By Lee Eric Smith, lesmith@tri-statedefender.com

Now that the Memphis Grizzlies season is over, letโs take an advance look at who might be available in the NBA Draft.
Whatโs that? Right, the Grizzlies have no first-round pick this year. Thatโs not to say they wonโt be trying to trade their way into the draft โ of course they will. But thereโs a while yet before draft night; weโll have time to talk about that.
The bigger question would have to be this: Who do the Grizzlies want to be next season? And how will they get there?
Or, more bluntly: Will Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Vince Carter and JaMychal Green be back?
Randolph, Allen and Carter are all unrestricted free agents and can sign wherever they want to on July 1. As a restricted free agent, the Grizzlies can match any offer Green gets, if they decide to.
And thereโs this: To a man, each has stated a desire to remain in Beale Street Blue. Fans certainly hope that Zach and Tony in particular re-sign. If only it were that simple, though.
For all of the revamping that Grizzlies Head Coach David Fizdale did โ requiring Marc Gasol (and the rest of the team) to shoot 3s, unleashing Mike Conleyโs offensive powers โ he only produced two more wins than Dave Joerger did before bolting for Sacramento.
In fairness, injuries have sucked the hope out of the past two seasons, regardless of whether Fizdale or Joerger was coaching. But the fact remains that with a (fairly) healthy Conley, Gasol, Randolph and Allen, the team finished with 43 wins โ two wins over .500.
Combined with the ever-looming spectre of Memphisโ older, slower players being outrun in the โrun, gun โnโ funโ NBA, itโs reasonable to expect changes this summer.
But what should they do? I donโt have answers; I only have questions:
Will Randolphโs game ever age? The answer is NO. Heโll be able to use his butt to move teenagers out of his way when heโs 50. And while the team understandably wants to get more athletic, Z-Bo thrived in his โsuper-sub/instant offenseโ role off the bench. Fans love him. And who else is going to give you that kind of production for a relatively reasonable contract? If heโll agree to a reasonable contract, he should retire at FedExForum. Period.
Can Tony Allen still be an elite defender? No. But his value canโt just be measured that way either. You know he will come to compete every night. And his fire gets the rest of the team going. The bigger question is whether his body will hold up.
Do you want more Vinsanity? At this point, everything Vince Carter does on a basketball court is amazing. And heโs still got game. Heโd be a nice consolation prize if the Grizzlies donโt make significant upgrades elsewhere.
How much is JaMychal Green worth? Weโre about to see how this bloated salary cap thing really works. Will some desperate bottom feeder team make Green a ridiculous offer? Probably. Will the Grizzlies match it? Probably not.
Will Brandan Wright be back? Fizdale stapled him to the bench for the Spurs series, and he is probably the teamโs most tradeable asset. But if the team thinks Deyonta Davis is ready, I could see Wright being shipped out for that draft pick or other key free agent.
Eh. The soonest any of this can be solved will be June 22, the night of the NBA Draft. I think weโll see some fireworks that night. But I also hope the current crew returns for another go at Grit โnโ Grind. Regardless of how old or nonathletic they may be, itโs just FUN to watch these guys put on their hardhats and play in this hard-knock city. Hereโs hoping we get another season of it.
GRIND ON!
