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Grizzlies Exercise 2017/18 Option On Jarell Martin

October 28th, 2016 at 3:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have exercised their third-year team option on Jarell Martin, locking in his salary for the 2017/18 season, the team announced today in a press release. The move comes three days before the October 31 deadline for decisions on ’17/18 rookie-scale options.

Martin, 22, was the 25th overall pick in the 2015 draft, and appeared in just 27 games for the Grizzlies in his rookie season. The 6’10” power forward averaged 5.7 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 14.1 minutes per contest for the Grizzlies, upping those marks to 15.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG (in 28.9 MPG) in 10 games for the D-League’s Iowa Energy.

Despite Martin’s modest production in his rookie season, it makes sense for the Grizzlies to exercise his 2017/18 option, given its price. The LSU product will make just $1.342MM, after earning $1.286MM this season. He’ll have another team option for 2018/19, and would be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2019 if he plays out his rookie contract.

Martin’s option was one of two the Grizzlies had to exercise or decline this fall, but the team made its other decision early — Jordan Adams was waived by the club during its preseason cutdown, eliminating his 2017/18 option from his contract.

The full breakdown of this year’s rookie scale option decisions can be found right here.

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Southwest Notes: Morey, Durant, Pelicans, Grizzlies

June 12th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets already have several players on their roster who fit new coach Mike D’Antoni’s style, GM Daryl Morey told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Appearing as a guest on Wojnarowski’s podcast, Morey said D’Antoni has a very positive reputation with players and agents around the league because they know players can put up good offensive numbers in his system. “I think a lot of what we went through last year is guys weren’t as engaged on defense,” Morey said. “That’s because we were struggling from A to Z, and that impacted our defense overall.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • The Rockets are still hoping to meet with free agent Kevin Durant next month, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein reported this week that Houston isn’t among the teams that Durant is considering.
  • The Pelicans have workouts scheduled for 12 players Monday, according to John Reid of The Times-Picayune. On the list are French stars Isaia Cordinier and Guerschon Yabusele, along with Troy Williams of Indiana, Michael Gbinije of Syracuse, Jake Layman of Maryland, Wayne Seldon Jr. of Kansas, Gary Payton II of Oregon State, Yogi Ferrell of Indiana, Thomas Walkup of Stephen F. Austin, Kaleb Tarczewski of Arizona, Prince Ibeh of Texas and Perry Ellis of Kansas. New Orleans has the sixth pick in the first round and the 39th and 40th selections in the second round.
  • The Grizzlies held a workout today for Ben Bentil of Providence, Isaiah Cousins of Oklahoma, Brice Johnson of North Carolina, Payton, Malachi Richardson of Syracuse and Selden, according to Grizzlies.com. Memphis holds picks No. 17 and 57.
  • Johnson could be the young power forward the Grizzlies need, speculates Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Zach Randolph will turn 35 this summer, and Jarell Martin and JaMychal Green haven’t shown they can handle the position, Tillery writes. At 6’10” and 210 pounds, Johnson has a mixture of size and skills that makes him an intriguing prospect.
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Southwest Notes: Duncan, Grizzlies, English

May 15th, 2016 at 11:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

Retirement decisions by Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will determine the volume of roster moves made by Spurs GM R.C. Buford this offseason, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News opines. Addressing the team’s five burning questions this summer, McDonald believes there’s a good chance that Tony Parker will be the only member of San Antonio’s longtime Big Three to return next season. The Spurs probably won’t overhaul their roster following a 67-win season, but there will be spots to fill if Duncan and Ginobili call it quits, McDonald continues. The Spurs will make runs at top-level free agents Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley and possibly Pau Gasol but they will also attempt to infuse the bench with more youth and athleticism, McDonald adds.

In other news around the Southwest Division:

  • The Grizzlies are unlikely to use their first-round pick on a power forward, Chris Herrington of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal opines. Memphis, which holds the No. 17 pick, drafted Jarell Martin last June and the team views him as their future starter at the position, though he underwent a foot procedure after the postseason, Herrington continues. Zach Randolph still has at least one more quality season in him and JaMychal Green can bridge the gap between Randolph and Martin, Herrington adds.
  • Point guard A.J. English will work out for the Pelicans, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. It was previously reported that English, who is considered a potential second-round pick, had scheduled workouts with the Pistons, Bucks, Cavaliers, Wizards, Clippers, Mavericks and Lakers.
  • Swingman Justin Anderson and power forward Dwight Powell give the Mavericks two young building blocks, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning-News reports. The organization has big plans for both players after they showed flashes of promise this past season, as president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson told Sefko. “They are two young cornerstone-type pieces,” Nelson said. “Big hearts. Great work ethic. Those two guys are a piece of the fabric. Our hope is that we can keep that young core going.”
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Western Notes: Durant, Grizzlies, Spurs, Rockets

March 4th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder absorbed a pair of discouraging losses to the Clippers and Warriors this week, but while their chances of title contention don’t look as strong as they did a few days ago, Kevin Durant is OK with that, as Royce Young of ESPN.com chronicles (on Twitter). Durant’s comments are particularly resonant against the backdrop of his free agency this summer, observes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link), especially in light of the report that the former MVP regards the Warriors as his top choice outside the Thunder.

