The Grizzlies seem likely to bring back Marc Gasol.
They’ve probably just agreed to terms with his backup – or, worst-case scenario, his replacement.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:
Free agent forward Brandan Wright has agreed to a three-year, nearly $18M deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2015
It sounds as if the Grizzlies used the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which would hard cap them at a projected $85.6 million.
The taxpayer MLE can be worth up to $17,129,640 over three years. The non-taxpayer MLE – which would not trigger a hard cap – maxes out at $10,276,530 over three years.
They’ll still have plenty of leeway to give Gasol a max contract, but this could make it a tighter fit to re-sign Kosta Koufos. I doubt that’s a worry, though. Wright seems to be Koufos’ replacement as the backup center.
In the unlikely event Gasol leaves, Memphis would have cap space to sign Wright and therefore wouldn’t have to worry about the hard cap. So with Wright starting in that scenario, re-signing Koufos wouldn’t be a problem.
The Grizzlies are positioning themselves as well as possible whether Gasol stays or leaves. Of course, it’d be a lot better for them if he stays.