As things presently stand, the Memphis Grizzlies are not a cap space team.
After selecting potential difference-maker Josh Edey in the draft and the opening moves of free agency, the Grizzlies are still over the salary cap but have roughly $11.5 million under the first apron and $22.3 million under the second, according to Spotrac, leaving them with plenty of different ways to fill out their depth chart heading into the fall, from good old fashioned trades to the taxpayer mid-level exception – or part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to Keith Smith – to signing veterans off the street for the minimum.
And yet, despite having a pair of quality seasons after being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers, one player who isn't guaranteed to return to the Grizzlies this fall is Luke Kennard, the sharpshooting wing from Duke who came to the team in 2022.
Originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons all the way back in 2017, Kennard has proven himself one of the most lethal marksmen in the NBA, hitting an astounding 43.9 percent of his 3-point attempts on 4.6 attempts per game, while filling up the rest of the stat sheet too in the pursuit of his team's on-court success, averaging 2.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds to go with an average of 10 points per game. Is Kennard a great defender? No. Is Kennard a good defender? No. But do you know what? When you can connect on almost half of the 3s you take in any given game, teams are going to pay you a premium to do that regularly.
Originally arriving in Memphis on a four-year, $56 million contract, the Grizzlies opted to decline Kennard's team option of a little under $15 million, allowing him to sign wherever he could and wherever he'd like.
Now, so far, the decision hasn't bitten the Grizzlies too hard in the behind, as Kennard hasn't signed anywhere else just yet, and plenty of the teams who could have been interested in his services, like the Philadelphia 76ers, have used up their free agency, money on other players but what if they hadn't? What if a team like Philly or the Clippers ended up signing Kennard, and the Grizzlies had to pivot in a market that is already incredibly low on talent less than two weeks in?
While the Kennard opt-out decision may ultimately make the Grizzlies look like geniuses if they are able to keep him around on a longer-term deal with a lower per-year contract, it's just as possible things shake out the other way and they either end up paying more or losing him entirely.
Luke Kennard remains a priority for the Grizzlies
After watching the vast majority of the other teams in the NBA get serious in free agency, with everyone from Paul George to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and even Chris Paul coming off of the board shortly after the start of free agency, the Grizzlies have been largely stuck in a holding pattern while they wait to see what Kennard decides to do, be that return on a new deal, sign with a cap space team, or retire from basketball entirely, which probably won't happen but is technically possible.
Discussing how the second, if not third wave of free agency has been shaking out for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto let it be known that he Grizzlies are very much still all-in on bringing Kennard back, as he was an incredibly useful player for the team last year and could fit with what they want to do heading into the future.
“The expectation remains for free agent Luke Kennard to return to the Memphis Grizzlies, league sources told HoopsHype,” Michael Scotto wrote. “Kennard shot 45 percent from 3-point range last season for Memphis, and his return would bolster a Grizzlies squad that’s looking to return to the playoffs and make a deep run in the Western Conference playoffs with a healthy Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart returning.”
While the Grizzlies clearly didn't want to keep Kennard around at a little over $15 million for the forthcoming NBA season, so much so that they allowed him to test the open market in order to avoid his cap number, they clearly still see a future where the ex-Clippers sharpshooter remains on the team alongside Morant, Bane, and company, so much so that he may end up signing a new, longer, contract with more overall money, even if the per-year price is a few million under his original asking price.
If the two sides can come to an agreement, which, considering the lack of money left to spend in free agency, feels like a strong possibility, it's safe to say their marriage could remain as fruitful as it proved over the last two seasons, especially with Zack Eddy setting screens outside the arch.
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