Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol at the start of Game 2 in San Antonio. (Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal File)

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By Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal

In a little more than a week, the Grizzlies will open training camp for the 2016-17 regular season with a big sigh of relief.

Center Marc Gasol has been cleared to play after recovering from a broken right foot.

The 7-footer suffered the injury in February and subsequently missed playing for his native Spain in the Rio Olympics. However, Gasol recently returned to Memphis for strength and conditioning. Gasol is also playing pickup games, according to sources with knowledge of his progress. The Griz took a cautious approach to Gasol's rehabilitation and are upbeat about his return to form on the basketball court, according to the sources.

Gasol spent most of the offseason rehabbing in Spain with a regimen closely monitored by the Grizzlies. The entire Griz roster has worked out informally with Gasol since Labor Day.

Memphis will conduct its annual media day Sept. 26. Training camp begins Sept. 27 in FedExForum. This marks the 10th time since relocating from Vancouver in 2001 that the Griz will have training camp in Memphis. The Griz have held camp Barcelona, Spain (2003); Malaga, Spain (2007); Birmingham (2009); Nashville (2013); San Diego (2014); and Santa Barbara, Calif. (2015).

There won't be a shortage of storylines. Several developments over the summer dramatically changed the roster and presented new head coach David Fizdale with plenty to ponder:

1. Gasol is healthy, but how quickly can he play at a high level?

Gasol is said to be a full participant with the Grizzlies after being inactive for several months, and the team plans to continue to proceed with caution. That Gasol didn't play for Spain in the Rio Olympics wasn't surprising given his devotion to being ready for Griz training camp. He suffered a fracture in the midfoot area, and despite the growing optimism, Gasol's comeback won't be easy.

Gasol will turn 32 years old in January, almost halfway through the season. So conventional wisdom would suggest that the Griz would initially put him on a minute restriction and allow the foot to strengthen for a strong stretch run.

There have been mixed results with big men returning from the injury over the past 15 seasons. Joel Embiid, a former Kansas Jayhawk, has yet to play in the NBA after suffering a midfoot fracture. Former Rockets center Yao Ming had a midfoot fracture during the 2008-09 season at age 29, and the injury essentially ended his career. Former NBA big men Brendan Haywood, Michael Olowokandi and Eric Montross never recovered.

Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is one of the success stories. The Griz believe they have every reason to believe that Gasol will be a positive exception, too.

2. What is the status of Jarell Martin and 2016 draft pick Deyonta Davis?

Martin underwent foot surgery after being drafted in 2015 and suffered a bone bruise and then required another surgery that cut short his season. Griz officials said that Martin returned to full basketball activity the past two weeks. Davis is doing strength and conditioning, and rehabbing after the team reported that plantar fasciitis in his left foot forced him to miss summer league play.

3. Could mounting injuries have cost athletic training Drew Graham his job?

The person hurting most this offseason might be Graham. He was fired, general manager Chris Wallace confirmed.

"We're in the process of putting together a complete medical team," Wallace said. "We're revamping our approach to player care. He's no longer our trainer. We wish him well."

The Griz will not change team doctors.

Graham is believed to have two years remaining on his contract. The divorce is a bit curious given Graham's history with the franchise and his accolades. Graham was named the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association's Joe O'Toole Athletic Trainer of the Year after last season. The honor came after a season in which the Griz endured an unfathomable string of injuries and used an NBA-record 28 players while earning a sixth straight playoff berth.

The award recipient is recognized for exemplary achievement or outstanding service to the NBA, NBATA and his community. It is named after Joe O'Toole, a long-time former head athletic trainer of the Atlanta Hawks, long regarded as the father of the NBATA.

Graham recently concluded his 10th season as the Grizzlies' head athletic trainer. He was also Vice President of Player Care, a promotion he received in 2013. Graham joined the Griz in 2006 after working the previous six seasons (2000-06) as an assistant athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach with the New Jersey Nets.

The Griz have not yet announced Graham's replacement.

4. How will Mike Conley respond to a remarkable summer?

Shaquille O'Neal made the comment that "if Mike Conley gets $153 million, then (a team) would have to pay me $300 million (today)" during an interview as O'Neal entered the basketball Hall of Fame last weekend.

After recovering from a sore Achilles, Conley signed the richest five-year contract in NBA history at $153 million. Re-signing Conley was necessary to keep the Griz competitive and to preserve continuity.

Still, owner Robert Pera is embracing the risky nature of the business. Pera paid Dallas free-agent forward Chandler Parson a maximum $94 million, meaning there's a bulk of the salary cap tied up in two players who have never made an All-Star team.

Conley has developed into a major cog of the Grizzlies' Core Four. He'll be forever judged by the contract — a la former Griz Rudy Gay. So after signing the deal, experiencing the birth of his first child (a son, Myles Alex Conley) and purchasing a $1.8 million home in Collierville, Conley now will be called upon to do major things on the basketball court.

5. How committed are the Griz to veteran Vince Carter?

There are no indications that the Griz want to part with Carter. The franchise can still decide whether to keep the future Hall of Famer at $4.2 million for the 2016-17 season or cut him and pay just $2 million. Carter, with his shot-making and basketball IQ, is expected to remain on the roster despite the presence of swingmen D.J. Stephens and Tony Wroten in training camp.

The countdown is on. Training camp is almost upon us.