Memphis Grizzlies 2021 Free Agency Options

By: Layth Dahman

The Memphis Grizzlies had a good season in which they exceeded expectations and made the playoffs in the very tough Western Conference. They finished the season with a record of 38-34 and won both play-in tournament games allowing them to make the playoffs. They have a very young team and their young players were able to get valuable playoff experience.

The Grizzlies have most of their future core locked up and have only 4 free agents. The Grizzlies should get aggressive this offseason with cap space available and with most of their players being on bargain deals right now. In the future, it will be harder for the Grizzlies to pursue a big free agent to add to their young core. Also, if the Grizzlies don't improve right now and make a deep playoff run they will risk their franchise cornerstone Ja Morant becoming disgruntled. Morant has 2 more years remaining on his contract until he becomes a restricted free agent, and the Grizzlies will feel more pressure from Morant the longer they wait to improve the team.

Notable Free Agents: Justice Winslow (Team Option), Tim Frazier (Unrestricted Free Agent), Killian Tillie (Restricted Free Agent), Sean McDermott (Restricted Free Agent).

Team needs:

1. A star guard who can be a secondary scorer, ball-handler, playmaker, and shot creator to remove pressure from Ja Morant.

2. Defensive versatility and wing scoring.

3. Bench depth.

4. Veterans with playoff experience.

Here are some potential moves the Grizzlies can make to improve for next season and become a legitimate title contender in the Western Conference:

Justice Winslow Team Option:

The Grizzlies should reject the team option of Justice Winslow worth $13 million for 1 year. He has been injury-prone the past season and fell out of the rotation. He has played only 26 games for the Grizzlies since he was traded there. This season he averaged 6.8 points per game, 1.9 assists per game, and 4.5 rebounds per game only playing 19.5 minutes per game. He was inefficient shooting 35.2 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from three. He is an offensive liability and forces shots from inside and from three. . Kyle Anderson is a similar player to Justice Winslow. This season he averaged 12.4 points per game, 3.6 assists per game, and 5.7 rebounds per game. He had an efficient field goal percentage of 46.8 percent and 36 percent from three. He is a more efficient player than Winslow, shooting 11.6 percent better from the field and 17.5 percent better from three. He is also a better ball handler and a higher IQ player and can create a higher percentage look for his teammates as a ball handler. He plays at a slower pace which is a different look for opposing defenses and is harder for opposing defenses to deal with. Like Winslow, Anderson has defensive versatility and can guard multiple positions. Even though Winslow has more defensive quickness, Anderson has better defensive positioning and can force opponents into tougher shots. Also, Anderson has a higher net rating of 1.6 which makes him a more well-rounded player than Winslow who is an offensive liability and has a net rating of -6.1.

By declining the team option of Winslow, the Grizzlies will reduce their payroll to $84,636,048 and with the cap projected to be $112 million, the Grizzlies will have $27,363,952 million in cap space to work with and can potentially lure a big free agent.

Trade De'Anthony Melton, Tyus Jones, Brandon Clarke, a 2022 unprotected first-round draft pick, and a 2024 unprotected first-round draft pick for Jerami Grant:

The Memphis Grizzlies should try to trade De'Anthony Melton, Tyus Jones, Brandon Clarke, a 2022 unprotected first-round draft pick, and a 2024 unprotected first-round draft pick for Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant. The Grizzlies are slowly ending their rebuild and are in a win-now position. This move will elevate the Grizzlies from a perennial low-seed playoff team to a more competitive team in the playoffs that could make the 2nd round. Grant this season had a career year in scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game. He played at a star level and became a more assertive and aggressive scorer. He was aggressive attacking the rim and looking to create his own shot. Even though he was putting stats as the number one option on a bad team and had a high usage rate of 27.8 percent which ranked 36th, it should not be a cause of concern that his scoring occurs just because he is on a bad team. He was a solid efficient scorer shooting 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from three. On the Grizzlies he would be an even more efficient scorer when he sees less pressure from opposing defenses and has more open higher-quality looks playing off the ball. Grant is a dynamic scorer and can score off the dribble and in catch and shoot scenarios. With the Pistons, he was forced to be more of a shot creator as he was their best player, but he thrives more in the catch and shoot scenarios in which the Grizzlies can utilize him. When creating his shot off the dribble, Grant shot 43.6 percent on two-point shots and 28.2 percent from three. Grant operates and thrives more from inside and mid-range when creating his own shot. In catch-and-shoot situations, Grant is efficient and is shooting 44 percent on two-pointers and 36.7 percent from three. When taking no dribbles, he is shooting 58.7 percent on two-pointers and 36.4 percent on three. He moves well without the ball and can get high-quality looks by cutting to the rim or moving along the three-point line.

