Should The Grizzlies Bring Mike Miller Back To Town?

Following his departure from the Miami Heat, which was a result of the team using it's one time amnesty clause, Mike Miller is fresh on the hunt for another contender to sign with and there have been reports linking him to quite a few teams with title dreams. However, some of these teams may have certain advantages against their rivals in getting Miller to sign on the dotted line.

Among the teams that have potential interest in adding Miller to their rotations, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, I see three that really stick out to me as being possible front runners.

Miller has openly stated since his release that he would explore signing with the Clippers, a decision fueled by his desire to re-unite with new Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, whom Miller played for back in Orlando early in his career. While the Clippers may have mutual interest with Miller, I'm not convinced they would sign him after their medical staff evaluates him. He has been plagued by injury/illness in recent seasons, making it a gamble for any team to sign him. However, I think he is due for a pretty healthy season and for him to be ignited by the fact he isn't in South Beach anymore.

The Thunder, who according to Ken Berger, might be the front-runners, as he said Miller has been telling friends he was signing with Oklahoma City. The Thunder obviously makes sense as a destination, since many still have them pegged as the front-runner in the West this season. While Miller could be brought in to replace some of the output the team lost when Kevin Martin went to Minnesota, that could lead the team to push Miller too far with minutes, practices, etc. with his known injury history.

The Grizzlies would make sense because Miller still owns property here and has plenty of friends in the region from his previous stint with the franchise from 2002 until 2008. While Memphis might not be as close to winning a title as the repeating champion Heat, the San Antonio Spurs (their latest victim), or the Oklahoma City Thunder, the addition of a shooter like Miller could potentially be the team's missing piece from making it to the NBA Finals and potentially bringing a title to town.

Miller would give the Grizzlies a threat that would make it much easier for the team to space the floor on offense and make things easier for Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol inside the paint. Also, with both of the Grizzlies' front court stars being terrific passers for their size, they could get the ball back out to Miller and more often that not, end up with open look from a player with a career average of 40% from downtown and was a scorching 45% during the 2011-12 season.

Miller would also bring a championship mentality to the team, which would be another major positive in bringing him back. Tony Allen brought it from his run with the Boston Celtics, and the team has improved every season since he signed here. Bringing Tayshaun Prince in this past season definitely didn't hurt like many critics thought it would, as the team made it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history with him. Bringing in Miller may just be the final piece to pushing the Grizzlies to the championship level.

With so many teams being interested in the two-time NBA champion, it may take at least a few days for a deal to be reached with any franchise. Miller could sign virtually anywhere because he really could play for virtually nothing this season, as he will still be receiving his salary for this season he was scheduled to receive, which is in the area of $6.2 million. With Miller already reeling in that money, he will likely sign with a team for the veteran minimum.

Hopefully, when it comes down to it, Miller will choose to come play back somewhere he feels at home and already has a network of close friends. The Grizzlies could guarantee him a role as sixth man and have him relieve Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince for about 20 minutes a game or so, depending on what the team medical staff thinks will be best for extending his career and avoiding more injuries.

While teams like the Spurs and Thunder might give him better odds of winning a title, would he be as fond of one of those cities as much as he is of Memphis? As I mentioned, I believe Miller could be the last piece we need to finally get to the main event and make the NBA Finals, and hopefully when he is evaluating the rosters of his suitors, he will realize the same thing when he gets to the Grizzlies roster.

How Have The Grizzlies Done So Far This Summer In Free Agency & The Draft?

The Grizzlies have done a great job thus far during their first offseason under new owner Robert Pera, making the moves seemingly necessary to continue on their track towards their first NBA championship.

In their first order of business, the team re-signed guard Tony Allen to a four-year, $20 million deal that will keep the originator of the Grizzlies "grit and grind" defensive style in a Memphis uniform for the foreseeable future, something that will excite many Grizzlies fans as Allen has grown into a team favorite amongst local fans since arriving here three years ago.

