The Memphis Grizzlies have moved on from guard Toney Douglas and will sign New Orleans Pelicans guard Wayne Selden to replace him in the backcourt.
The Memphis Grizzlies are looking to get better in their backcourt for the Western Conference playoffs. Memphis is 39-30 through 69 games this season and in seventh place in the West. Getting to the No. 6 would be ideal to avoid a first-round series with either the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports, “The Memphis Grizzlies are signing [New Orleans] Pelicans free agent guard Wayne Selden, releasing Toney Douglas.”
The Memphis Grizzlies are signing Pelicans free agent Wayne Selden, releasing guard Toney Douglas, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 18, 2017
Douglas has had a miserable season with the 2016-17 Grizzlies. He averaged 4.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 24 games for the Grizzlies. What really seems to have hurt Douglas’ staying power in Memphis was the horrendous shooting season he was having. It’s not good for a backup shooting guard in the NBA to be making only 36.8 percent of his field goals and just 16.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Selden seldom played for the Pelicans in his rookie year out of Kansas. He appeared in three games for New Orleans, but certainly made the most of his minutes. Selden averaged 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest with the Pelicans.
He also shot more efficiently from the field than did Douglas. Selden made 62.5 percent of his field goals and 57.1 percent of his threes. Then again, Selden only attempt eight field goals in his three-game tenure with the Pelicans.
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Memphis is clearly desperate for shooting now that small forward Chandler Parsons is out for the year with a torn meniscus. Maybe Memphis head coach David Fizdale can integrate Selden into the Grizzlies lineup quick enough to see if he can make an impact for them in the Western Conference Playoffs in a month?