- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Hamed Haddadi: Master of the Finger Roll
The Grizzlies apparently completed their offseason with a couple of minor moves in the past week that I haven’t had time to acknowledge yet.
Trading unwanted point guard Jeremy Pargo, along with cash money and a second-round draft pick, to Cleveland for swingman D.J. Kennedy was an accounting maneuver more than a conventional trade. The Grizzlies had no place for Pargo, but buying him out would have cost them double — in addition to the $1 million on his contract, they would have owed an additional million in luxury tax (that or it would have been an unmovable million that would have made any attempt to get under the tax more difficult). Even with paying the Cavaliers to take Pargo off their books, the Grizzlies will end up saving money on the deal. It’s unfortunate to have to part with assets (not just cash, but the pick) to fix a mistake (as was the case with including a future first round pick in the Hasheem Thabeet-Shane Battier deal), but given the situation the Grizzlies found themselves in with their roster and their payroll, it had to be done. As for Kennedy, he’s a non-guaranteed contract. He might be in training camp, but even then he’d be a long shot to make the roster.
Jettisoning Pargo dropped the Grizzlies back down to 12 players, requiring at least one more signing, and that came in the form of Hamed Haddadi, who returns again on a minimum-type contract that, as I understand it, is fully guaranteed for this season and partially guaranteed for next season. While severely limited, Haddadi has long been more useful than his sporadic playing time suggested. He’ll return in an ideal role: As a fifth big man providing spot minutes when match-ups demand more size off the bench. He’s serviceable in that role, with the bonus of being someone who gets his teammates and the home crowd really hyped up whenever he plays well.
