Memphis Grizzlies could use cap space for trades
By Bryan Rose
Although the Memphis Grizzlies currently have no available salary cap space, that’s going to change at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season.
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As things currently stand, the Grizzlies have $76 million dollars on their cap but once the contracts of Tayshaun and Marc Gasol come off the books at season end, that number will drop down to only $34 million in commitments. Needless to say, they’ll have plenty of available spending money at their disposal.
However, the Memphis Grizzlies have struggled to attract free agents in the past and given that the Boston Globe suggests general manager Chris Wallace could use the space to make a significant trade or two.
"Wallace will have money to sign a major free agent next summer when the contracts of Marc Gasol and Tayshaun Prince expire. The Memphis Grizzlies, like the Celtics, have had trouble attracting major free agents and have done most of the player acquisitions through drafts or trades."
While Memphis isn’t likely to show much interest in retaining Prince, rumors have suggested they want to keep Gasol who is likely to cost Memphis around $14-15 million dollars. Still, the Grizzlies will have money available even after they pay Gasol (assuming they do), so they could take on additional salary in a trade if need be.
Memphis could also attempt to move salary this season, like Courtney Lee or Tony Allen in effort to gain even more financial flexibility going into the offseason.
In addition, the expiring $7 million dollar contract of Prince could also be used as bait in a trade, though Memphis would be without a small forward in such a scenario.