- LARRY KUZNIEWSKI
- Mike Miller, back in the day.
I always joke about the Grizzlies making moves when I’m out of town, but this is ridiculous. After a quiet opening month of free agency that provoked murmuring discomfort from considerable swaths of the fan base, the Grizzlies completed three meaningful transactions — trading for the rights to Nick Calathes, signing Mike Miller, and claiming Josh Akognon on waivers — with another potentially on tap while I was on a week-and-a-half-long road trip.
I wrote about the Calathes deal from the road, here. Now back in town, let’s work our way through the team’s other recent and still outstanding business:
1. Mike Miller Signing: This was a coup for the Grizzlies in a number of ways. Let’s count some of them:
A. The team addressed two of its three most pronounced needs: Adding a significant three-point shooter (career 42%) and also more size at the three (Miller is 6’8” and even at this stage of his career produced a significantly better rebound rate than Tayshaun Prince or Quincy Pondexter).
B. They filled both of these needs on the cheap. As an amnestied player, Miller was willing to sign for the minimum ($1.4 million for players with his league tenure). And, because of a league provision designed to remove the financial incentive to sign young players at the expense of veterans, the Grizzlies will only be on the hook for roughly $884,000 of that, with the league paying the rest. The upshot here is that even after the Miller signing, the Grizzlies retain enough space under the tax line (even considering unpublished contract incentives) to sign another free agent at an above-minimum rate.
C. They brought back one of the most popular players in franchise history, giving the team an injection of goodwill that can help soothe at least some of the sore feelings over the departure of Lionel Hollins.
D. Finally, they kept Miller away from a couple of conference rivals — Houston and particularly Oklahoma City — for whom he would have been a major factor.