal for (our) pick” (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News).
The Bucks made an unsuccessful attempt to bring in Cleanthony Early for a workout, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
In another piece, Woelfel notes that the Spurs, Pacers, and Pistons are among the list of teams that brought second-round hopeful Jamil Wilson in for a workout.
The Grizzlies are trying to put together a last minute workout for Glenn Robinson III, Jordan Adams, Joe Harris, and Geron Johnson tomorrow, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.
Former Duke swingman Rodney Hood participated in a second workout for the Suns, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Randolph, Sterling, Jazz

June 24th, 2014 at 8:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains the odd circumstance concerning Zach Randolph‘s player option with the Grizzlies next season. According to the current CBA, a player cannot earn less money in a player option year relative to how much he made in the previous season. As it currently stands, Randolph will make $16.5MM if he decided to opt in for 2014/15, which is considerably lower than the $17.8MM he made in 2013/14.

Tim Duncan had a similar issue in his contract with the Spurs, as his player option for the upcoming year was initially less than what he made this past season. While Duncan’s contract was ultimately modified to address the error, Randolph’s remains unchanged simply because the contract had been signed too long ago, Deeks hears. Randolph and Memphis reportedly are moving toward a multi-year deal, but if he opts in and the deal winds up coming in the form of an extension, Randolph’s missing money will come into play.

Here are more noteworthy links to pass along tonight:

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge said that the terms of the Sterling family trust may give Donald Sterling little room to challenge the finding that he is mentally incapable of continuing as co-owner of the Clippers, writes James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. This would appear to give Shelly Sterling the advantage in her case to affirm both her control of the trust and sale of the team.
The Jazz announced the additions of Brad Jones, Antonio Lang, Alex Jensen, Mike Wells, and Johnnie Bryant to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff. Jones will be Snyder’s lead assistant, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
Maccabi Tel Aviv has opted out of its contract with Joe Ingles, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Back in March, we passed along that Ingles was considering a move to the NBA this summer. The Grizzlies and Jazz were among the Western Conference teams reported to have interest in the Australian-born forward.

Grizzlies Interview Four For GM-In-Waiting Gig

June 24th, 2014 at 4:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace and representatives of owner Robert Pera have interviewed four candidates to become the team’s player personnel director and serve as a GM-in-waiting, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, Pacers vice president Peter Dinwiddie, Knicks director of pro personnel Mark Hughes and former Raptors and Knicks GM Glen Grunwald have all had meetings with the club, which envisions one of them eventually replacing Wallace, Berger writes.

There’s been plenty of confusion regarding the future of the Grizzlies front office ever since Pera ousted former CEO Jason Levien and installed Wallace as the interim head of the basketball operations department. A report last week indicated that Wallace would remain as GM for the “foreseeable future.” While that seemed to indicate that Wallace would stay in charge, Wallace retained his GM title even as he was stripped of control of the front office under Levien’s regime. A more recent report hinted that Wallace’s future has yet to be decided, referring to him only as a front-runner to retain control of the front office, though Berger’s dispatch seems to indicate that Wallace will remain in power for at least a while after the team makes its hire.

Grunwald probably has the lengthiest resume of the group, as none of the other candidates have been in charge of a team’s front office. An earlier report indicated that Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien was also a candidate. The team apparently asked for permission to interview Thunder assistant GM Michael Winger, but Winger short-circuited that attempt and let Memphis know he’s not interested.

Western Notes: Embiid, Calathes, Spurs, Nuggets

June 22nd, 2014 at 9:31am CST by Eddie Scarito

NBA history has shown that big men who suffer serious knee, ankle, or foot injuries will have a difficult time having productive careers, and Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee opines that this is why the Kings should avoid selecting Joel Embiid in the draft.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Harris, Wolves

June 21st, 2014 at 10:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies need to find a small forward this summer, opines Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal in a subscription-only piece. Coach Dave Joerger said, “It’s becoming much more of a playmaking position. Used to be your shooting guard was a guy you ran off of picks and spot up to make shots. Point guard brought it up and your small forward was a defender and athletic runner. That’s not the case anymore. Teams are playing smaller and small forwards are like having another point guard. They’re having to make plays, create shots for other people and just do more than, say, 10 years ago.” Tillery notes the players the Grizzlies are looking at in the draft to fill this need are Kyle Anderson, K.J. McDaniels, Jerami Grant, Glenn Robinson III and Cleanthony Early.

Western Notes: LeBron, Gentry, Honeycutt

June 20th, 2014 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If LeBron James opts out of his contract with the Heat, the Rockets will have as an enticing a situation to offer him as any team in the league, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Beck lays out what options Houston has to fit James’ salary in, plus notes the team views Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh as secondary options if they fail to land James, provided Bosh and Anthony also exercise their ETO’s.

Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, ‘Melo, Pelicans

June 20th, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Zach Randolph is No. 10 in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, but it seems like he’ll be off-limits to other suitors come July, as agent Raymond Brothers and the Grizzlies appear to be making significant progress toward a deal. That might have the effect of driving up the value of other free agents amid a class that’s highlighted by players with option clauses and restricted free agents. Here’s the latest on the Grizzlies and their Southwest Division rivals:

Dirk Nowitzki has encouraged the Mavs to consider signing Carmelo Anthony, but he nonetheless believes that ‘Melo ending up in Dallas is not a realistic outcome, as Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com observes. Still, a recent report indicated that the Mavs are among the three top teams on Anthony’s list of preferred destinations.
Executives around the league believe it’ll be an active offseason for the Pelicans, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. That’s in spite of more than $54MM in salary commitments for next season and comments from GM Dell Demps, who said in April that he wants to see more of the team’s existing core together.
Aaron Craft, Markel Brown, Viktor Gaddefors, Jordan Morgan and Ojars Silins are among the draft prospects who’ll work out for the Grizzlies on Sunday, the team announced.

Draft Notes: Lakers, Grizzlies, McDermott

June 19th, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Ryan Raroque

We’ll keep tabs of tonight’s draft-related links below:

The Lakers will work out Aaron Gordon, P.J. Hairston, Elfrid Payton, Marcus Smart, and Nik Stauskas, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
Tomorrow’s draft workouts for the Grizzlies will include Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson, Deonte Burton, Fuquan Edwin, James McAdoo, and Kendall Williams, per the team’s official website.
Interestingly, the Lakers have been trying to get Doug McDermott in for a second workout but have been unsuccessful, tweets ESPN Insider Chad Ford.
Former University of Michigan standout Mitch McGary is slated to work out for the Bucks tomorrow, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.

Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay

June 19th, 2014 at 9:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.

Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).

As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:

Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).