Memphis Grizzlies: Previewing the 2020 offseason

How the Memphis Grizzlies cap space affects their free agency

Last week, the league announced that the salary cap would be staying stable at $109 million with a $132 luxury tax threshold. As of writing this, the Grizzlies are currently about $4 million over the salary cap line, but about $20 million below the luxury tax line. So, just for the sake of this article, let’s say Memphis decides they have $20 million to work with this offseason.

The first question that should be on the Grizzlies’ mind is if there’s any way to make some moves and expand that number even a little bit. This free agency period is likely going to be really competitive, and having all the money you can to work with is going to be of the utmost importance.

As I mentioned early, Memphis will likely look to move Dieng’s contract. Unfortunately for him, Dieng is one of just four players on the Grizzlies who is set to earn over $10 million this season, and while there’s an argument to be made that the other four–Jonas Valanciunas, Justise Winslow, and Dillon Brooks–at least deserve a shot at that money, there’s not much evidence to suggest Dieng does.

So, Memphis has $20 million, and at least two, if not three, spots on the roster open. Who are they going to be going after in free agency?

Well, the Grizzlies need some help with 3-point shooting. Even if Memphis wants to play a more traditional style of game, it’s undeniable that a little more accuracy from deep would’ve been a huge help during the bubble games. They could also use some help defensively. While they’re not awful on that end of the court, Memphis is just a middle of the road defensive team. That is, unless you’re looking at opponent points off turnover, second chance points, and fast break points, all of which Memphis ranks in the bottom of the league in.

Because of all of this, the Grizzlies will probably be searching for a guard who’s adept at shooting deep balls and also has good ball security.

Joe Harris is a guy who ticks most of Memphis’ boxes. He’s phenomenal from 3-point range and he has a great eye for moving the ball. However, on the downside, he doesn’t do a great job at protecting the ball, and since it seems like he may very well be just entering his prime, it would probably cost Memphis most of their budget to pick Harris up if they could do it at all.

Another target that could be on Memphis board is Kris Dunn. The current Chicago Bull seems to be looking for a way out, and the Grizzlies could give him a nice place to grow some more. Dunn is a great scorer, shooting 44.4 percent from the field, and a fantastic perimeter defender. He came in second last season in steals per game with 2.0. Dunn could also come fairly cheap for Memphis, giving them a chance to sign another big player this offseason.

A drawback here is that Dunn’s 3-point shooting isn’t really up to par. If the Grizzlies did bring on Dunn, he’d be another in their long line of guards who struggle putting points on the board from deep. However, at just 25, he still has a lot that he can develop into.

The biggest takeaway from all of this is that, likely, this will be the first big test of this Memphis Grizzlies front office. And such a quick turnaround between the opening of trades, to the draft, to free agency could give a young front office a lot of stress. But, while it is a lot to deal with, there hasn’t been any indication thus far that they won’t be able to handle it.