Memphis Grizzlies discussing long term contract with Zach Randolph
By Josh Hill
The Memphis Grizzlies have been going through some pretty serious turmoil in recent days, but that hasn’t deterred what’s left of the front office from trying to keep players who are currently on the roster in Memphis for the long haul. One specific players is forward Zach Randolph, who is going tone entering the final year of his contract with the team this year and is trying to ensure that he’ll be with the team behind just next season.
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According to Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports, the feeling is apparently mutual as the Grizzlies and Randolph have been talking directly about a new deal which bodes well for one actually happening in the near future. It’s not a slam dunk, but there seems to be a dialog going on that both Randolph and his agent Raymond Brothers are happy about.
"Randolph has talked directly with Pera in the past week and he and his agent Raymond Brothers sensed a serious commitment to keep Randolph in Memphis with a new deal.“We have a great level of comfort and trust with Robert Pera and Chris Wallace,” Brothers told Yahoo Sports on Monday. “Chris and I have been working together for years. He is a good guy.”"
Randolph has been very vocal about not wanting to start over with another team in another market like he’s had to do so many times in his career. There was talk of him being moved at the trade deadline back in February but that never amounted to anything and the Grizzlies are now trying to lock him down long term.
There’s also motivation in that on June 30th a $16.5 million player option can be triggered by Randolph, a number that the Grizzlies can bring down rather significantly if a long term deal is struck.
While Randolph wants to get paid, he’s not going to steal from the Grizzlies as he’d much rather get a long term deal done than take a $16.5 million cash grab in 2014-15.