Report: Austin Nichols hires lawyer to fight transfer restrictions

Austin Nichols and his family have retained the services of attorney Don Jackson in an effort to fight the restrictions Memphis placed on the player's potential transfer destinations, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Nichols requested a release from Memphis in late June, a request which was eventually granted, minus a few exceptions: teams on the 2015-16 Memphis schedule, Tennessee, Virginia, Iowa, and Providence.

The family seems to suspect some shady doings on the part of Memphis. It's common practice for teams to block transfers from teams on their schedule and teams within their conference in an effort to discourage tampering.

However, Virginia, Iowa, and Providence are in an early season tournament with Memphis in 2016, and it could be seen as an excuse to get Virginia on the list. The Cavaliers offered Nichols in high school, and were one of the final schools on his list before he committed to Memphis.

Virginia is believed to be Nichols's preferred landing spot, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.