After a prolonged dispute over the technicalities involved in NBA rookie contracts, it appears as though former Jayhawk and first round draft pick Xavier Henry will sign with the Memphis Grizzlies, according to the New York Times.
Teams can pay rookies between 80 and 120 percent of the league's recommended rookie pay scale. In most cases, ownership offers the maximum contract to establish rapport with their new draftees, and even the high end of that scale is affordable compared to the average free agent signing.
Originally, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley offered Henry and Grevis Vazquez 100 percent of the slotted amount guaranteed, with the remaining 20 percent tied to performance incentives of playing time and production. For free agent contracts, those performance incentives can be a factor, but it's rare in rookie contracts.
Since June, Heisley and Henry's agent, Arn Tellem, were on different pages, and as a result, Henry didn't participate in the NBA Summer League.
This week, Heisley lifted the performance incentives and came to terms with the team's draft picks, and if Vasquez and Henry sign, as they are expected to this week, they will be the final picks of the 2010 NBA Draft to do so.