Memphis Grizzlies: What Does The Future Hold For Beale Street Bears?

The Zach Randolph Dilemma

Zach Randolph has been a pillar of Memphis Grizzlies basketball for close to a decade. He’s been a beloved member of the organization since 2009, when he was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers for small forward Quentin Richardson.

The question is: how does Randolph fit into the Grizzlies’ long-term plans as a soon-to-be 36-year-old power forward with an old school skill set?

Randolph can still feast as a rebounder and low-post powerhouse, and those traits are invaluable to a team like Memphis. While Marc Gasol journeys the entirety of the halfcourt on defense, Randolph boxes out and helps ensure that Memphis will limit second chances.

He grabs rebounds himself and enables his teammates to do the same.

On the offensive end of the floor, Randolph helps restore the belief that, even in this jump-shooting league, there are few skills more valuable than being able to get a quick and easy two points.

Randolph was playing on a $10,361,445 salary in 2016-17, which is a fair figure in the current salary climate. Memphis may need him to take a slight pay cut, however, as it’s paying Mike Conley, Gasol, and Chandler Parsons upwards of $75 million.

With a limited amount of cap space to fill out the rest of the roster, some sacrifices will need to be made.

If Randolph is willing to take a hometown discount to help this Grizzlies core make one last push for a championship, then bringing him back would be a wise decision.

For all that he does well and poorly on the court, the truth about Randolph is that he’s bigger than basketball in Memphis; he’s a key part of this winning culture.