Grizzlies, Zach Randolph may be talking extension

Memphis likes its core of Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo Rudy Gay, and Zach Randolph. Probably a little more than they should.

And they want to keep them together. They gave a max deal to Rudy Gay this summer and now Zach Randolph told IndySportsNation.com he and his agent are trying to work out an extension with Memphis.

“Me and my agent (Raymond Brothers) we’re working on a deal with Memphis. A lot of good things are going on in the league and it’s going to be exciting this year,” said Randolph, who averaged 20.8 points per game this past season. When pressed for more details on his negotiations, Randolph responded, “We’re trying to work out an extension right now with Memphis, so stay there for a couple more years.”

Memphis would be crazy to extend Randolph at the $17.3 million he is set to make this season, that price tag has to come down.

But you can bet Randolph would love to get an extension done this summer, a deal that would carry over into the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Beats having to negotiate a new deal under the new CBA, which almost certainly will not be as player friendly.

Memphis has some leverage here, they don’t need to agree to the extension. But if they want to keep him and keep him happy, they should be talking at the least.