Memphis Grizzlies: Can Nick Calathes Answer Backup Point Guard Question?

The Memphis Grizzlies have acquired the rights to former Florida guard Nick Calathes from the Dallas Mavericks. Calathes, shown playing for Greece in the Eurobasket 2009 tournament, has played in Greece for three years and spent last season in Russia, but could be a viable option as a backup to point guard Mike Conley. (Flickr.com/Klearchos Kapoutsis)

The Memphis Grizzlies may play a wild card in their seemingly never-ending search for a quality backup to point guard Mike Conley after acquiring the rights to former Florida guard Nick Calathes from the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

Calathes was drafted 45th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2009 NBA Draft and his rights were traded to the Mavericks on draft night. According to ProBasketballTalk, the Grizzlies sent cash and lifted restrictions on a 2016 second-round draft pick that had been traded to Dallas earlier. Dallas had acquired the pick from the Denver Nuggets in a December 2011 deal that sent Corey Brewer and Rudy Fernandez to the Nuggets.

The pick had gone to Denver in an August 2009 trade in which the Nuggets sent Steven Hunter and a 2010 first-round draft pick to Memphis. Denver also got a trade exception in the deal.

Calathes never signed with the Mavericks, instead agreeing to a deal with Panathinaikos Athens in Greece a month before the 2009 draft. He spent three seasons with Panathinkaikos Athens and was part of its Euroleague championship squad in 2011 before moving on to Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia last season.

Calathes had his best year as a pro in 2012-13, averaging 13.9 points and 6.1 assists per game for Lokomotiv Kuban in the Russian VTB United League while shooting 50.7 percent from the floor.

He was named MVP of the Eurocup, Europe’s second tier competition, in 2012-13, averaging 12.9 points and 6.6 assists in 17 Eurocup games.

Here are some highlights from Lokomotiv Kuban’s victory over Uxue Bilbao Basket in the Eurocup final:

Back in 2009, DraftExpress.com rated Calathes as the second-best finisher among point guards at 1.26 points per possession near the basket, despite being knocked by scouts for a lack of strength and athleticism.

Calathes is also a decent spot-up shooter, although one lacking range. Calathes shot less than 30 percent from 3-point range in Euroleague and Eurocup play, although he was 27-for-76 (35.5 percent) for Lokomotiv Kuban in VTB United League action.

Incumbent backup Jerryd Bayless is more of a shoot-first guard than he is a facilitator, averaging 12.7 shot attempts to just 5.4 assists per 36 minutes last season. Bayless’ player efficiency rating was just 13.5 in 2012-13 (15 is considered average) and he combined a 24.9 assist percentage with a less than impressive 15.1 turnover rate. The Grizzlies’ offensive rating went down by 8.8 points per 100 possessions when Bayless was on the court last year and in the playoffs, that differential cratered to minus-15.6 points per 100 possessions, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Bayless can still be a solid contributor for Memphis—he’s a decent 3-point shooter and defender. His 35.3 percent 3-point shooting last season was a significant dropoff from the 42.3 percent he shot for the Toronto Raptors in 2011-12 and he had a defensive rating of 103 points per 100 possessions last season—not terrific, but not terrible, either.

But if the Grizzlies could induce Calathes to leave Europe and try his hand at the NBA, they might have a more efficient option to use when Conley needs a break.