Memphis Grizzlies: After Striking Out With Pair Of Vets, Griz Get Nick Calathes

The Memphis Grizzlies wanted to upgrade their backup point guard spot behind starter Mike Conley and aggressively pursued veterans Mo Williams and Beno Udrih in free agency.

But Williams opted to sign with the Portland Trail Blazers and Udrih agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks, so the Grizzlies were left with Plan C, signing former Florida guard Nick Calathes—who has played in Europe the last four seasons—to a two-year deal.

Calathes broke his own news via Twitter last week:

It was later confirmed by ESPN.com’s Marc Stein:

Calathes was a second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009 despite having announced a month before the draft that he had signed to play the 2009-10 season in Greece. The Grizzlies acquired Calathes’ rights in a trade in July and were able to sign him on Friday.

Last season, Calathes played with Lokomotiv in Russia’s VTB United League and averaged 13.9 points, 6.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 30 games and was a 35.5 percent shooter from 3-point range.

Calathes brings size to the table at the point guard position at 6’6”.

Provided he can handle the grind of an 82-game NBA season, Calathes should be a better option than Jerryd Bayless—who is better as a combo guard despite his size—and Tony Wroten.

Bayless played 22.1 minutes per game last season, averaging 8.7 points. 3.3 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 turnovers per game while shooting 41.9 percent overall and 35.3 percent from 3-point range. He signed a two-year free agent deal in July 2012 after playing for the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers in his first four seasons.

Wroten was Memphis’ first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Washington, but saw limited minutes. He played in just 35 games, averaging 7.8 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.2 assists and shot 38.4 percent and was only 4-for-16 from deep. He also played 11 games for Reno in the D-League, averaging 26.5 minutes, 17 points, 3.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 turnovers while shooting 41.5 percent overall and 32.6 percent from 3-point range.

Conley’s evolution continued last season as he scored a career-high 14.6 points per game while averaging 6.1 assists in 34.5 minutes. He shot 44 percent and 36.2 percent from deep. His 18.3 player efficiency rating was a career high, as were his 111 offensive and 100 defensive ratings.

Conley also shined during Memphis’ run to the Western Conference Finals, averaging 17 points, 7.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 15 postseason games, although he shot the ball poorly throughout the postseason.

He shot 40.8 percent (29-for-71) in the Grizzlies’ opening-round win over the Los Angeles Clippers in six games, was 31-for-85 (36.5 percent) in Memphis’ five-game win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western semis and shot 38.3 percent (23-for-60) while the Grizzlies were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals.

However, Bayless shot even worse in the playoffs, hitting 35.8 percent overall and 30.5 percent from 3-point range while playing 21.3 minutes a game and averaging 9.3 points and 2.1 assists.