Nick Calathes, last years’ EuroLeague MVP, has officially announced today that he will be leaving Russia to come play for the Memphis Grizzlies next season, and he had this to say about the move:

Excited to start the new year with Grizz nation. Thanks everybody for all the support. Thank you Loko as well for a great year last year. — Nick Calathes (@Nick_Calathes15) August 9, 2013

As well, ESPN’s Marc Stein had the details of Calathes’ deal with Memphis to send him over.

Hearing that Nick Calathes’ deal with Memphis is a two-year pact at just under $2 million — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) August 9, 2013

So, the good news about this is that Calathes successfully fills the Backup PG hole for the Grizzlies. Almost as importantly, he fills it without costing the Grizzlies even the rest of their Mid-Level Exception and without sending the Grizz over the tax (the Grizzlies had about $1.5 million to spend, and Calathes is costing them less than $1 million per year).

We’ve already talked about what Calathes could bring to the Grizzlies fairly extensively, but suffice it to say, this is a huge bargain deal for Memphis.

Calathes isn’t a great shooter, which is unfortunate, but he’s the kind of player who can effectively run one of Memphis’ bench units, which is a huge upgrade from Jerryd Bayless. Bayless is a wonderful bench scorer, but ideally, he’d come off the bench as a 2-guard gunner, not as the kind of guy who’s expected to have the vision and know-how to run an offense and make the most out of limited space. Calathes, however, is exactly that guy.

Calathes’ proven basketball IQ and court vision are integral to making the most out of prospective bench units, and in limited minutes (and likely alongside Bayless and Mike Miller) his shooting isn’t as likely to hurt the team’s spacing. As well, he’s not a stopper, but he was a pretty solid defender over the last four years, something the bench could be pretty desperate for, and something other prospective point guards could not offer.

Maybe Calathes isn’t the perfect backup point guard, but honestly, it’s hard to know since he has yet to spend any time in the NBA. At the very least, it’s better than nothing, and at best, it could be a wonderful steal of a deal. And remember, the EuroLeague MVP one season before Calathes was Rockets-force-of-nature Patrick Beverly, so that should be encouraging.

Welcome, Nick, it’s exciting to have you!