Memphis Grizzlies Need To Sign A Center During Free Agency

By D. Goodman | Jun 5, 2015

May 13, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Kosta Koufos (41, left) dribbles the basketball against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the fourth quarter in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 98-78. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Once the Memphis Grizzlies had their season ended for them at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, their priorities for the offseason became very clear fairly quickly:

Figure out how to convince All-Star center Marc Gasol to re-sign
If Gasol decides to sign elsewhere, figure out how to re-sign backup center Kosta Koufos
Improve the team’s three-point shooting

If you have been following the Grizzlies for any length of time, you know that improving the shooting from beyond the arc comes in a distant third after dealing with the Gasol/Koufos situation. Memphis can’t afford to lose either one of their centers but could be looking at losing both since Gasol and Koufos are unrestricted free agents and can sign where they please.

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The Grizzlies are a team that is in “win now” mode and feel they have a very realistic chance to bring an NBA championship to Memphis if they can keep their current roster more or less in one piece.

That means they have to find some way to re-sign Gasol. He is the core of their much-heralded defense and losing him would be a hole that would be nearly impossible to fill. In the 2015 NBA Playoffs alone he averaged 19.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game and those kind of numbers won’t be easy to replace.

The issue with re-signing Gasol is the money. Can the Grizzlies find some way to pay Gasol what he wants, which could be as high as a max contract, and figure out how to take care of the rest of the roster, including guard Mike Conley, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer?

Then there is Koufos, Gasol’s backup and by all accounts a player who is talented enough to be a starter. Koufos wants more minutes and more money and if the Grizzlies re-sign Gasol, he won’t be able to get either in Memphis. If, on the other hand, Gasol bolts, then Koufos could be looking at a serious pay increase as he suddenly becomes the Grizzlies’ starting center.

Of course, the absolute worst-case scenario would be if Memphis loses both Gasol and Koufos and finds themselves without a quality big man for the 2015-16 season. In that case, Greg Oden isn’t going to be much help.

Any way you look at it, the Grizzlies are going to need help at center if they want to make the Grit-N-Grind era continue for as long as possible in FedEx Forum.

That is why Memphis has to find a center to sign during this summer’s free agency period.

The Grizzlies have a young center in the form of Jarnell Stokes, whom they acquired on draft night from the Utah Jazz last year. The 6’9″ big man out of Tennessee spent most of his rookie season with the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ D-League affiliate, and averaged 3.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per game in the 19 games he appeared in for the Grizzlies.

While Stokes has potential, he isn’t going to be the kind of backup center head coach David Joerger can really count on for a few seasons yet. That means the team is going to have to find a competent backup some other way and the most likely would be free agency.

There are several players that will be available who would fit right in with Memphis’ grind-it-out style of play, including Omer Asik, Kevin Seraphin and, if they feel like taking a chance, Larry Sanders. While none of them may be starter material, they could be decent enough backups to whomever the Grizzlies end up with as their starting center.

The reality of the Grizzlies’ situation is that they are going to lose either Gasol, Koufos or maybe both. That means they need to start thinking about replacements if they want to make at least a few more playoff appearances before the inevitable rebuild that every team (except the San Antonio Spurs apparently) has to deal with.

They will need someone with experience and hopefully someone who has been to the postseason. The best place to find that kind of player is going to be free agency.

Next: Golden State Warriors: 5 Lessons From NBA Finals Game 1

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