The Memphis Grizzlies are pulling an April surprise of sorts.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Saturday that Memphis is waiving guard Kennedy Chandler. Charania adds that Chandler will receive strong interest on waivers as well as on the open market (if he goes unclaimed).
The move is a bit of a shocker since Chandler is 20 years old and still only a rookie. Adding to the surprise is that Chandler was also on a long-term deal with the Grizzlies through 2024-25 (which now becomes a dead contract).
The ex-Tennessee star Chandler did not get much run with Memphis this season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.6 assists in a mere 7.8 minutes per game over 36 total appearances. But he has the makings of a nice NBA player with his court vision, off-the-dribble bounce, and sharp defensive instincts.
we will always have this kennedy chandler assist pic.twitter.com/2qgfgAcSPX
— Fastbreak Breakfast (@fastbreakbreak) April 8, 2023
Kennedy Chandler 🫢 pic.twitter.com/pAMqFeuwSf
— Ben McKee (@benmckee14) December 13, 2022
Kennedy Chandler forces the turnover in the closing moments to seal the W for the @memgrizz! pic.twitter.com/Pu0xzmhrMi
— NBA (@NBA) July 6, 2022
From the Grizzlies’ standpoint, the move opens up a roster spot for them to use prior to the end of the regular season on Sunday, perhaps on a veteran playoff contributor or on a different young project player. That might come in handy for them given the other news nugget that Memphis just dropped.
