5 ways LeBron’s signing impacts Grizzlies
Following months of anticipation, speculation and rumors, Klutch Sports Group set NBA Twitter ablaze with a vanilla press release at 7:05 p.m. on Sunday. It announced that LeBron James, the most coveted free agency in recent memory, is a Laker.
While his team didn’t sign Paul George or Chris Paul, Los Angeles President of basketball operations Magic Johnson managed to convince James in a three-hour meeting at his home late Saturday night.
James’ arrival immediately swings the fortunes of a Lakers team that hasn’t made the playoffs in five years, its worst drought in team history. The rest of the league, however, is affected as well — including the Memphis Grizzlies.
The West gets even tougher
In June, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera said he sees “no reason why” his team can’t win 50 games. That just got a lot more difficult.
Even without another star, Los Angeles is automatically a contender in the Western Conference playoff race. Golden State and Houston aren’t going anywhere. Oklahoma City retained Paul George and Portland still has Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Don’t forget about Donovan Mitchell and Utah, Anthony Davis and New Orleans, Jimmy Butler and Minnesota or Nikola Jokic and Denver, either. It’s safe to say that Memphis faces an uphill battle to reach its owner’s expectations.
Standing pat isn’t an option
Falling in line with the last point, the Grizzlies simply can’t afford to stand pat going forward. Their core, centered around Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, is aging and expensive.
Another large chunk of their team payroll is bogged down by the 2 years and $49 million left on Chandler Parsons’ deal. Jaren Jackson Jr., who recently signed his multi-year rookie deal with Memphis, likely won’t be ready to take on a huge role in his first year.
The Grizzlies must make moves in order to remain competitive in the future, and the first step in doing so may be retaining Tyreke Evans. USA Today’s Sam Amick reported that he’s heard buzz about the Warriors pursuing him.
Golden State GM Bob Myers is Evans’ former agent and can offer him the chance to immediately compete for a championship.
Luckily for Memphis, the Warriors only have their $5.3 million mid-level exception, which is less than the Grizzlies can offer.
Retaining Evans won’t make or break the Grizzlies’ season, but it’d be an important move toward improvement.
Memphians get to see LeBron more often
James has only played against Memphis in 28 regular season games, tied for the third-least times he’s faced off against a team in his career. Only 13 of those have come in front of a crowd in Grind City.
That number will most certainly increase over the next four seasons, as the Lakers and Grizzlies will meet either three or four times per year instead of just twice. While Memphians will certainly be cheering for their Grizzlies, it’s always a treat to see one of the greatest players ever in person.
The 2018-19 NBA Schedule hasn’t been released yet, but schedules have come out in mid-August in recent years.
The Grizzlies have to defend LeBron more often
The downside of facing off against James more often, of course, is having to find out ways to defend him more often. Historically speaking, however, Memphis has done one of the best jobs in the NBA of limiting the three-time champion in terms of scoring.
James has put up 25.5 points against the Grizzlies, good for his fourth-lowest average against any team. That’s also lower than his overall career average of 27.5 points. Regardless, Memphis’ wings have a daunting challenge ahead of them.
Kawhi may be leaving the Southwest Division soon
It’s no secret that Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio, and that’s good news for the Grizzlies. The Spurs have dominated the Southwest Division since its inception in 2004, winning nine of the 14 division titles.
They’re at a crossroads with their best player in Leonard, who’s expressed a strong desire to play for the Lakers. Trade negotiations between the Spurs and Lakers haven’t gotten very far but expect talks to intensity with James’ arrival in Los Angeles.
Leonard is still under contract but has a player option after next season. Whether he gets traded to the Lakers or somewhere else, his days in San Antonio are likely limited.