-Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis, Tennessee — The Memphis Grizzlies have signed free agents Thomas Gardner, Leon Rodgers and Mike Taylor, finalizing their training camp roster, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Taylor, a 6-2, 165-pound guard, joins the Grizzlies after spending the 2008-09 season with the Los Angeles Clippers, where the 23-year-old averaged 5.7 points, 2.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 15.1 minutes in 51 games (five starts). The Chicago, Ill. native became the first NBA D-League player ever to be selected in the NBA Draft with the 55th overall pick in 2008 by the Portland Trail Blazers, who traded the former Iowa State standout to the Clippers on draft night in exchange for a 2009 second round pick.
Gardner, a 6-5, 225-pound guard, spent the 2008-09 season with the Atlanta Hawks, where the two-year NBA veteran averaged 1.5 points and 0.4 rebounds in 6.1 minutes in 16 games (zero starts) after signing a free agent contract with the Hawks on Aug. 12, 2008. The 24-year-old Portland, Ore. native and former Missouri star holds career averages of 2.3 points and 0.6 rebounds in 7.1 minutes in 20 career games (zero starts) with the Hawks and Chicago Bulls (2007-08).
Rodgers, a 6-6, 217-pound forward, spent the 2008-09 season with the Jilin Northeast Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, where the Northern Illinois product averaged 35.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 43.5 minutes in 43 games (all starts). The 29-year-old has played professionally overseas in Germany, France, Ukraine, Netherlands and China. The Columbus, Ohio native also participated in the Grizzlies’ Free Agent Mini-Camp at FedExForum from May 11-13, 2009.
