NBA News - Zach Randolph Opts In, Extends for $20M/2 Year Extension with Memphis Grizzlies
Zach Randolph has not only picked up the “player option” on his contract with the Memphis Grizzlies but has also decided to extend his stay there for two more years worth $20 million.
Randolph opted-in for the 2014-2015 season for $16.5M and will get less than that in the next two years, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
After exercising his $16.5M player option for 2014-'15, Zach Randolph has agreed to 2-year, $20M extension with Memphis, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 27, 2014
The extension—at $10M per year after the next season-- is considered a bargain for the big man who has been consistent in his five years with the Memphis franchise. In the 2013-2014 season, the 32-year-old averaged 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds in 79 games for the Grizzlies, which earned the 7th seed in the tough Western Conference.
In the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs, the Grizz were ousted by the Oklahoma City Thunder but stretched the series to full seven games. Randolph was suspended in the seventh and final game of the best-of-seven affair after he punched OKC big man Steven Adams in Game 6.
If Randolph opted out of his final year of the deal, the Grizzlies would have opened up cap space for the 2014-2015 season. Memphis is not a popular destination for any free agents this year or the past years that getting Randolph back was almost a must.
With the deal in place for Randolph, the Grizzlies will be bringing back a line-up that also features key players in point guard Mike Conley, center Marc Gasol and defensive whiz Tony Allen. Memphis has made the playoffs in the past three years with that core.