The Memphis Grizzlies will be without 24-year old shooting guard Rudy Gay for at least the next four weeks due to a subluxation of his left shoulder.  Gay has played in 54 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 39.9 minutes, 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  To survive without Gay, the Grizzlies need 25-year old Sam Young and 29-year old Tony Allen to step up.  Young has played in 53 games (21 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 17.6 minutes, 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He will likely move to small forward with Tony Allen playing shooting guard.  Allen has played in 49 games (8 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  With the trade deadline looming, I wouldn’t be suprised to see the Grizzlies add either a small forward or shooting guard to help out off the bench until Gay returns to action.

The Grizzlies have signed 35-year old point guard Jason Williams.  Williams played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Magic earlier this year and he averaged 10.7 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He only shot 34.2% from the floor for the Magic this year.  Williams has now played in 777 games (667 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Williams had a four year run for the Grizzlies from the 2001-02 season until the 2004-05 season in which he played pretty solid basketball.  Don’t be surprised to see Williams getting a lot of P.T. backing up Mike Conley soon.

The NBA has suspended 23-year old shooting guard O.J. Mayo for the next 10 games due to violating the league’s anti-drug policy.  Mayo says that an over the counter supplement led to his failed test.  It was allegedly a muscle builder.  Mayo has played in 45 games (15 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 28.8 minutes, 12.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  This is a big loss for the Grizzlies as Mayo was providing a spark off the bench offensively this year.  But, he will likely get further into Lionel Hollins’ Dog House because of this.

The Grizzlies are sending 24-year old power forward DeMarre Carroll to the D-League.  Carroll has played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies so far this year and he is averaging 5.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 79 games (1 start) in his first two years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 10.9 minutes, 2.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  The Grizzlies hope that Carroll works on his shooting in the D-League as he is only hitting 39.5% from the floor and 63.6% of his free throws in his first two years in the NBA.  Despite this demotion, the Grizzlies still have high hopes for Carroll who they picked in the first round (#27 overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft.

The Grizzlies have signed 23-year old starting point guard Mike Conley to a 5-year, $45 million dollar extension to his contract. Conley has played in 3 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 37.3 minutes, 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game. He picked an outstanding time to be playing by far the best basketball of his career in securing that kind of contract from the Grizzlies. Conley has played in 218 games (190 starts) in his career with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 30.1 minutes, 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Only time will tell if this was a smart move for the Grizzlies or not.

The Grizzlies are three deep at point guard with talented players that are each 25 years old and younger. 22-year old Mike Conley will be the starter but he’s not a pure point guard by any means. He played in 80 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 12.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Conley has now played in 215 games (187 starts) in his 3 years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 30.0 minutes, 10.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Conley will have to play at a high level because the Grizzlies used a first round pick on a point guard to push him.

23-year old rookie Greivis Vasquez will open the year as Mike Conley’s back-up but he could really start pushing him for minutes in the second half of the year. Vasquez played in 33 games for Maryland last season and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He played all four years in college at Maryland appearing in 136 games in which he has averaged 33.6 minutes, 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Even if Vasquez comes off the bench all year long he will give the Grizzlies solid minutes.

25-year old Acie Law was signed on to be the #3 guy at point guard for the Grizzlies this year. Law played in 26 games (1 start) for the Warriors, Bobcats & Bulls last year 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 rebound and 1.6 assists per game. Law was a first round pick just three years ago so he might have an untapped upside.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE GRIZZLIES POINT GUARDS IN 2010-11: B-

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.