Memphis Grizzlies Offseason Report: A Grizzly Contract (or two)

John Askins
Staff Writer

The Memphis Grizzlies endured a mixed bag of a season last year, getting off to a strong start before being decimated by injuries to their stars Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph.  Ending the season on a 1-9 skid, they squeaked their way into the 7th seed, only to be promptly swept by the potent San Antonio Spurs.  

Going into this offseason, there was one glaring problem that the Grizzlies absolutely needed to address: shooting.  In today’s pace-and-space dominated NBA, defense cannot be solely relied upon to bring a team to the top.  The Grizzlies ranked 27th in the NBA last year in 3-pointers made per game at 6.1, and 29th in 3-point percentage at 33.1%.  The two finals contenders were 1st and 3rd respectively in 3-point shooting this year.  The numbers speak for the themselves: if you can’t shoot, you can’t hang.

To give you an idea of their shooting woes, one of their starters was Tony Allen.  Allen brings a lot to table, some good and some bad. Beginning with the positives: he is one of the most elite perimeter defenders in the league, even at 35; he is still really athletic, and can finish pretty well in transition (unless he misses 4 open layups in a row); his style of play on the defensive end fits the Grizzlies system perfect.  Now for a very blaring negative: he is a liability in a half-court offense.  His jump shot is almost non-existent (career 28% from the arc, never averaged more than 0.2 makes per game) to the point where defenses can sag so far off of him that they can double the other team’s best player or provide extra help in the paint. (refer to the Warriors scheme in the 2015 playoffs, he was "guarded" by 7-footer Andrew Bogut) In my opinion, the goods outweigh the bads, and it is great to have a player on the court that can really bother the other team’s best player.  Many others disagree, and I can totally see why.  But if we look back to 2015, Allen was a key factor when the Grizzlies gave the Warriors the best fight they had seen all season in the Western Conference Semis, as he and Mike Conley held Stephen Curry to 42% shooting.

But this is a new year, and if everything goes according to plan, the Grizz have a fighting chance against the juggernauts in the super-powered Western Conference.  Their biggest free agent splash was forward Chandler Parsons, who signed to a 4yr/$94.4 million max contract.  Now before you go and say “Chandler Parsons even got a max? …” the 6th-year forward quite honestly addresses every one of the team’s needs.  He’s a career 38% 3 point shooter with an average of almost 1.7 made per game, which if added to last seasons totals would increase the team's 3 pointers per game by almost 30% alone.  Parsons’ spacing will also work to open up the floor for the two star big men to do work inside.  Just think, instead of Tony Allen, the Grizz can kick out to Chandler Parsons in the corner.  That is already 100x better. (sorry Tony Allen)  Along with the shooting, Parsons is an excellent playmaker, with a career average of 3.3 assists per game.  Adding Parsons to the mix puts a 3rd above average playmaker on the floor with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, and now can run plays through a handful of different players, a valuable option in making their offense less predictable and more versatile.

Among Memphis’ other free agent signings is shooting guard Troy Daniels, who was signed to a 3yr/$10 million contract in the offseason.  Daniels is set to begin his 4th year in the league, and has shot 43% from the arc in that time.  This includes last year, where he nailed 48.4% of his attempts with Charlotte.  In my opinion, this is a very underrated acquisition.  He has proven that he can make shots from outside on a consistent basis, something not many Memphis players could do last season.  Even if his counting stats aren’t gaudy, his presence will be an asset, working to space the floor for their skilled interior players.

Along with Daniels,  Memphis signed forward James Ennis to a 2yr/$5.3 million deal.  Ennis spent the 2015-2016 season playing 22 games with 3 different teams, (including 10 games with the Grizzlies) including a short 9-game stint in New Orleans where he averaged 16 points per game.  In an offseason where largely unproven players are pulling $10 million a year contracts, (ahem Solomon Hill) this is a bargain for the Grizz.  As stated, Ennis showed some flashes of potential at the end of last year, and it would be fantastic for the team if he could carry it over to this season.  Ennis could settle into the backup small forward role, and continue to improve throughout the year as he gets more experience.  He has only appeared in 84 NBA games to this point, so he is most definitely on the rise.  Memphis' top draft pick was guard Wade Baldwin IV from Vanderbilt, whom they took with the 17th pick. Baldwin averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in his Freshmen year, along with a clean 41% from the 3-point line.  Baldwin can also attack the rim proficiently, as he averaged 6 free throw attempts per game, and shot 80% from the line in college.  He could blossom into an excellent player, backing up guards and possibly the future starting 2-guard, if everything goes according to plan.

The Grizzlies drew up another contract for their seasoned point guard, Mike Conley.  Conley signed a 5yr/$152.6 million max deal to kick off free agency, and it pretty much sent the internet spiraling with “Mike Conley is gettin payed amlost 3 times wat Steph Currie iz!!”  Before you lose it, consider that Conley has played 9 seasons in the NBA, all with the Grizzlies.  He embodies the Grizzlies style and is an extraordinary dude on and off the court.  If he isn't putting in work on the basketball court, he's helping out the community by running a youth basketball camp or volunteering at a local restaurant.  He was one of the finalists for last year's "Community Assist" award, which is given to the NBA player who is the most involved with their community.  Conley means a lot more to Memphis than just his basketball skills, and that is reflected in his contract.  Addressing his skills on the court, he is one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, and has has a knack for causing turnovers on the defensive end, while limiting them on offense.  If he can stay healthy, which hasn’t been a problem in the past, the Grizz won’t have too tough of a time making the playoffs.

Along with Conley, the other two cogs in the Memphis system are big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.  However, time is ticking for the two of them, as both are now into their 30’s and possibly on the brink of a decline.  Randolph is 35 years old, and Gasol is 32.  Despite their age, last year Randolph put up numbers to the tune of 15 points and 8 boards, while Gasol was 17 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists before he went down.  Randolph is excellent at getting into his matchups heads and is extremely physical on the glass, both skills that will never change, no matter old he gets.  Gasol is fantastic in the post and one of the league's best big man passers; when combined with fantastic interior D,  he keeps the Grizzlies anchored on both ends.  All hopes are that the big men can continue to produce at an elite rate, as it will be integral to the Grizzlies' success.

Perhaps one of the Grizzlies’ biggest offseason changes is firing Dave Joerger and replacing him with David Fizdale.  Fizdale was an assistant coach with the Miami Heat for 8 seasons, and won two rings with them while Lebron James and Dwyane Wade resided there.  Joerger was essentially the architect behind the Grizzlies hounding, grinded-out style of play, one of the biggest reasons why the Grizzlies have made the playoffs in 6 consecutive seasons, the 3rd longest active streak in the NBA.  However, Fizdale said that he is going to continue to instill this style of play, which will hopefully work to extend that streak even longer. 

Essentially, the Grizzlies did what they needed to do this offseason: retained their heart and soul in Mike Conley, (even if it was at a steep price) added some quality shooters, and signed a potential all-star in Chandler Parsons.  The Grizzlies look ready to turn over a new leaf and transition into a more modern offense, while continuing to implement the trademarked grind house defense.  Memphis has proven in the past that they can hang with some of the best teams in the NBA.  While it is pretty darn important to have 3-point shooting, so is having good ol' defense.  And if Memphis is potent in both of those areas this year, the league better watch out.