On defense, he would elevate the Grizzlies to another level. The Grizzlies were an above-average defensive team and ranked 7th in defensive rating allowing opponents to score only 110.5 points per 100 possessions. Grant would give the Grizzlies more defensive versatility since he can guard multiple positions. He is also a defender with good defensive positioning and defensive lateral quickness, allowing him to guard opposing teams' best players. He is a player who can force his matchup into tough contested shots.

By completing this trade, the Grizzlies would have their secondary star on a bargain contract. Grant is under contract for the next 2 years for only $40,957,500. Also, when Grant is a free agent during the 2023 season, the Grizzlies would have his bird rights, allowing them to pass the salary cap to re-sign him.

The Pistons would do this trade to add to their young core. Grant may not want to be part of a rebuilding team and this trade would allow him to go to a playoff team. By trading for De'Anthony Melton, Tyus Jones, and Brandon Clarke the Pistons are getting players that fit their timeline better and adding to their young core of Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Sekou Doumbouya, Killian Hayes, and the first pick of the 2021 NBA draft. They would also be getting 2 unprotected first-round picks which they will be able to use to draft players or use in future trades.

De'Anthony Melton would be a young solid bench scorer for the Pistons. He is averaging 9.1 points per game, 2.5 assists per game, and 3.1 rebounds per game in 20.1 minutes per game. He is a player who can score from three. When opponents close out on him from the three-point line, he has a first quick step to the rim, and he is an athletic finisher at the rim making him effective attacking the rim. This season he is shooting an efficient 43.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three. He is a player who can make three-point shots off the dribble and in catch-and-shoot situations. He thrives most as a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter. On catch and shoot three-pointers he is shooting an efficient 43.2 percent. In catch and shoot scenarios he has an effective field goal percentage of 64.7 percent which means most of his attempts and makes are three-pointers. Off the dribble, he is also an efficient three-point shooter. On pull-up three-point shots he is shooting 36.2 percent and when creating his own shot from three he is shooting an efficient 38.4 percent. He is a player that moves well without the ball and his constant movement along the three-point line allows him to get high percentage three-point looks. He is also a player who can come around off-ball screens and get open looks from three. The Pistons are a poor three-point shooting team. They rank 22nd in three-pointers made per game and rank 21 in three-pointers attempted per game. They make only 11.4 three-pointers per game and attempt 32.5 three-pointers per game. They are also shooting an inefficient 35.1 percent from three which is below average and ranks 22nd. Acquiring Melton will make the Pistons a significantly better three-point shooting team and give them much-needed floor spacing.

Brandon Clarke is a young player with potential who doesn't get the playing time with the Grizzlies that he needs to develop. He is currently part of a team that has their frontcourt set for the future with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valančiūnas and even though he is a starting-caliber power forward or center, he won't get that opportunity with the Grizzlies. If the Pistons complete this trade, they would be able to start Clarke. Clarke is an athletic, rim-running big. He is an inside scorer and he can also shoot the three, but he needs to develop a consistent three-point shot. He can also score in the pick and roll and is a lob threat at the rim. If he can regain his form from three like his rookie season, he could be a pick and pop threat again. Coming off the bench and missing playing time has affected his confidence. With the Grizzlies always in the playoff hunt Clarke isn't able to play through his mistakes, whereas with the Pistons he would be able to play through his mistakes since they are rebuilding and trying to develop young players for the future. This season he is averaging 10.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game in only 24 minutes per game. With more playing time he has a chance to be a double-double machine. He is shooting 52 percent from the field and 26 percent from three. In his rookie season, Clarke had better shooting mechanics and a more fluid three-point shot compared to this season. He also shot 10.1 percent better from the field in his first season compared to this season. If the Pistons played him more, he would have a chance to regain his confidence.

On the defensive end, Clarke is able to defend well against the pick and roll. He is a mobile big allowing him to come up with timely switches and forcing the pick and roll ball handler into a tough contested shot at the rim, mid-range, or three-point range. His switchability makes up for teammates who struggle to get through screens. He is an ideal modern defensive big and one of the few bigs who can guard the pick and roll well. Pick and roll ball handlers only shoot 33.3 percent from the field against Clarke and only have an effective field goal percentage of 35.9. This means the pick and roll ball handler can’t get high percentage shots from inside and the perimeter in the pick and roll against Clarke. He has defensive quickness and is versatile, allowing him to guard multiple positions. He is also a high IQ defender and has great defensive positioning, allowing him to defend against lobs at the rim. He is also able to be a help defender if one of his teammates on the perimeter gets blown past. Clarke is able to guard the perimeter and interior, making him able to play when opposing teams run small-ball lineups. As an interior defender, he is able to be a rim protector and alter shots at the rim. This season he averaged 1 block per game. He made the Grizzlies a better defensive team when he was on the floor. He allowed opponents to score 109.3 points per 100 possessions and the Grizzlies allowed 1.2 fewer points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor.

