At 18-10 despite dealing with a bunch of injuries, the Memphis Grizzlies are one of the NBA’s biggest early-season feel-good stories.
For a minute, though, they’re making headlines for other reasons—specifically their willingness to make Tony Allen available, per Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal:
Teams are gauging interest in Tony Allen and Griz are listening, per sources. Griz engaged T'Wolves with Allen trade talk in 2014.
— Ronald Tillery (@CAGrizBeat) December 18, 2016
This isn’t terribly surprising. Allen will turn 35 in January and is slated for free agency this summer. He probably isn’t part of the Grizzlies’ big-picture future.
Plus, Memphis has actually been better on defense with him off the floor, per NBA.com. There’s a lot of noise in there, including that from certain lineups, but the Grizzlies are more than equipped to survive without him. He can still be a top-tier individual defender, but they don’t have the surrounding floor-spacers to justify playing a jump-shooting liability like him 25-plus minutes per game during the playoffs. Teams will just stop guarding him, and the Grizzlies already have one of the two worst offenses in the league.
Another team with more surrounding shooters will have more of a use for him. Like, imagine Allen playing on the Houston Rockets. Would Memphis do a deal built around K.J. McDaniels while helping a division rival? Are they merely looking for a pick after the emergence of James Ennis and Troy Daniels? Will they just stand pat and decide on Allen’s future over the summer?
Really, who knows. But if Tony Allen truly is available, this won’t be the last we hear of it.
