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.

The Grizzlies have picked SG/PG Greivis Vasquez with the 28th overall pick of the NBA Draft. The 23-year old Vasquez brings nice size to the court at 6’6″, 200 pounds. He played in 33 games (32 starts) at Maryland last season and he averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He played in 136 games (123 starts) in his four years in college and he averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. I really like this pick for the Grizzlies as Vasquez can play both guard spots.

The Grizzlies used the #25 overall pick on 21-year old shooting guard Dominique Jones out of South Florida and they then traded him to the Mavericks for cash considerations. Jones played in 95 games (94 starts) in three years at South Florida and he averaged 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The Grizzlies probably should have kept Jones because he’s the kind of offensive player they need coming off the bench.

The Grizzlies have selected 19-year old shooting guard Xavier Henry out of Kansas with the 12th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Henry played in 36 games (all starts) at Kansas last season and he averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Henry will likely back up O.J. Mayo as a rookie but he could easily develop into a starting player down the road.

A lot of teams have cleared cap space this summer but not every one of those teams are going to get some of the great unrestricted free agents on the market. That means that 23-year old SF Rudy Gay will likely be pursued by a lot of teams driving up the price for the Grizzlies but they have little option but to match it or they will be looked down upon. Gay played in 80 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies last season and he averaged 39.7 minutes, 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He has now played in 318 games (281 starts) in his four years with the Grizzlies and he has averaged 35.3 minutes, 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Gay has played the 8th most games in Grizzlies’ history with 318. He is also # in three pointers made (337), #8 in rebounds (1,756), #3 in steals (198), #6 in blocked shots (276) and #3 in points scored (5,538) in team history. Hopefully Gay will be re-signed so he can move higher up in the Grizzlies’ record book.

UPDATE: (6/30/2010) – The Grizzlies have extended a qualifying offer to Rudy Gay giving the Grizzlies a chance to match any offer he gets. The Timberwolves seem willing to offer Gay a lot of jack so it will be interesting to see if the Grizzlies’ front office does the right thing by matching it.

UPDATE II: (7/1/2010) – The Grizzlies have re-signed Rudy Gay to a 5-year, $81.6 million dollar deal. This is a excellent move for the Grizzlies as it proves that they are serious about putting a winning team on the basketball court.

The Grizzlies have 2 restricted free agents and 3 unrestricted free agents heading into this summer. The Grizzlies should match any offer made to Rudy Gay who is one of the restricted free agents this summer. He has really developed into a solid player in Memphis and it would be a shame to watch some other team steal him away. Ronnie Brewer is the other restricted free agent on the Grizzlies and they would like to bring him back too as they traded a first round pick for him near the trade deadline. Steven Hunter, Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Williams are the unrestricted free agents for the Grizzlies and I don’t see any reason for them to bring any one of these three guys back.

The Grizzlies have signed head coach Lionel Hollins to a new three year deal. Hollins led the Grizzlies to a 40-42 (.488) record last season. In four years with the Grizzlies (including 1 in Vancouver), Hollins has compiled a 71-114 record (38.4%). The Grizzlies really improved under Hollins this year so he deserved this contract. If they improve again next season they might make the playoffs.

The Grizzlies have shut down starting center Marc Gasol and backup SG/SF Ronnie Brewer for the season due to injuries. Gasol has a partially torn neck muscle while Brewer has a hamstring injury. Gasol played in 69 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies this year and he averaged 35.8 minutes, 14.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. He will be impossible for the Grizzlies to replace the last couple of weeks. Brewer only played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies after coming over in a trade with the Jazz. In those games, Brewer averaged 16.0 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. The Grizzlies better re-sign Brewer because they gave up a first round pick for him.

Ronnie Brewer didn’t last too long for the Grizzlies before getting hurt. He partially tore his right hamstring in his first game with the Grizzlies and he will be out indefinitely. This is a bad break for the Grizzlies who traded a future first round pick for Brewer knowing that he would inject good talent into the bench which is young. Brewer played 12 minutes in his first game with the Grizzlies and he scored 2 points, grabbed 1 rebound and he stole the ball twice. This is a big loss for the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies have acquired 24-year old SG/SF Ronnie Brewer from the Jazz for a protected first round pick in the 2011 draft. Brewer played in 53 games (all starts) for the Jazz this season and he was averaging 31.4 minutes, 9.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 266 games (223 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 10.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. This was a great trade for the Grizzlies as Brewer will likely serve as the sixth man the rest of the year.