The Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies were close combatants at times over recent years, most notably during a fiery second-round matchup during the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
But now the Grizzlies have tried to reignite a rivalry that's otherwise dead, having made a bold move for Quinten Post last week that resulted in the Warriors center landing in Memphis on a three-year, $30 million contract.
Grizzlies try to reignite Warriors rivalry with Quinten Post move
Memphis structured the contract in a way to not only minimize the risks on a deal that otherwise looks on first glance like an overpay, but frustrate Golden State and ultimately force them to let Post walk as a restricted free agent.
Only the first year of Post's new contract is guaranteed, while the Grizzlies also added unlikely incentives that would count against the cap if the Warriors had chosen to match the offer on their former second-round pick.
As CBS Sports' Sam Quinn recently outlined on the Third Apron podcast, Memphis specifically went about this not only to take a chance on Post, but also "piss off Golden State" amid their current pursuit of LeBron James.
"Quinten Post is not going to make All-Defense for a hundred reasons, but the reason they did this is that unlikely bonuses count for your apron numbers," Quinn said. "I don't think the Warriors were going to match this even without the incentive, I just thought it was a hilarious way to piss off Golden State."
The Grizzlies' move for Post remains the only offer sheet that's been handed out in the over two weeks since free agency began, with the likes of Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson and Benedict Mathurin all remaining in a state of uncertainty.
Warriors arguably sent Grizzlies spiralling into a rebuild
Perhaps stealing Post was an act of revenge for a rivalry that never truly got off the ground, largely because the Warriors stopped the Grizzlies before they went too far. That second-round meeting was as far as the Ja Morant-led era of Memphis got, and more recently Golden State also beat them in the 2025 Play-In Tournament.
In the just over 12 months since, the Grizzlies have completely torn things down by trading away their three stars. Desmond Bane headed to the Orlando Magic last offseason for a haul of draft assets, Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz prior to February's mid-season deadline, and most recently Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers for a reasonably underwhelming return.
The Grizzlies have hit the reset button and started again, allowing them to make this Post move and deliver one more shot to the Warriors considering they likely won't be able to do it on the court over the next few years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google