The Memphis Grizzlies are rumored to be set to shop All-Star power forward Zach Randolph in the 2016-2017 midseason once the team decides to rebuild.
Speculations had been out since last summer that the Grizzlies are close to undergoing a youth revolution as the Big Three of Randolph, Marc Gasol, and Mike Conley are already aging and the team was able to go past the second round of the playoffs only once in the past six postseasons.
It seems clear that the Grizzlies are not built to take themselves all the way to an NBA title with their current lineup and so a full rebuild or at least a small roster revamp does make sense for the Memphis franchise.
Of the three, Randolph is the oldest at 35, Gasol is 31, and Conley is turning 29 next month. Thus, the rumors of Randolph on the trading block is a legitimate one, especially after the Grizzlies put all their money on Conley to the tune of a five-year, $152.6 million deal.
Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler noted that Memphis can "go the Tim Duncan route and give Randolph years on his next deal in exchange for a lower cap value" or cash him out "in trade and move into the future" with a team built around Conley.
And while the Grizzlies do have the option to go beyond the salary cap to sign Randolph in a long term contract next summer, Kyler questioned "is it smart to make a longer-term or big-dollar investment in Randolph" considering his age and the mileage in his legs? He then mentioned that it is "not really practical" that the two-time All-Star will accept a pay cut especially now that he knows he is entering the last few years of his professional career.
Meanwhile, 3 Shades of Blue noted that 2016-2017 could be Randolph's "final season in Memphis" as the Grizzlies begin to realize that "he has old legs on a big, ground-bound body" and a skill set that has already been "passed over by an ever-evolving league".
While Randolph has been the identity of the squad that made their "grit-n-grind" mark so successful, it has not been successful enough to produce even a single title for the city of Memphis and so the club may be looking forward into the future without him.