Draft picks: (2-ish),32
Signed for next season ($103.2m): PG Mike Conley, C Marc Gasol, SF Chandler Parsons, SF JaMychal Green, SF Ben McLemore, PF Jarrell Martin, SF Wayne Selden, PF Deyonta Davis, PG Andrew Harrison, C Ivan Rabb, SG Dillon Brooks
This summer's free agents: Tyreke Evans, Mario Chalmers, Myke Henry, MarShon Brooks, Omari Johnson, Kobi Simmons
I'm pretty sure their plan is to re-sign Evans (to the MLE?) and perhaps Chalmers (they need Guard depth). Simmons and Henry are on 2-way contracts. I can't imagine they're serious about Brooks (and I don't even know who Omari Johnson is).
The Grizzlies need a coach first. I suspect Bickerstaff will be in the running but I haven't heard of him having the job. The usual suspects: Mark Jackson (doesn't seem like a fit), Jason Kidd (I dunno, could work, I guess), Jeff Hornacek (after a coupla years with schizophrenic Suns and discombobulated Knicks, hard to tell what kind of coach he actually is), Frank Vogel (bingo! I think he could be a good fit with this traditionally defense-first team), David Blatt (could bring some boring to the Memphis sideline which might not be a bad thing), Mike Budenholzer seems to be out there, Vinny Del Negro is sniffing around and I still fully expect to see Doc Rivers looking for a job, too. (I think I'm right in saying there's no interest in Tubby Smith...?) I can see Blatt or Del Negro here but I think Vogel is probably the guy.
They're odds-on favorite for the #2 pick in the draft, which will leave them either Deandre Ayton (Arizona) or Marvin Bagley (Duke). I'd suggest instead Michael Porter (Missouri), who could be the next Ben Simmons, or Luka Doncic (Slovenia), a world-tested SF who does it all. No one will point and laugh if they end up with Ayton or Bagley, but they need scoring so badly, that I'd suggest going smaller. They could also employ the trade-back-for-more-picks thing since 1) they need everything and 2) next 2 years is all about Conley, Parsons and Gasol, not this year's draft. They could go for an abundance of cheaper contracts all over the roster and younger bodies all over the floor just to see what works out. This strategy kinda depends on their coach, which needs to come before the draft.
Starting lineup should be something like: PG Conley, SG Brooks, SF Parsons, PF Davis, C Gasol. Ugh! That doesn't look good at all. If Conley is healthy then they may have something to work with, but if not, they'll have nothing all over again. The Grizzlies are hamstrung by the Parsons contract (man, if GM Chris Wallace could convince him to retire, he'd have my vote for Executive of the Year) and Gasol, too (we're used to couples that hate each other but try to stay together, but this is one of those true-love pairings where we all know that neither is any good for the other, a merciful parting would improve the lots of Gasol and the Grizzlies). They're paying so much money to Conley and Parsons and Gasol that there's just no room for improvement until those three guys are gone--and if they're not healthy then, man, they got an expensive pile of nothing.
They need a coach, they need a good draft and they need good health. Unless they trade Parsons (who wants him?) or Gasol (trade their sweetheart? No way!), then there's no room for free agents this summer. They could take a run at lower priced leftovers like say, Rodney Hood, Mario Hezonja, Doug McDermott or Nik Stauskus, because they need perimeter scoring in the worst way. But none of those guys are transformative.
For now: I just don't see how anything good happens for this team. If Conley is healthy, they might return to being not awful, but that's as good as it gets, I think. They can't even start to rebuild until they have fully metabolized the Parsons and Gasol contracts. And flyers on guys like JaMychel Green, Andrew Harrison and Ben McLemore haven't worked out, but a coupla more years of flyers is all they have to go on. Who wants to coach this team? This is a dead spot on any future resume. I think Frank Vogel could be the guy but Memphis cannot be high on his wish list (hmmm, how badly does Eric Musselman want back in the NBA?).
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