{"id":141804,"date":"2025-05-26T00:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T04:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=141804"},"modified":"2025-05-26T00:56:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T04:56:01","slug":"grizzlies-free-agency-tj-shorts-tarik-biberovic-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/26\/grizzlies-free-agency-tj-shorts-tarik-biberovic-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Grizzlies Get Bittersweet News On Free Agency Front"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Memphis Grizzlies received bittersweet news on Sunday.<\/p>\n<h2>Grizzlies Get Bittersweet News On Free Agency Front<\/h2>\n<p>One of the Grizzlies international targets \u2014two-time LNB Pro A MVP, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/international\/players\/tj-shorts-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TJ Shorts<\/a> \u2014has agreed to <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZakkasGeorge\/status\/1926748361232634239\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a three-year contract<\/a> with the EuroLeague\u2019s Panathinaikos, per SDNA reporter George Zakkas. On top of that, Shorts won\u2019t have an NBA buyout clause, could would have <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/18\/tj-shorts-potentially-to-join-grizzlies\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">allowed him to join<\/a> Memphis at some point in the 2025-26 season. Despite his diminutive size at 5-foot-9, his experience playing under Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo in Germany (Baskets Bonn) and France (Paris Basketball) made him a player to watch.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_141813\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-141813\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-141813\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/05\/IMG_6569-1200x800.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-141813\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 26, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo reacts during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game four for the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For now, the only time people in Memphis will get to see him is in the EuroLeague. However, the Grizzlies <em>are<\/em> expected to sign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/biberta01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tarik Biberovic<\/a>, according to international insider Chema de Lucas. The 24-year-old forward just wrapped up a championship season with Fenerbah\u00e7e.<\/p>\n<p>A natural shooter, he averaged 10.3 points per game and made 42.7 percent of his 3s in 2024-25.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"es\">El Fenerbah\u00e7e ya asume que se van los dos. Biberovic a Memphis y veremos d\u00f3nde va Nigel Hayes-Davis. En el puesto de cuatro est\u00e1 firmado \ud83d\udd12 Jantunen <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F4Glory?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F4Glory<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CwMownRBRT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/CwMownRBRT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chema de Lucas (@chemadelucas) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chemadelucas\/status\/1926723520525902156?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear whether Biberovic will play in the NBA Summer League.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83d\udd25 PLAYOFF TARIK BIBEROVIC! \ud83d\udd25\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Sz3n2IULRsw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, due to his age and the fact that he was actually drafted by Memphis in 2023, he very well may. With that being said, Biberovic played in seven Summer League games last year. In those games, he averaged 6.7 points per game and converted 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.<\/p>\n<h3>What\u2019s Next For The Grizzlies<\/h3>\n<p>With the Grizzlies removing Iisalo\u2019s interim tag, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/05\/02\/tuomas-lisalo-set-to-implement-aggressive-style-as-grizzlies-hc\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">significant changes are expected to occur<\/a> over the course of the offseason. The primary difference will likely be in the team\u2019s offensive philosophy, as the 42-year-old\u2019s a major proponent of the pick-and-roll.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the Grizzlies had already started to establish themselves as more of a pick-and-roll team under Iisalo in a relatively short time. Just consider, in the 2024-25 regular season, Memphis ranked 30th in pick-and-roll ball-handler frequency (10.2 percent). In the 2025 NBA Playoffs, they nearly doubled that rate (22.2 percent).<\/p>\n<p>These changes benefited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/moranja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ja Morant<\/a>, an explosive guard with an uncanny ability to make acrobatic plays, greatly. In the seven regular season games that he played under Iisalo, Morant averaged 28.4 points and 6.3 assists per contest on 48.1 percent shooting from the field. In the 43 preceding games, he averaged 22.3 and 7.4 assists per contest on 44.9 percent shooting from the field.<\/p>\n<p>Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pippesc02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scotty Pippen Jr.<\/a>\u2019s scoring rate increased. In the eight games he played under Iisalo, he averaged 12.5 points per contest. In the 71 previous games, he averaged 9.6 points per contest. Additionally, in the two playoff games that <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/27\/ja-morant-thunder\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">he had to step up<\/a> for an injured Morant, he averaged 29.0 points per contest.<\/p>\n<p>In the playoffs, Iisalo also demonstrated a willingness to start Morant and Pippen together, with mixed results. Had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wellsja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jaylen Wells<\/a> been healthy, that may not have happened but it\u2019s worth noting all the same. That\u2019s particularly the case when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/banede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Desmond Bane<\/a>\u2019s future is up in the air.<\/p>\n<h4>Point Guard Wanted<\/h4>\n<p>Given Iisalo\u2019s offensive philosophy in coaching tendencies, Shorts probably wasn\u2019t going to hang on the bench like an ornament. With that in mind, the Grizzlies could be prioritizing a point guard in the offseason. If so, they\u2019ll have several options, whether they have to shop in the free agency or trade market.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Petre Thomas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Memphis Grizzlies received bittersweet news on Sunday. Grizzlies Get Bittersweet News On Free Agency Front One of the Grizzlies international targets \u2014two-time LNB Pro A MVP, TJ Shorts \u2014has agreed to a three-year contract with the EuroLeague\u2019s Panathinaikos, per SDNA reporter George Zakkas. On top of that, Shorts won\u2019t have an NBA buyout clause, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":141812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1608,61,62,3],"tags":[3127,1721,1822,98,297,49058,50053],"class_list":["post-141804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grizzlies","category-basketball","category-international-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-desmond-bane","tag-euroleague","tag-ja-morant","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-free-agency","tag-scotty-pippen-jr","tag-tuomas-iisalo"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141804"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141814,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141804\/revisions\/141814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}