Tyus Jones is a player who would add bench depth to the Pistons and give them a solid backup point guard. He would be able to take charge of the second unit of the Pistons, providing them with playmaking and getting others involved. This season he averaged 6.3 points per game, 3.7 assists per game, and 2 rebounds per game. He is shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three. Most of Jones`s offense comes as the pick and roll ball handler. He is able to either finish floaters or be a playmaker out of the pick and roll. He would be a steady backup point guard for the Pistons and is not very turnover-prone. He is one of the best players at not turning the ball over with only 0.7 turnovers per game. He has one of the best assists to turnover ratios in the NBA. He has an assist to turnover ratio of 5.40 which ranks 7th. This shows how skilled he is as a backup point in terms of getting others involved without turning the ball over.

After completing this trade, the Grizzlies add $90,858 to their payroll making their payroll $84,726,906 and reducing their cap space to $27,273,094.

Trade Grayson Allen and John Konchar to the San Antonio Spurs for a 2021 second-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick:

This trade would give the Grizzlies financial flexibility and open up more cap space to go after another star player. After completing this trade, the Grizzlies will create $6,254,695 in additional cap space giving the Grizzlies a total available cap space of $33,527,789 to pursue a big free agent.

The San Antonio Spurs have only a payroll of $59,379,495 and have the available cap space to absorb these contracts. This trade would give the Spurs a good three and d role player, which they are lacking, for only 2 second-round picks. This season Grayson Allen was a solid role player averaging 10.6 points per game. He is shooting 41.8 percent from the field and an efficient 39.1 percent from three. He would provide the Spurs with much-needed floor spacing. He makes 2.1 three-pointers per game on 5.5 attempts per game. The Spurs are a team that needs to improve their three-point shooting. They are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league. They make only 9.9 three-pointers per game which rank 29th and attempt only 28.4 three-pointers per game which ranks 30th. Allen will also improve their three-point efficiency. The Spurs were a below-average team in three-point percentage and shot only 35 percent from three which ranked 24th. Allen also moves well without the ball and can get high percentage open looks from three-point range off catch and shoot scenarios. His constant moving around along the three-point line makes it hard for opponents to keep up with him. He is also a player who could come around off-ball screens and make threes. When opponents close out on Allen from the three-point he is a player who can attack the rim. Having Allen spacing the floor would open more space for Dejounte Murray to attack the rim and operate from mid-range. allowing him to play to his strengths.

On defense, Allen is a scrappy and physical defender. He is also able to get through screens and doesn't force the big to switch into unfavorable matchups when guarding the pick and roll ball handler.

Sign DeMar DeRozan to a 4-year deal worth $134,111,156:

The Grizzlies should heavily pursue DeMar DeRozan this offseason and sign him to a 4-year deal worth $134,111,156. This season DeRozan had another consistent under-the-radar season averaging 21.6 points per game and 7 assists per game. He shot an efficient 49.5 percent from the field. This move would give the Grizzlies a scorer and a secondary playmaker that they desperately need to become a legitimate contender in the Western Conference. He is a player who can score in many ways. He can score from inside, mid-range, and in the post against a smaller defender. He is one of the best players in the league at attacking and finishing at the rim. He is a crafty finisher at the rim and has great footwork. This season he has 18.2 drives per game which ranks 6th and scored 10.6 drive points per game which ranks 5th. He is a player who can draw a good amount of contact and get easy points from the free-throw line. This season he went to the free-throw line 7.2 times per game and converted on 6.2 free throws per game. DeRozan is also an elite playmaker. This season he averaged a career-high in assists per game. He knows what spots his teammates operate in and where they are most successful. DeRozan is able to be a playmaker out of the pick and roll and get his teammates high-percentage three-point shots off dribble penetration. This will help alleviate the pressure and ball-handling duties of Ja Morant and give the Grizzlies a secondary playmaker. He also had chemistry with Jonas Valančiūnas when they played with the Toronto Raptors, and he will be able to get Valančiūnas easy looks inside out of the pick and roll and run an effective pick and pop game.

With Morant having an explosive playstyle and being an injury risk, this move will keep the Grizzlies in contention to still be a playoff team in the event that Morant gets injured. They will still have a star scorer and playmaker in case Morant misses some games because of injury.

DeRozan is a poor defender, allowing 115.5 points per 100 possessions. He makes the San Antonio Spurs a significantly worse defensive team and they allow 3.5 extra points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor. He struggles to get through screens when forced to guard the pick and roll ball handler forcing a switch. Being on a better team should improve DeRozan's motivation on the defensive end and defensive effort. Even though DeRozan is a poor defender, the Grizzlies are able to hide him on the defensive end. The Grizzlies have multiple physical perimeter defenders and can put DeRozan on an offensive player who has less offensive responsibility. The Grizzlies have Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson who can play perimeter defense at a high level.

