Despite the lack of star power in the team, the Grizzlies still entered the 2020-21 season as an over-the-cap squad. According to Spotrac, Memphis currently has a total cap of $131.3 million, which is $22.2 million over the league-mandated salary cap.
Gorgui Dieng was the Grizzlies' top-earner for 2020-21 with his $17.3 million salary taking up a huge chunk of the team's total cap before he was waived in March of 2021. Jonas Valanciunas does not fall too far behind with $15 million. Justise Winslow ($13 million) and Dillon Brooks ($11.4 million) come in third and fourth, respectively, and are the only other players that will pocket eight-digit salaries this season.
Ja Morant is still in his rookie-scale deal and he is set to pocket $9.2 million this term. In terms of hierarchy in the payroll scale, De'Anthony Melton ($9.6 million) and Kyle Anderson ($9.5 million) will earn more than Morant in 2020-21.