The Grizzlies have signed 25-year old PG/SG Acie Law. Law played in 26 games (1 start) last season for the Bulls, Bobcats and Warriors in which he averaged 9.0 minutes, 4.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He has now played in 137 games (8 starts) in his three years in the NBA and he has averaged 12.1 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. This was a good signing for the Grizzlies as Law was a first round pick. He has a nice upside and the Grizzlies need help in the backcourt off the bench.

The Grizzlies have signed 28-year old SG/SF Tony Allen to a 3-year, $10 million dollar deal. Allen played in 54 games (8 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 6.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. In his six years in the NBA, Allen has played in 336 games (82 starts) for the Celtics in which he averaged 18.4 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. This was a outstanding signing for the Grizzlies as Allen will likely be the sixth man for them.

The Grizzlies have released 25-year old shooting guard Lester Hudson. Hudson played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies as a rookie last season and he averaged 6.8 minutes, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He played in 25 games (0 starts) overall for the Grizzlies & Celtics last season in which he averaged 5.2 minutes, 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Grizzlies shouldn’t miss Hudson too much as he was little more than a gunner off the bench.

The Grizzlies have not made a qualifying offer to 25-year old shooting guard Ronnie Brewer thus making him an unrestricted free agent. This is a shock as the Grizzlies traded a future first round pick to the Jazz for Brewer. Brewer only played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies last season (due to injury) and he averaged 16.0 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has now played in 271 games (223 starts) in his four years in the NBA and he has averaged 26.2 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The Grizzlies’ front office have said that they are still interested in signing Brewer later on in free agency but they wanted to use the money they would have tied up in him to bring back Rudy Gay.

The Grizzlies played good basketball last season. I think another year with the same core will get them into the playoffs in 2010-11. That means they have to match any offer Rudy Gay gets in free agency. It would also be smart of the Grizzlies to sign a couple of cheap, veteran free agents for the bench. Guys like Keyon Dooling, Jason Williams, Eddie House, Luther Head, Hakim Warrick, Matt Bonner, Joe Smith and Juwan Howard all make sense. The Grizzlies have a great starting Five but they need some bench help to get them to the playoffs.