Memphis Grizzlies: Nick Calathes Is Headed Back To Greece

Turns out free agency isn’t what it’s cracked up to be for every player in the NBA.

Despite saying multiple times that he strongly wanted to remain in the NBA, Sportando.com is reporting that Memphis Grizzlies point guard Nick Calathes has agreed to a three-year, $7 million deal to return to Greece and play for his old team Panathinaikos.

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Calathes was a restricted free agent this offseason and when the Grizzlies made him a $1.41 million qualifying offer, he turned it down and instead waited for the offers to start pouring in from other teams around the NBA.

That sound you hear is the crickets as Calathes received no interest from any other franchise. The fact that he was almost as popular as Luke Ridnour isn’t all that surprising when you look at the circumstances.

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First, as everyone knows, there is an abundance of qualified, capable point guards currently in the league. Even at the relatively low sum of almost $1.5 million, there are other guards who could be signed for the same or even less money.

Considering Calathes was the Grizzlies’ third-string point guard, that is a bit pricey and would require a pretty sizable leap of faith for a team to sign what is essentially an unproven backup guard for that kind of money.

Which brings us to circumstance No. 2: Calathes just isn’t that good.

Calathes averaged 4.2 points, 2.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds per 14.4 minutes during the 2014-15 NBA season and 3.3 points, 1.6 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 10 playoff games, three as a starter. Those are very pedestrian numbers for a player looking for a big contract in free agency.

Add in his play during the Grizzlies’ playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers when starting point guard Mike Conley was out with a facial injury, where he looked confused and loved turning the ball over and it’s no wonder other teams stayed away.

But the biggest reason most GMs probably left their checkbooks closed was the figure Calathes was asking for.

Rumored to be around $3.5 million, there is just no way Calathes is worth that kind of money. Certainly not based on his play and not when you factor in the fact that Memphis just signed Marc Gasol to a five-year, $110 million contract and still have to figure out how to pay Conley when he enters free agency in 2016.

The Grizzlies also recently guaranteed Beno Udrih‘s $2.2 million salary for next season and signed Brandan Wright to an $18 million, three-year deal to replace the departed Kosta Koufos.

Even if Calathes was a better basketball player, odds are the Grizzlies just wouldn’t have had the money to pay him what he thinks he deserves in 2016.

In the long run this is probably for the best for all concerned. Calathes gets to make the kind of money he thinks he is worth and Memphis saves almost $1.5 million that they can use to address some of their other needs.

With or without Nick Calathes, the odds of the Grizzlies heading to the NBA Finals haven’t changed. If anything, they might just have improved in the long run.

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