Dillon Brooks is a physical scrappy defender. He is a high IQ defender and is able to play off-ball and on-ball defense. This season he has a defensive rating of 109.4 in the regular season. Brooks makes the Grizzlies a better defensive team. When Brooks was on the floor, the Grizzlies allowed 1.1 fewer points per 100 possessions. He is able to get into passing lanes and cause deflections which create fast-break opportunities for the Grizzlies. This season Brooks has 1.2 steals per game which ranks 34th in the league. He also has 2.8 deflections per game which ranks 18th. Brooks thrives when guarding the opposing teams’ best players in isolation situations and his physicality wears out players toward the end of games. He also has defensive lateral quickness and is able to force his matchup into a tough contested shot. The only downside to Brooks on the defensive end is that he sometimes struggles to get through screens, but he makes up for it with his ability to recover quickly when getting stuck at a screen and contesting the shot. Also, his physicality on the defensive end makes him commit a lot of personal fouls. This season he averaged 3.5 personal fouls per game.

Kyle Anderson gives opponents a different look on the defensive end. He is a lengthy defender with a wingspan of 7 feet 3 inches. He doesn't have defensive quickness, but he has good defensive positioning. He is also a versatile defender and is able to guard multiple positions. This season he allowed opponents to score 108.7 points per 100 possessions. He made the Grizzlies a better defensive team and they allowed 1.8 fewer points per 100 possessions. He is also able to get into passing lanes and get steals and deflections. This season he averaged 1.2 steals per game which ranks 35th. He also averaged 2.3 deflections per game which ranks 36th and 161 total defections which ranks 18th. He is able to get around screens and force opponents into a tough contested shot or lead his matchup into the rim protection. Anderson would help make up for DeRozan's weakness in getting through screens.

The Grizzlies are a team that hasn't been able to make a deep playoff run since they are a young team that lacks playoff experience and veterans. DeRozan is the type of veteran the Grizzlies need to help develop young talent. DeRozan is a leader and is always invested in mentoring his young teammates and seeing them develop.

Sign JaVale McGee to a 1-year contract for the veterans minimum worth $2.5 million:

JaVale McGee would be a good backup center for the Grizzlies to pursue. The Grizzlies should sign him to a 1-year contract for the veterans minimum worth $2.5 million. McGee is an athletic rim running center who would provide the Grizzlies with rebounding and rim protection off the bench. He is also a lob threat out of the pick and roll. This season McGee averaged 7.3 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game in limited minutes. He shot 51.1 percent from the field. On the defensive end, he is a lengthy tall defender who can alter and block shots at the rim. This season McGee averaged 1.2 blocks per game which ranks 23rd. McGee would be a good energy player and role player off the bench for the Grizzlies and he would be able to give them a productive 15 to 20 minutes per game.

Sign Wayne Ellington to a 2-year contract worth $10,065,500 using the room exception:

The Grizzlies should sign Wayne Ellington to a 2-year contract worth $10,065,500 using the room exception they have available to them this offseason. The room exception allows a team to sign a player to a contract no longer than two years and it will raise the player’s contract by 5 percent for the 2nd year of the contract.

Signing Ellington gives the Grizzlies a three-point specialist off the bench. This season Ellington averaged 9.6 points per game in 22 minutes per game. He shot an efficient 44.1 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three. He would significantly improve the Grizzlies three-point shooting and give them another three-point threat. He would give them much-needed floor spacing. The Grizzlies are a below-average three-point shooting team. This season they only made 11.2 three-pointers per game which ranks 24th and only attempted 31.4 three-pointers per game which ranks 23rd. They also shot 35.6 percent from three which ranks 20th. This season Ellington made 2.5 three-pointers per game on 6 three-point attempts. He moves well without the ball and is able to get open for a high percentage three-point shot. Ellington's constant movement along the three-point line is tiring for his matchup to keep up, with leading to an open high-percentage three-point shot. He is also an efficient and effective catch-and-shoot three-point shooter. This season in catch and shoot scenarios Ellington is shooting 38.1 percent from three. He has an effective field goal percentage of 56.6 percent which means most of his catch and shoot opportunities are taking and making a lot of three-pointers. Even though he operates mostly as a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter he is also able to make pull-up threes in transition with high efficiency. This season he is shooting 49.5 percent on pull-up threes. He has an effective field goal percentage of 67.1 percent which shows how effective he is when taking pull-up threes.

Projected lineup after these moves:

Starting Lineup: Ja Morant, DeMar DeRozan, Jerami Grant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jonas Valančiūnas

Bench: Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, Kyle Anderson, Xavier Tillman, JaVale McGee, and Wayne Ellington