Shane Battier announced this morning via his Twitter feed that he will be signing with the Miami Heat, joining Lebron James and Dwyane Wade in pursuit of a title. Details of the contract haven’t leaked out but will be getting all or part of the Heat’s mid-level exception, which maxes out at four years starting at $5 million.
Battier was never likely to re-sign with the Grizzlies: It didn’t make sense for the team from a salary structure/roster standpoint and it didn’t make sense for Battier for the same reasons, as I detailed here. But I’m still guessing this move comes as a surprise to many casual Grizzlies fans around town. The Grizzlies remain in good shape at small forward, with Rudy Gay returning and Tony Allen, Sam Young, and Xavier Henry all on board to log minutes at the spot.
The Grizzlies will continue to focus on resigning Marc Gasol. If there’s a successful resolution on that front in the next few days, expect the team to turn their attention to signing an additional frontcourt player to help back up Gasol.
