2016 Memphis Grizzlies

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Memphis Grizzlies (Last Year: 42-40)

2016-17 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Marc Gasol/Brendan Wright

PF: Zach Randolph/JaMychal Green/Jerell Martin

SF: Lance Stephenson/Vince Carter

SG: Tony Allen/Jordan Adams

PG: Xavier Munford

NBA Free Agents:

PG-Mike Conley (UFA)

SF-Matt Barnes (UFA)

C-Chris Andersen (UFA)

PG-Mario Chalmers (UFA)

PG-Jordan Farmer (UFA)

SG-P.J. Hairston (UFA)

SG-Lance Stephenson (TO)

PG-Xavier Munford (TO)

2016-17 Team Salary: Approximately $49.8 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Re-sign Conley: Mike Conley should be one of the most sought after free agents on the market this summer, especially since several teams could use a major upgrade at point guard. Conley has been a fixture in Memphis for the past decade, and the team needs to do everything in its power to persuade him to stay simply because there are not a whole lot of high-level point guards who will be available this offseason.

I would be reluctant to offer Conley a max deal, but some team will likely throw that kind of money at him, which means Memphis should be prepared to as well. The Grizzlies do have the advantage of being able to offer him an extra year and more money than other team. If Conley chooses to head elsewhere, finding a new floor general becomes a massive need.

2. Stephenson Worth Another Year?: After being acquired prior to the trade deadline, Lance Stephenson actually played well and seemed to fit on this Grizzlies’ team. The franchise has a team option on his contract for next season worth about $9.4 million. Stephenson did enough for Memphis to have a serious conundrum about whether to keep him or let him walk. If the Grizzlies decide to look in a different direction, they will have to find a starting-caliber small forward since Matt Barnes is also a free agent.

3. Shooter: Memphis finished with the second-worst three-point shooting percentage in the league, so the team needs to find a sniper from the outside to help open things up in the paint for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.