NEWS AND EVENTS

Memphis Grizzlies sign Brandan Wright

Memphis Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace announced today that the team has signed free agent forward/center Brandan Wright to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

The Grizzlies will introduce Wright at an 11:30 am press conference on Friday, July 10. Following the press conference, Wright will be available to meet-and-greet Grizzlies fans during his appearance at the first “Food Truck Friday at FedExForum” at 12 p.m.

Before the press conference, fans can go to Grizzlies.com for an exclusive interview with Wright, conducted at 11 am by Grizzlies play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica. The 11:30am press conference will also be streamed live on Grizzlies.com.

Wright (6-10, 210) averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.25 blocks in 19.3 minutes in 75 games (seven starts) for the Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns last season. He recorded 8.8 points on 74.8 percent shooting in 18.7 minutes in 27 games for the Mavericks to start the season before midseason trades from Dallas to Boston on Dec. 18 and from Boston to Phoenix on Jan. 9. The 27-year-old registered 3.11 blocks per 48 minutes last season, ranking 12th among players that qualified for the blocks per game leaderboard.

The eighth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft from the University of North Carolina, Wright owns career averages of 7.1 points on 60.6 percent shooting, 3.7 rebounds and 1.01 blocks in 16.4 minutes in 360 games (54 starts) over seven seasons for Golden State, New Jersey, Dallas, Boston and Phoenix.

Along with DeAndre Jordan, Wright is one of two players in NBA history to convert over 1,000 field goals and maintain a career shooting percentage of at least 60 percent. His 67.7 percent mark in 2013-14 as a member of the Mavericks led all players with at least 100 field goal attempts.

In his lone collegiate season, Wright averaged 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.76 blocks in 37 games (all starts) for the University of North Carolina, earning 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and All-ACC Second Team honors. He was recognized as the MVP of the ACC Tournament, becoming just the fifth freshman in conference history to win the award. His 64.6 field goal percentage led the conference and was the best ever by an ACC freshman.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Wright led Brentwood Academy to four consecutive Tennessee state championships, a first in Tennessee high school basketball history, and was a four-time MVP of the Tennessee Division II private school state championship tournament. He earned Tennessee’s Division II Mr. Basketball title in 2004, 2005 and 2006, becoming the first three-time recipient of the award on any level of Tennessee high school basketball.