- 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.
