You do enough daily newsletters, you find yourself revisiting prior points of content. It’s fitting, then, that Santi Aldama be the gift that keeps on giving this time of year. Aldama was a focus of one of our earliest newsletters - how his time with Team Spain seemed to be doing him good, but the question was could the level of play he showed internationally transition to his NBA team, the Memphis Grizzlies?
To this point in the season, the answer (grading on the NBA/not being the best player on the team curve) is a resounding yes.
He continues to do things at, or above, a career-high. Career high assist rate. Career high effective field goal percentage. And career high rebounding rates. He has scored in double figures in four of his last five games for Memphis, and has been a spark of production on numerous occasions when the Grizzlies badly needed it.
This feels like a good place to point out that the Memphis Grizzlies did not extend Santi’s contract this past summer. That means that Aldama will be a restricted free agent this offseason. And while this is the gift giving season, Santi’s present level of play likely will result in a greater gift in the form of a big contract.
And I do mean a big contract. As in, roughly the same as Obi Toppin’s 4-years, $58 million contract he signed with the Indiana Pacers this past offseason. An average salary of $14.5 million?
Merry Grizzmas, indeed.
Aldama has developed in to a real masterclass in the Memphis Grizzlies standard. An under-the-radar prospect in the NBA Draft, Aldama has made the most of his opportunities in Beale Street Blue - especially this season. His frame and ability to create off the dribble/on the perimeter fits nicely with this Grizzlies offensive scheme.
And that reason for Santi’s success really cannot go understated. The movement of the new-look Memphis offense plays in to his skill set. He can both create for himself as teammates slash and move on the perimeter and also find those cutters and open shooters earlier in his own action. Whether he’s setting a screen and popping or shooting a transition three, he’s getting cleaner looks than ever.
And the Spain Olympic experience has him feeling as confident as ever.
It’s been said by him to our Damichael Cole in the Commercial Appeal, but it’s evident in his body language. He looks the part of an NBA rotation player of substance. His physical presence is noticeable. His comfort within the roster and alongside his teammates is palpable. And as the Memphis Grizzlies look to a future where they will be paying more money to a hopeful title contender than ever before, a deal for a sixth-man combo forward that’s a couple million more than Brandon Clarke would be good business.
But that gift will come later for Aldama. For now? It’s Santi Claus coming to town in Memphis. And the Grizzlies get to benefit.
