Tony Allen will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, but the 31-year-old defensive specialist would prefer to remain a Memphis Grizzly.

"I don't even understand the business side," Allen said. "When July hits, somebody is going to have to sit me down and explain it. All I know is I'm a Grizzly and I believe I'm going to be a Grizzly when it's over with.

"I bleed blue. I think they going to keep me. But if they don't, I understand.

"I don't even think about it now. I just play. I love being in Memphis. I love the city. Hopefully I stay here. It feels like home."

Allen is earning a reported $3.3 million this season.

The Dallas Mavericks are expected to pursue Jarrett Jack and Jerryd Bayless, according to a source.

The Mavericks will first pursue Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, but both are considered relative longshots.

Both Jack and Bayless have been key reserves during the playoffs for the Warriors and Grizzlies, respectively.

The Memphis Grizzlies are using advanced analytics to manage the salary cap.

“People talk about analytics in evaluating players, but there’s a lot of analytics around the salary cap,” said Josh Levien, the first-year CEO of the Grizzlies. “How much should we spend for a player at a certain position and what role he’s going to play? So that’s a lot of what we’ve done and are working on, is salary-cap analytics, being thoughtful about how we structure our roster and how we can get the best bang for our buck.”

The collective bargaining agreement imposes unprecedented penalties on teams exceeding the cap.

“With the rules set up the way they are, there’s minimal room for error,” Levien said. “You’ve got to be very thoughtful in your approach to how you build your team, how you build a roster, and you’ve got to keep the cap and the tax in mind.”

The San Antonio Spurs' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 on Sunday drew a 3.9 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon.

That is down 41 percent from the Miami Heat/Boston Celtics Game 1 on ESPN last season and down 26 percent from the Oklahoma City Thunder/Dallas Mavericks Game 1 on ESPN in 2011.

The game ranks as the lowest rated conference final opener since 2007 when the Cleveland Cavaliers/Detroit Pistons drew a 3.5 on TNT.

San Antonio is the 36th larget market, while Memphis ranks 49th.

The NBA hopes to soon negotiate new television contracts with their national partners. While the league is generally seen to be on the rise, the new collective bargaining agreement favors parity and incoming commissioner, Adam Silver, has made it an expected touchstone of his regime to continue that trend.

Chris Wallace has years left on his contract as the Memphis Grizzlies' general manager, but he has no guarantees moving forward.

Still, Wallace wants to remain with the organization.

“I hope to be able to stay here,” Wallace said.

Wallace's vision has been validated this postseason, when the core of the team that he assembled has led the Grizzlies to the Western Conference finals.

“I never looked for vindication. That’s not something that motivates me,” Wallace said. “Winning takes care of all issues in this league. We felt we had to take chances.”

Tony Allen and Miami LeBron James headline the 2012-13 NBA All-Defensive first team, the NBA announced on Monday.

Joining Allen and James on the NBA All-Defensive First Team are Chris Paul and Serge Ibaka. Rounding out the First Team are centers Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks and Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, who tied in votes for the honor.

Marc Gasol landed on the All-Defensive second team after winning this season's Defensive Player of the Year. Along with Gasol, the second team consists of guards Avery Bradley and Mike Conley and forwards Tim Duncan and Paul George.

NBA coaches voted for the All-Defensive teams.

Lionel Hollins is confident he’ll return as coach of the Memphis Grizzlies next season.

"The only conversations we've had is they said they wanted me back," Hollins said. "After we lost the first two games to the Clippers, we had a friendly conversation about the series and how they just wanted me personally to know that regardless of what's being said out there, this is how they felt.

"That was great."

Hollins hopes to return in his current capacity for the 2013-14 season.

"There's no question," Hollins said. "When you build something, you want to see it through to the fruition of it all.”

The Memphis Grizzlies are allowing Kevin Durant to average 35.5 points, 13 rebounds and 7.5 assists over the first two games of their series against the Oklahoma city Thunder.

“We want to (cut off Durant’s supporting cast), but you still can’t let him get 50," said Lionel Hollins. "We want to make him work and take a lot of shots. We don’t want to put him on the free throw line. It takes a lot of energy to be an offensive player, regardless of what people think, especially when you have the ball in your hand the majority of the time. We want to work him on that end and work him on the defensive end. We want to run and make him play the entire game.”

David Joerger, currently an assistant coach under Lionel Hollins with the Memphis Grizzlies, is considered one of the top candidates for head coaching jobs in the future.

Joerger's assent to the NBA began in the IBA, CBA and D-League.

“He loves the craft,” said one NBA general manager. “Look what he’s done with [the Memphis] defense. He’s got Thibodeau’s thing for defense, but he’s a lot more likable than Thibs.” 

Joerger is known for having a great understanding of what each player on a roster can and cannot do, maximizing their strengths.

Marc Gasol has been named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year.

LeBron James finished second, with Serge Ibaka finishing third.

Joakim Noah and Tony Allen finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Tyson Chandler and Dwight Howard are the two most recent winners of the award. Howard was tied for 14th this season.