Ben McLemore agrees to two-year, $10.7 million deal with Memphis Grizzlies

Ben McLemore has signed a two-year deal worth $10.7 million with the Memphis Grizzlies. What’s next on the to-do list for Memphis?

The Memphis Grizzlies have rounded out their bench unit. The team has agreed to a deal with guard Ben McLemore. The former Kansas product is set to earn just shy of $11 million over the course of a two-year deal. McLemore spent his entire career with the Sacramento Kings up until this agreement.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the news:

Chris Haynes, also of ESPN, reported that the details of the contract. Since Memphis is already over the cap, the team was limited to using the Mid-Level Exception in order to sign him. His annual salary of $5.2 million will take up most of the $8.4 Exception. The Grizzlies will now be tasked with using the remaining amount on another player.

McLemore averaged 8.1 points per game in limited opportunities with the Kings in 2016-17. Hopefully, he can play more than 19 minutes per contest as he did a year ago. Signing McLemore is worth the gamble as he did shoot .382 percent from 3-point range. McLemore is a perfect 3-and-D player for the Grizzlies but hasn’t developed into the former seventh overall pick we all hoped he would. LeBron James seemed to be a fan of McLemore’s game figuring that the Cavs could be players for his services.

Zach Randolph, JaMychal Green, Tony Allen, and Vince Carter are all impending free agents that Memphis could re-sign. The Grizzlies do hold all of their bird rights so they can continue to go over the salary cap to keep them. With McLemore signed, Tony Allen and Vince Carter may be gone.

Next: NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Memphis Grizzlies

Now it’s time to see if head coach David Fizdale can develop McLemore into the player we all expected him to be. The Grizzlies were eliminated in the first-round of the Western Conference playoffs by the Spurs.