“This is an exciting time for me,” Durant said. “I’m happy that we’re going through this because like I said it’s easy to be … we don’t want to be front-runners. That’s not who we are. That’s not who I am. And I’m not going to let the team be that way. When you’re losing, that’s when you really got to show your character and show who you are. We’re going to keep our heads up, all our guys are going to stay positive and keep working and learn from it.”

No team is as much of a front-runner as Golden State is, of course. See more from the Western Conference:

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And-Ones: Len, Brown, Cavs, Roberts

February 29th, 2016 at 11:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns interim head coach Earl Watson has no qualms about pairing up centers Alex Len and Tyson Chandler in the starting lineup, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Watson wants to utilize Len as the team’s primary offensive target the rest of the season and foster his development, Coro continues. “Who’s playing two 7-footers any more?”  Watson explained to Coro. “We have this trend of playing small ball and we know the greatest small ball team is the Warriors. We’re not going to catch them. Let’s create a new trend. Let’s let Alex Len get experience.”

In other developments around the Western Conference:

  • Swingman Jabari Brown, who played with the Lakers last season, is joining the team’s D-League D-Fenders after returning from China in recent days, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. Brown, who appeared in 19 games with the Lakers as a rookie, was the last player cut in training camp when the club decided to keep veteran Metta World Peace.
  • A coaching change that’s produced only an 11-6 record so far and the inability to land Joe Johnson are among the problems that ail the Cavaliers, as TNT’s David Aldridge examines in his Morning Tip for NBA.com. Internal carping from players about their respective roles, shots and ability to mesh on the court with LeBron James has also been a factor, Aldridge hears.
  • Point guard Brian Roberts, whom the Trail Blazers recently acquired from the Heat, believes he’ll land an NBA job next summer when he enters the free agent market, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders reports. Roberts passed through the Heat organization via the Hornets after he was included in the three-team deal that sent Courtney Lee from the Grizzlies to Charlotte. “I feel like I’m a guy that whatever opportunities I get I’m going to make the most of it,” he told Brigham. “I’m reliable, and that’s what it comes down to in this league. If you can be dependable every night, you’ll have a job.”
  • Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson will be a prime target for the Mavericks in free agency, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News opines. Anderson’s ability to stretch the floor would make him a very good fit but he’ll be in heavy demand, Sefko notes.
  • The Grizzlies recalled rookie power forward Jarell Martin from the Iowa Energy, the D-League club tweets. Martin, a first-round pick, averaged 18.3 points over three games in his latest assignment there. He made his fourth appearance with Memphis on Monday night.
  • The Bucks recalled small forward Damien Inglis from the D-League’s Westchester Knicks, Milwaukee announced through its website. Inglis played 13 games for the Knicks’ D-League affiliate, averaging 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 21.4 minutes.
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Western Notes: Dejean-Jones, D-League, Walton

February 25th, 2016 at 7:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bryce Dejean-Jones, whom the Pelicans recently inked to a three-year pact, has been diagnosed with a fractured right wrist after having an MRI today and he will undergo surgery on Friday morning to repair the damage, the team announced. No official timetable has been announced for Dejean-Jones’ recovery, but Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate relays that the guard will likely miss six to eight weeks of action as a result of the injury (Twitter link). Dejean-Jones has appeared in 14 games for the Pelicans this season and is averaging 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from out West:

  • While Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton will certainly be a hot name this offseason for any potential coaching vacancies, a number of GMs around the league have expressed trepidation at the prospect of giving Walton a head coaching position, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I think Luke has a chance to be a good coach; he knows the game, but I would be worried that he’s not ready for that job yet,” a league executive told Deveney. “You’d have to worried about that. The thing is, if your owner has been hearing Warriors, Warriors, Warriors for the last two years, and he sees Luke Walton setting records, you’re probably going to hear something like, ‘Why can’t we get a coach like that?’ And so you wind up taking a chance even if he does not have the experience level you’re looking for.”
  • The Grizzlies assigned power forward Jarell Martin to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Martin’s sixth trek to Iowa this season. He is averaging 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30.6 minutes over seven D-League contests.
  • Power forward Duje Dukan has been assigned by the Kings to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This marks Dukan’s sixth sojourn of the season to Reno.
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D-League Notes: Motiejunas, Dunleavy, Whittington

February 3rd, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams possess one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those 11 NBA teams without their own D-League squads this season have to assign players to D-League clubs affiliated with other NBA franchises. We at Hoops Rumors track all the NBA D-League assignments made during the course of the season and you can view the complete tracker, which is updated regularly, here.

