Month: June 2013

• LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
• Tony Allen: The Grizzlies’ first order of business when free agency opens.

With the rookie draft in the rearview mirror, the next step in the NBA’s offseason begins at 12:01 a.m. on July 1st, when teams are allowed to begin negotiating with free agents. (Deals can be reached in principle at any time after that, but contracts can’t be signed until July 10th.)

A week ago, the Grizzlies were facing questions regarding a handful of players from last year’s roster and were looking at an off-season “to-do list” with three primary items. But the last few days have clarified many of those questions: The team’s overcrowded power forward rotation was cleaned up by dealing Darrell Arthur. The team crossed “back-up center” off its list by obtaining Kosta Koufos for Arthur. The question about Jerryd Bayless’ future was answered when he unexpectedly invoked his player option to return next season. With Bayless’ decision, new head coach Dave Joerger’s publicly stated interest in developing second-year point guard Tony Wroten Jr., and a rapid reduction in open roster spots and money to spend below the luxury tax, the team likely considers “ballhandler” crossed off the list as well.

This all leaves relatively few player questions, relatively few roster spots, and relatively little money to spend on those remaining slots, which might make for a relatively quiet next couple of months.

But let’s walk through what’s left:

THE BIG QUESTION
The one thing that could turn a low-key offseason into something more momentous and unpredictable would be a Zach Randolph trade. This would be unpopular, but there’s definitely a rationale for doing so. Randolph is coming off his second All-Star selection and was heroic at times in both playoff series wins. But, like Rudy Gay before him, albeit for different reasons, Randolph is now teetering on the line between “good player” and “bad contract” and the $17.8 million the Grizzlies owe him this season and the $16.5 million player option Randolph has for the 2014-2015 season, in concert with other contracts on the books, give the Grizzlies very little maneuverability over the next couple of seasons — unless Randolph is moved.

For this reason, expect to see Randolph trade rumors pop up this summer. But, for the same reasons, expect the Grizzlies to have a difficult time finding a deal worth making.

My best current sense of Randolph’s status is that a deal is possible but unlikely and wouldn’t happen until later in the summer if it happened at all. For that reason, it’s unlikely to impact the team’s approach to free agency. Oh, and disregard the suggestion that the Grizzlies might amnesty Randolph this summer. Barring new circumstances (like a serious injury), that’s preposterous.

Emptying the notebook after a day of draft post-mortem:

• Jamaal Franklin

** My best understanding of the Darrell Arthur/Kosta Koufos trade was that it evolved out of the Grizzlies’ attempts to get into the late first round. The Nuggets were known to be willing to move their pick at #27 (which ended up going to Utah) and in conversations about the pick they expressed interest in Darrell Arthur, whom the Grizzlies were willing to move to clarify their power forward rotation and address other needs. But while pursuing a potential deal involving Arthur and the Nuggets’ pick, other players entered the discussion and when Koufos was made available the Grizzlies worked out that deal for the reasons I outlined last night.

** As far as other attempts to get into the first round, I reported last night on Twitter that the Grizzlies attempted to obtain the Timberwolves pick at #26 (which ended up going to Oklahoma City). There was some speculation that the Grizzlies pulled back from their pursuit because the player they were targeting (perhaps Reggie Bullock, who went #25 to the Clippers) was off the board. Not so. The Grizzlies got outbid on these deals, with competing teams offering both cash and a second-round draft pick. The Grizzlies apparently had a couple of players they were targeting in the late first round: swingmen Jamaal Franklin and Allen Crabbe, who eventually went at #31, the first pick in the second round. My impression is that the Grizzlies had Franklin rated higher but may have taken Crabbe if given the opportunity because he fit their needs better as a shooter.

** After Crabbe was off the board, the Grizzlies were hoping Franklin would continue to drop to them at #41 and were prepared to move out of #41 if Franklin was gone and they weren’t enamored enough with other options.