Memphis Grizzlies finally sign first-round picks
After having contract disputes, the Memphis Grizzlies finally inked deals with their 2010 NBA first-round draft picks, Xavier Henry and Greivis Vasquez, ending almost two months of speculation.
Henry and Vasquez, who was drafted 12th and 28th overall pick in this year’s draft, respectively, agreed to sign contracts worth 120 per cent the NBA’s mandatory rookie salaries for first-round
picks.
Both rookies declined to sign the initial offer of the Grizzlies, which included 100 per cent of the rookie salary scale and 20 per cent performance bonus, but team owner Michael Heisley
couldn’t just let go of their talented draft picks.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy the issue has been resolved," Heisley said. "There's no question I'm doing what I should have probably done earlier. In the general spirit of the way the
Collective Bargaining Agreement was put together, I felt we should relent and not have a performance situation,"
Henry’s agent, Arn Tellem, publicly criticized the Grizzlies organization last month, saying that the offer was unfair to the former University of Kentucky standout. However, the Grizzlies
were firm on their stand, which prompted Tellem to advice Henry not to participate in Memphis’ summer league team.
On the other hand, Vasquez played in the summer league, but his agent, Herb Rudoy, also advised the 23-year-old point guard to reject the contract offered by Memphis.
Both of their agents were very reluctant about the performance clause in the contract, saying that majority of the previous first-round draft picks received 120 per cent of the rookie salary
scale without any performance-based bonus involved.
According to Tellem, only one player out of 450 rookies drafted agreed to a performance bonus since the salary scale was adopted in 1995, and also added that no team offered performance bonus
to their first round picks this year.
The Grizzlies, who rejected trade offers for Vasquez and Henry after the contract dispute, will kick off their training camp on 28 September.
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