The Memphis Grizzlies battled hard in round one, but saw their 2016-17 season come to an end. Here are the five offseason needs for the Grit N’ Grind gang.
He can take a look at all the data he wants, but Memphis Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale had to have known that his team had maybe a second-round ceiling in his first year on the job. Memphis went 43-39 in 2016-17, finishing with the seventh-best record in the Western Conference.
Fizdale may have brought new technology to Memphis in the form of the 3-ball, but it was still largely the same, old Grit N’ Grind Grizzlies. There is not a thing wrong with that. Memphis’ brand is strong, as this incarnation of Memphis basketball embodies the blue-collar spirit of this Southwestern Tennessee Metropolis along the Mississippi River.
With its two best players in point guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol still in their prime and on massive contracts, there really isn’t any reason to blow the whole thing up in Memphis. This is a fun, but physical basketball team that most casual NBA fans kind of enjoy watching.
That being said, Memphis can still do a few things this offseason to get better. Here are Memphis’ five biggest offseason needs heading into this summer.
5. A competent reserve two-guard would be nice
Shooting guard Tony Allen is amazing, but he got hurt down the stretch and that was no good for the Grizzlies. When he had to ride pine with an injury during the first round series, Memphis was painfully thin out on the wing, especially at two-guard.
Allen has been an offensive liability for most of his career. That being said, his defensive prowess has made him a Memphian legend to no sane person should ever question. The guy should never play for another NBA team, whenever he decides to call it a career.
All that aside, Memphis needs depth on the wing in the worst way possible. The Grizzlies had to trot out Wayne Selden once Allen succumbed to injury. Memphis wasn’t as wrecked by injuries this past year as it was two years ago, but developing or locating a rotational two-guard would be an outstanding offseason move.
One guy that will garner a ton of buzz in NBA free agency is Washington Wizards wing Bojan Bogdanovic. He was shipped at the trade deadline by the Brooklyn Nets to Washington. Now Bogdanovic is helping Washington attempt to reach its first Conference Finals in who knows how long.
Memphis needs to be very straight forward with want it wants out on the wing. Fizdale is keen on 3-and-D, but durability may need to be the best attribute the Grizzlies organization will look for in the upcoming draft and in the impending free agency market.
4. A little less Chan-cun, a little more open threes
Congratulations, Memphis! You made the worst deal of the 2016 NBA offseason by giving all that money to always-injured small forward Chandler Parsons. He played in 34 games and averaged 6.2 points on 33.8 percent shooting.
One could easily argue that Brock Osweiler had a better year for the Houston Texans on a $72 million contract than Parsons didn’t on the first season of a four-year deal worth $94 million. Memphis need a little less Chan-cun from Parsons and a few more open 3s in 2016-17.
The truth is Parsons can be the third-best player on a contending team, as long as he is healthy. He’s not an All-Star level player, but having him near full strength would be huge for Conley, Gasol and the rest of the Memphis starting lineup.
Since the next three years of his Memphis contract are fully guaranteed, the Grizzlies do need to get creative to find reliable wing depth in free agency or in the draft. Though they did back up the Brinks truck to land Parsons last summer, Memphis can’t again break the bank to sign a marquee free agent out on the wing this summer.
Re-signing small forward JaMychal Green seems like a sure thing. That being said, Green will cost a pretty penny, something the Grizzlies could hurt with Conley, Gasol and Parsons making a boatload.
3. Turn Tony Allen into a cyborg that runs on pepper…or just bring all the old dudes back
Let’s be real. The Grizzlies will be the Grit N’ Grind Grizzlies as long as their defensive floor general is in Memphis. He’s not highly skilled offensively, nor is he on the good side of 30. That being said, Memphis shooting guard Tony Allen is everything for the Grizzlies.
He is The Grindfather. Allen may have gotten hurt down the stretch, but we can rebuild him and we have the technology. Basically, Memphis needs to use all the science in the world to turn Allen into a cyborg that runs on pepper so he can play lights-out defense out on the wing.
On a serious note, it may not be a bad play for the Grizzlies to bring back all of their popular aging veterans. With nicknames like The Grindfather, Vinsanity, and Z-Bo, it’s not like NBA nicknames this spectacular just randomly come to us. Allen, small forward Vince Carter and power forward Zach Randolph should come back to Memphis for one last shot at whatever it is they do on the basketball court.
Memphis isn’t a NBA title contender, but the Grizzlies are beloved locally and their on-court attitude semi-resonates nationally. When is the next time Memphis will have a team so intrinsically unique and this culturally significant?
Money is going to be tighter than in years past due to the Conley, Gasol and Parsons extensions. Not to say that these popular veterans need to come back and play for the league minimum to lose in the first round for Memphis, but this is a team we aren’t ready to see break up.
Memphis needs more statues anyway. Elvis will be in good company here pretty soon. For now have some pretty, pretty, pretty good living relics literally Walking in Memphis.
2. Aren’t y’all supposed to be good on the glass?
Well, if bringing back all of Memphis’ favorite old guys is out of the question, how about getting some younger dudes that can win on the glass. This is Grit N’ Grind Memphis, but the Grizzlies finished 24th in total rebounding and 27th on the defensive glass.
For a team that isn’t exactly proficient in scoring the basketball, this was a massive problem for the Grizzlies in 2016-17. Second-chance opportunities and transition defense essentially prevented Memphis from being an elite team.
Sure, maybe it has something to do with a new coach in Fizdale implementing a new defensive system, but being teddy bears on the glass is not okay in Memphis. Bears are big, mean, and menacing. Nobody should own the paint more than the Grizzlies. Not in the Grindhouse with this incarnation of the team.
A popular big man who will be hitting free agency this summer is power forward Taj Gibson of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gibson had spent the bulk of his NBA career grinding and getting yelled at with the Chicago Bulls. He would be make for a seamless transition in Memphis.
It’s a shame that Memphis won’t have enough coin to reach for an All-Star like Atlanta Hawks power forward Paul Millsap. He’s a pro’s pro and would thrive playing for Fizdale should he leave Atlanta on the open market. There will be other bruisers down low potentially on the market. Getting a guy that can play alongside Gasol is most crucial.
1. Can we get a two-point field goal, please?
The Grizzlies struggled on the glass and their shooting efficiency was absolutely atrocious. Memphis was especially lousy in 2-point field goal percentage, as the Grizzlies finished 29th in the league in that category.
Getting easy buckets in the paint had been the bread and butter for the Grizzlies for the last several years. Struggling to make noise in the mid-range game was startling. The Grizzlies were slightly more efficient thanks to the indoctrination of Fizdale’s 3-ball way, having had the 19th best offensive rating in the league. But if they could have kept control inside of the arc too, they would have really had something.
We can’t expect Memphis’ offense to resemble the Houston Rockets’ of 3s, layups and free throws overnight. Rome wasn’t built on a day and Grit N’ Grind won’t die easy. That being said, it’ll be hard to allow the current Grizzlies basketball brand to continue if they can’t even make 2-point field goals consistently.
Including Parsons, five players that played in over 30 games for the Grizzlies shot under 40 percent from the field. The bulk of them play out on the wing. If shooting guards can’t shoot, then what are they? Probably just not very good at their job.
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No, the Grizzlies don’t need a two-point specialist the caliber of the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan, but a suitable mid-range game from somebody that can handle the basketball not named Allen or Conley would be a real treat for the Grizzlies. If Memphis does undergo a youth movement, rebounding and shooting would be the two areas of emphasis for Fizdale and general manager Chris Wallace.