Luke Kennard is re-signing with the Memphis Grizzlies on a one-year, $11 million deal, according to ESPN's Adrain Wojnarowski. The Grizzlies had a $14.8 million team option on Kennard this offseason that they chose to decline. Now, they are bringing Kennard back at a slight discount.
The Grizzlies first acquired Kennard at the 2022 trade deadline. He has played 63 regular-season games in Memphis and shot 48.3% from deep in those games. The Grizzlies need to maximize spacing around Ja Morant, arguably the best driver in the NBA, and Kennard is a key element of that plan. He has a history of injuries, so getting him back on a one-year deal was a good way of avoiding long-term risk.
This $11 million deal, on its own, takes the Grizzlies slightly above the luxury tax line. Spotrac had them with a bit more than $10 million in room beneath that line before the deal, so Kennard alone likely takes them just over that threshold. Typically, when a team is so close to the line, they find a way to duck it in the end by moving off of a smaller salary. Luxury taxes aren't determined until the end of the season, so the Grizzlies still have plenty of time to get their books in order.
Now the Grizzlies have one of the deepest rotations in the NBA. The starters will presumably be Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, Jaren Jackson Jr. and another big man (likely Zach Edey, possibly Brandon Clarke). That leaves the other big man to come off of the bench alongside Kennard and two of last season's diamonds in the rough, GG Jackson and Vince Williams. Throw in players like John Konchar, Santi Aldama and Jake LaRavia and the Grizzlies figure to be one of the more dangerous teams in the Western Conference next season.
