The Grizzlies have acquired 24-year old power forward Marreese Speights from the 76ers in a three-team deal also involving the Hornets.  The Grizzlies have sent 20-year old shooting guard Xavier Henry to the Hornets and a 2nd round pick in 2012 to the 76ers as part of this deal.  The 76ers will also get a 2nd round pick in 2013 from the Hornets.  Speights played in 64 games (1 start) for the Sixers last year and he averaged 11.5 minutes, 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 205 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 14.7 minutes, 7.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  Speights will definitely help up front due to the injury to Zach Randolph.  Xavier Henry played in 38 games (16 starts) for the Grizzlies as a rookie last year and he was averaging 13.9 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

The Grizzlies have re-signed 26-year old center Hamed Haddadi to a 1-year deal.  Haddadi played in 31 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 5.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 86 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 6.1 minutes, 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  The Grizzlies were hurting with depth up front, so it was smart to bring Haddadi back for the 2011-12 season.

The Grizzlies have waived 35-year old power forward Brian Skinner.  Skinner played in 1 game for the Grizzlies this year working 4 minutes and not recording any other stats.  Skinner has now played in 608 games (197 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 17.9 minutes, 4.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Grizzlies as they have pretty solid depth up front.

The Grizzlies have acquired 23-year old small forward Quincy Pondexter from the Hornets for 24-year old point guard Greivis Vasquez.  Pondexter played in 66 games (6 starts) as a rookie for the Hornets last year and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 2.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Pondexter will likely be the Grizzlies’ #3 small forward in 2011-12, behind Rudy Gay and Sam Young.  Greivis Vasquez played in 70 games (1 start) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 12.3 minutes, 3.6 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.2 assists per game.  I like this deal for both teams, as Pondexter has a higher upside than Vasquez, but Vasquez fills a need for the Hornets.

The Grizzlies have signed 24-year old power forward Dante Cunningham to a 3-year, $6.3 million bucks.  Cunningham played in 78 games (18 starts) for the Trailblazers & Bobcats last year and he averaged 21.0 minutes, 6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He has now played in 141 games (20 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 16.6 minutes, 5.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  This was a nice signing for the Grizzlies as Cunningham will back-up Zach Randolph.

The Grizzlies have waived 23-year old point guard Ishmael Smith.  Smith played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 7.5 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  He played in 43 games (3 starts) overall for the Rockets & Grizzlies as a rookie last year and he averaged 10.3 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.  The Grizzlies won’t miss Smith too much in 2011-12, as they are set at point guard with Mike Conley and Greivis Vasquez.

The Grizzlies have re-signed 26-year old center Marc Gasol to a 4-year, $58 million dollar contract.  Gasol played in 81 games (all starts) for the Grizzlies last year and he averaged 31.9 minutes, 11.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 232 games (225 starts) in his first three years with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 32.7 minutes, 12.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  The Grizzlies might have overpaid for Gasol a little bit, but that’s o.k., as they are ready to be a legit contender in the Western Conference this year and beyond.

The Grizzlies picked 20-year old, 6’2″, 183 pound shooting guard Josh Selby with the 49th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.  Selby didn’t play too well in his only year in college.  He played in 26 games for Kansas last year and he averaged 20.4 minutes, 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.  Selby only shot 37.3% from the floor last year.  The Grizzlies have a lot of players ahead of Selby at shooting guard, so they should be able to bring him along slowly.

The Grizzlies have signed 27-year old power forward Leon Powe.  Powe played in 14 games (3 starts) for the Cavaliers earlier this year and he averaged 13.4 minutes, 5.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  He has played in 223 games (19 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 14.3 minutes, 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Powe gives the Grizzlies another big body to help out in the paint, so I like this signing for them.

The Memphis Grizzlies have acquired 32-year old small forward Shane Battier and 22-year old rookie point guard Ishmael Smith from the Rockets for 24-year old center Hasheem Thabeet, 24-year old power forward DeMarre Carroll and a first round pick.  Battier played in 59 games (all starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 30.8 minutes, 8.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 744 games (619 starts0 in his first 10 years in the NBA and he is averaging 33.2 minutes, 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Battier will take over as the starting small forward for the Rockets until Rudy Gay is ready to return to action.  Battier is a good defensive player and he’s very unselfish on offense while being a good three point shooter.  Ishmael Smith played in 28 games (3 starts) for the Rockets this season and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  He is only shooting 38.6% from the floor so far this year so he has some things he still needs to work on.

Hasheem Thabeet was a high first round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft but he just wasn’t good enough to earn a spot in the Grizzlies’ rotation.  He played in 45 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this season and he averaged 8.2 minutes, 1.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Thabeet played in 113 games (13 starts) in his two years with the Grizzlies and he averaged 11.1 minutes, 2.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 0.9 blocked shots per game.  DeMarre Carroll played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies this season and he averaged 5.6 minutes, 1.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Carroll has now played in 78 games (1 start) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 10.7 minutes, 2.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Carroll has only shot 39.8% from the floor and 63.6% from the free throw line so far in this NBA career.  Thabeet, Carroll and a first round pick seem like a pretty steep price for Shane Battier but give the Grizzlies credit for trying to win right now.