Why The Memphis Grizzlies Shouldn’t Blow It Up

The Memphis Grizzlies bowed out to San Antonio in six games. That doesn’t mean they should change a tried and true approach that’s special…and rare

Last summer, the Memphis Grizzlies handed Mike Conley what was the largest contract in NBA history at the time. It was soon surpassed by LeBron James in annual dollars, but remains the highest in total money.

At first blush, the move looked like a desperate one for a team boxed into a corner. If they let Conley walk, they got demonstrably worse. That counts as a team building strategy for some organizations, but the Grizzlies had no such option, having traded away its 2017 and 2019 firsts (the latter with moderate protections). Memphis was also merely a year into the nine-figure contract given to their over-30 starting center. Re-signing Conley was pretty clearly their best option. 

Memphis ended up doubling down on its older core, signing Chandler Parsons to a near $100 million deal. Even if Parsons exceeded expectations, the ceiling for this team was likely a Conference Finals, and that’s if everything broke right.