Former Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie waived by Memphis Grizzlies

Former Gonzaga standout forward Killian Tillie was waived Saturday by the Memphis Grizzlies, four days before the team’s season opener.

Tillie battled injuries during his GU career and in his first two seasons in the NBA. He was sidelined for most of the second half of last season with a back injury that required a medical procedure. He told reporters he wasn’t 100% recovered from the back injury at the Grizzlies media day in late September. He didn’t play in any preseason games.

Memphis finalized its roster for Wednesday’s season opener against the New York Knicks after waiving Tillie and wing Dakota Mathias.

Tillie wasn’t selected in the 2020 NBA draft but quickly agreed to a two-way contract with Memphis. His two-way deal was converted into a two-year, $4 million contract last January.

The 6-foot-10 forward started three of the next four games after receiving his new contract. Tillie hit three 3-pointers and scored nine points in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers, but then was limited to nine appearances in the team’s last 52 contests.

He was inactive for the final 12 games of the regular season and all 12 of the Grizzlies’ playoff games.

Tillie averaged 3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 11.9 minutes in 54 games in the past two seasons.

The native of France made 44.4% of his 3-point shots while averaging 9.5 points, 4.6 boards and 1.4 assists in 108 career games at Gonzaga. Tillie was All-West Coast Conference first team as a senior in 2020 and All-WCC second team in 2018. He averaged 24 points and connected on 13 of 14 3-pointers to earn 2018 WCC Tournament MVP honors.