The start of the NBA regular season is just two weeks away — yet Richie Saunders remains in limbo.
The former BYU star and No. 32 overall draft selection still has not signed a contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. He is one of five unsigned players from the 2026 draft, with the other four having either joined teams overseas or gone back to college.
Despite his current lack of a contract, all signs point to Saunders eventually signing with Memphis. But why hasn't it happened yet?
Of course, Saunders' situation is unique. He suffered a torn ACL in February, prematurely ending his college career and necessitating a recovery that will eat into his first NBA campaign.
Considering how he was taken just two picks into the draft's second round with the injury, it's likely Saunders could have been drafted in the first round had he been healthy.
Nevertheless, the Grizzlies still selected Saunders earlier than most experts projected, even refusing trade offers for the No. 32 pick in order to ensure they got their guy.
Anyone who's seen Saunders play knows the 6-foot-5, hustling sharpshooter fits Memphis' "grit and grind" culture like a glove, and Grizzlies brass agrees.
"Richie, we're very excited to have him with the group," Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman said at the team's media day in September. "It's wait and see in terms of what exactly his onboarding is going to look like.
"Richie is a player we think is a strong identity fit with this group on and off the court. He is attacking his ACL recovery and continues to progress well. We'll be smart with his case, and we're excited to have him join us once we get to that point in time."
Saunders may be a strong fit in the group, but that group is past capacity.
The Grizzlies currently have 18 players (not including Saunders) on standard contracts, a number that must be cut down to 15 in the next two weeks. Thus, three players will either be traded or waived to comply with the roster limit.
In addition to those 15 standard contracts, teams can roster up to three players on "two-way" deals, which offers flexibility for those with less league service time to bounce between the NBA and G-League throughout the season.
Given Saunders' injury recovery, he'll most likely go the two-way route to begin his time in Memphis. Playing in the G-League would help him to ease back into competitive basketball, and any time spent in the NBA would come as essentially a bonus player for the Grizzlies, who would then have greater flexibility to clean up their roster and potentially find a more permanent spot for Saunders.
However, the finances of two-way deals are quite different from standard contracts. As noted by BYU's Daily Universe , Saunders would be the highest-drafted player in league history to sign a two-way for his first NBA contract, and the issue of guaranteed money is likely the cause for his contract stalemate.
The most a two-way player can be guaranteed at signing is under six figures, but if he is not waived prior to the regular season, that guaranteed salary jumps to more than $300,000.
For comparison, the player selected immediately after Saunders at No. 33 overall, Isaiah Evans, signed a four-year, $9.26 million rookie deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which included more than $6 million guaranteed at signing.
Assuming Saunders gets back to his pre-injury level of performance, he is obviously an NBA talent. Thanks to his shotmaking, defensive ability and overall motor, Saunders "is gonna be an NBA player for a long time," according to Adam Finkelstein of CBS Sports .
Now he and the Grizzlies just need to agree on a contract.
Prior to his ACL tear, Saunders was averaging 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game as a senior at BYU, making nearly 40% of his 3-pointers across four seasons in Provo as well.
"(I've been welcomed by the Grizzlies with) open arms," Saunders said after the draft at his introductory press conference in June. "Everybody's been super friendly, and it's clear everybody has the right goal and right mindset of winning and playing hard."
"I'm just grateful to be here. I'm grateful to finish my rehab here and be playing when I'm playing, and be able to just work alongside these guys and alongside the rest of the team and bring what I bring to the table and help win games."
From left to right, newly drafted Memphis Grizzlies players Karim Lopez, Cameron Boozer and Richie Saunders pose for media during an introductory news conference at the NBA basketball team's facility Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. | Brandon Dill
