After an unplugged vacation and another week of playing catch-up on more pressing matters, I’ve missed a lot of Grizzlies news over the past couple of weeks. I’m going to try to get up to speed over the next few days with a series of (hopefully) small posts, starting with the mess that is the Xavier Henry situation.
- Xavier Henry
As pretty much anyone who follows the Grizzlies knows, the team still has not signed top draft pick Henry or fellow first-rounder Greivis Vasquez, making these the only two first round picks yet unsigned. And the contract stalemate with Henry has grown increasingly public in recent days.
Salaries for first-round picks are on a scale based on where players are selected, but with some negotiation room: Teams are allowed to play players up to 120% of the scale, a practice that has been commonplace since the league introduced the rookie scale. Typically, teams set up minor requirements — participation in Summer League, reporting to camp on time, offseason workouts, etc. — for players to meet to get the 120%. This is what the Grizzlies have always done — until now.
The Grizzlies have been demanding performance incentives in order for Henry to obtain the full 120%. According to the Commercial Appeal, these meeting one of three goals: playing in NBA rookie/sophomore game during All-Star weekend, earn an all-rookie selection, or averaging 15 minutes in at least 70 games.