The team also decided to bring back Jon Leuer, liking him enough after acquiring him midseason in  a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign him to a three-year, $3 million deal. He likely won't be a major contributor moving forward, however, he will be able to provide solid minutes off the bench when needed.

In the 2013 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies might have had one of the best nights of any team in the league, all without even having a first round pick. After trying to find a deal to move into the late part of the first round and failing, Memphis rolled the dice and hoped their guy would still be there for their 42st pick.

Luckily, the team hit the jackpot, drafting combo guard Jamaal Franklin out of San Diego State and landing the same player they were trying to move into the first round to acquire. The 6'5 Franklin played three seasons at San Diego State, averaging 16.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks this past season.

Although I didn't see many (if any) San Diego State games this past season, I've heard Franklin plays with the same defensive ferocity of Tony Allen and he apparently has a decent jump shot, averaging 43% during his three college seasons. He also shot 78% from the free throw line, something that could be improved upon, but isn't terrible by any stretch either. If Franklin lives up to expectations, he could be one of the pieces to take us to the next level.

Instead of drafting someone with the 55th pick in the draft, the Grizzlies packaged the pick with forward Darrell Arthur and sent them to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for center Kosta Koufos. Koufos started for the Nuggets last season ahead of JaVale McGee and averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game with a PER of 17.22 for the season.

He will provide a clear upgrade in the front court and finally give Memphis a reliable big man to come off the bench behind Marc Gasol. And by moving Arthur, the Grizzlies freed up more playing time for promising young power forward Ed Davis, who played extremely well in stretches last season after being acquired from Toronto and should be a major contributor to our roster this season.

The Grizzlies also took Janis Timma with the 60th and final pick of the draft, however, he will likely remain overseas for at least another season or two, if he ever ends up making the leap to the NBA at all.

The team is still reportedly talking with several free agents, with Travis Outlaw's name being one of the most commonly mentioned. If the Grizzlies are able to add someone like Outlaw who is able to stretch the floor on a consistent basis and keep teams from loading the paint on defense, it could be the move that truly makes Memphis a title contender.

Meeting Newly Re-Signed Memphis Grizzlie's Guard Tony Allen

Unfortunately, I don't have some interesting story about how I just happened to have had a chance run-in with my favorite Memphis Grizzlies player at the mall or some random restaurant, but I still got the opportunity to meet Tony Allen this past weekend at an autograph signing.

On the weekend leading into free agency, when most impending free agents are in their own little worlds thinking about their next pay days or where they are going to run away to go chase after championships, Allen instead spent his Saturday afternoon on June 29th signing autographs for hundreds of Memphis Grizzlies' fans at the Ashley's Furniture on North Germantown Parkway.

My two friends and I arrived to the event around 1:15 PM, about 45 minutes before the official 2 PM start and we were still behind about 50 or so people in line. By the time Allen walked out, there were already fans wrapped/snaked around the entire inside of the store.

While there was no official number given for the number of fans that showed up for a chance to meet Allen, local ESPN Radio personality Chris Vernon told me there were easily over 450 fans in attendance by 2:30 PM and that the number of fans that showed up dwarfed the turnout for the Zach Randolph signing the same venue had previously hosted.

After about 30 minutes or so, we finally reached the front of the line and got to meet him and get his autograph and a quick word with him. While I can't remember what my two friends said to him, I appreciated him for everything he has done to change the culture of the team and begged him to come back.

At the suggestion of one of my friends, we got him to sign our posters Tony "the Grindfather" Allen, based after a nickname the previously mentioned radio host Chris Vernon had given him. He was also nice enough to take a quick picture with me after he signed my poster:

Tony Allen & Myself



While I have attended several autograph signings with athletes over the years, this was definitely one of my favorites because he was a great guy in person and came off like he was just another regular dude. The four-year, $20 million extension Allen signed with the team was well earned and I am extremely glad to have the father of "Grit and Grind" around Memphis for a long while to come.

Perhaps the fact he spent some of his final hours before hitting free agency meeting and greeting with all of his Grizzlies' faithful was a sign he already knew exactly where he planned to spend the next chapter of his career.