ESPN.com is reporting that Zach Randolph and the Memphis Grizzlies are hoping to get a long-term extension completed before the start of the July 1 free agency period.
Randolph must decide by June 30 whether to opt out of the final season of his contract, which is valued at $16.5 million.
“It’s going forward,” Grizzlies interim general manager Chris Wallace told the Memphis Commercial Appeal this week. “We’re very excited about what Zach’s done in the past and hope to have him here in the future. This has really been a terrific boon for both sides.
“He’s obviously meant a great deal to us on and off the court. And Memphis has worked for him. This has been, by far, the best stop for him since he’s been in the NBA. So we’re working towards that goal [of a new contract].”
Randolph has reportedly told those around him that he’d prefer to retire in Memphis.
“I’d like to be here,” Randolph told ESPN.com at the time. “I’d like to retire here.
“If I’ve got to make some sacrifices to be here, I would. I still can play. I can still help a team out. I want to win a championship. I’ve made all the money in the world. I just want to win. I don’t know yet [about opting in or opting out], but Memphis is my home. If they trade me tomorrow, I’m here. I just bought a new house. My daughters go to school [in Memphis]. That’s my home.”
Randolph averaged 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds last season.