Here are the D-League happenings for today:

  • The Pacers recalled center Shayne Whittington from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Whittington has appeared in 24 games for the Mad Ants, averaging 12.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game during his four stints with the team this season.
  • The Bulls have recalled small forward Mike Dunleavy from the Warriors’ D-League affiliate, where the Bulls had sent him via the flexible assignment rule, the team announced via press release.
  • The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis and Jarell Martin from their D-League affiliate earlier today and later reassigned the pair to the Iowa Energy, the team announced. This will mark Ennis’ eighth jaunt to the D-League on the season and Martin’s fifth.
  • The Jazz recalled big man Tibor Pleiss from the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
  • The Rockets have reassigned Donatas Motiejunas to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. As was the case with his previous assignment this season to Rio Grande Valley, both Motiejunas and the NBPA had to sign off on the move because he is a fourth-year veteran.
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Grizzlies Notes: Chalmers, Barnes, Carter, Martin

January 25th, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies are just 25-20, but GM Chris Wallace said he feels “optimistic and bullish” about the team and doesn’t feel compelled to make a deal as the trade deadline approaches, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. The No. 1 priority in free agency this summer for Memphis is re-signing Mike Conley, Wallace confirmed, but the Grizzlies aren’t planning an no-holds-barred attempt to win this season at the expense of the long term, as Tillery details.

“We are not going to do anything — even if it gives us a bump — that will significantly compromise us in the future,” Wallace said. “Part of watching your cap is watching the back end of your roster. We made a decision to fill up the back end of the roster with an eye on the future.”

Wallace praised recent trade acquisitions Mario Chalmers and Matt Barnes, calling Chalmers “best backup point guard we’ve had in the nine years I’ve been here,” Tillery notes. Both are set for free agency at season’s end. See more from Memphis:

  • The current Grizzlies roster might be flawed, but it still may be too expensive for the team to maintain, contends Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal as he takes a broad look at the cap situation for the franchise and the moves that it’ll be able to make financially. Still, don’t expect the Grizzlies to move toward a serious rebuild, Herrington writes.
  • Herrington suggests the team will “almost certainly” use the stretch provision to waive Vince Carter this summer, since the sides essentially agreed to a two-year deal in 2014 that they structured as a three-year contract only to reduce the tax burden for Memphis in the first year, Herrington explains. Carter’s salary is partially guaranteed for $2MM, so the stretch provision would break that into three equal parts each season through 2018/19.
  • Grizzlies camp cut Lazeric Jones has signed with Pinar Karsiyaka of Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Ismail Senol of Turkey’s NTV Spor first reported the move (Twitter link; translation again via Carchia). Jones had been playing with the Grizzlies D-League affiliate in Iowa as an affiliate player.
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Jarell Martin to the D-League, the team announced. It’s D-League assignment No. 4 on the season for the rookie who missed the first two months of 2015/16 recovering from a broken foot.
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D-League Notes: Martin, Mickey, Harris

December 17th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies assigned Jarell Martin, James Ennis and Russ Smith to the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, and later recalled all three, the team announced. This was the first D-League assignment of the season for both Martin and Smith, and it was Ennis’ fourth. Martin is still recovering from a fractured left foot he suffered back in September, and he is likely a few weeks away from seeing any game action, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal tweets.

Here’s more from the NBA’s D-League:

  • The Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey to their D-League affiliate in Maine, the team announced. This marks Mickey’s seventh stint with the Red Claws on the season.
  • Joe Harris has been recalled from the Canton Charge by the Cavaliers, the team announced. Harris has appeared in nine games for the Charge this season, averaging 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 33.9 minutes per game.
  • The Hawks have assigned Edy Tavares to the D-League, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. As part of the league’s flexible assignment program, Tavares will report to the Spurs‘ affiliate in Austin, Vivlamore adds.
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Southwest Notes: Mavs, Allen, Martin, Adams

December 7th, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks have established a tight-knit locker room, and that’s why the team is in no hurry to make deals once most offseason signees around the league become eligible to be traded December 15th, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News wrote last week. The team is 12-9 and, in a surprise, tied for fourth in the Western Conference.

“We’re not exactly sure what we have yet,” said Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, according to Sefko.

The Morning News scribe speculates that backup center is the only spot that might elicit an upgrade, with the still-recovering JaVale McGee limited to no more than 15 minutes per game and unable to play back-to-backs, but the Mavs only have two back-to-back sets the rest of the month, Sefko notes. See more from the Southwest Division:

  • Tony Allen remains a starter, but he’s failed to score or play as many as 20 minutes in four straight games, notes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal, who examines the swingman’s changing role for the Grizzlies. Allen is signed through 2016/17.
  • Jarell Martin, whom the Grizzlies drafted 25th overall this year, is moving closer to a return from a broken foot, and when he does make his season debut, it’ll be on D-League assignment, Herrington writes in the same piece. Jordan Adams will also probably go to the D-League when he comes back from right knee soreness, Herrington adds.
  • Center Mirza Begić, briefly with the Pelicans during the preseason, has formally joined Bilbao of Spain on a deal for the rest of the season, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). J.M. Cortizas of El Correo first reported Begić was close to signing.
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