How will the newest members of the Grizzlies help Memphis?

How will the newest members of the Grizzlies help Memphis?

On this episode of lockon Grizzlies it is an episode dedicated to you our wonderful viewers on YouTube our wonderful followers on X we asked you for topics we asked you for questions you guys came through we were able to put them into three groupings to Michael

Cole and I on this episode closing out the month of January we’re going to focus on the three new Grizzly signings via hardship waiver some light injury updates maybe a reorganization of the injury reported if you will and we also have some ideas for trades going into

The trade deadline all that and more on this special edition of lockdown Grizzlies let’s lock in you are locked on Grizzlies your daily Memphis Grizzlies podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every Day welcome welcome welcome to this episode of lock on Grizzlies I am your host Joe molx so happy to have you with us wherever you are however you’re taking in the podcast it is much appreciated as always I’m joined by my wonderful co-host to Michael Cole of the Commercial Appeal there in Memphis

Tennessee Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for that publication to Michael how are you doing sir I’m doing great Joe uh another day talk Grizzlies basketball man yeah and and again we wanted to honor and celebrate our wonderful followers on YouTube and Twitter and give them a chance to steer the show

Today and that’s exactly what they’ve done thanks to everybody for all the comments and replies on I think I might have said Twitter on X whatever the heck they call it right um social media of the guy that puts brain chips in people’s heads okay um so whether it’s

Over on X or on YouTube whatever the case might be uh we are very grateful for all the different comments all the different questions and of course the subscript subcriptions getting us past that 3,000 Mark before the month ended so you guys guided the show today and we’ll tackle your topics here

Momentarily friendly reminder that this episode of lockdown Grizzlies like every episode of lockon Grizzlies is a proud part of the lockon podcast Network your team each and every day free and available wherever you get your podcast like comment rate review subscribe again you can also check us out on YouTube

Thank you for making demichel and I A Part every single day hopefully if not every single day if this is your first time coming through maybe every few days hopefully you’ll come around each and every time a new episode of lock on Grizzlies drops uh demichel we talked

About you know this being an opportunity for our wonderful viewers on YouTube our followers on X to guide the program and there was a lot of good questions and comments I was able kind of group them all into three General topics so the first thing we’re going to talk about on

This episode is the the new Grizzlies because the hardship waivers cleared and then it was like a a rainfall of uh of basketball players it was like an Avengers end game when Hawkeye comes back and he says Hey cap on your left right and then all the Avengers come up

And it’s you know Thanos knows he’s doomed uh that’s kind of the help has arrived the Cavalry is here uh some guys that maybe we familiar with a little bit depending on how into the weeds you are in the NBA G league and uh maybe some

Names that were not as familiar with so to Michel why don’t you talk us through uh these signings including the the one that literally played in the basketball game for the Grizzlies on Monday night because they only had eight guys and if he hadn’t played Memphis wouldn’t have

Been able to play the darn basketball game it wouldn’t been able to play the basketball game you need eight uh players eight players and The Grizzlies were right on the fence in this game but you know what uh Matthew hurt got the 10day deal so uh before we get into that

The hardship exceptions I’ve been asked about it a lot yeah and people have said how Kinder Grizzlies sign one guy two guys three guys how does this work well in the simplest form what you have here is basically in the in the CBA the collective bargaining agreement it is

Outlined that uh a team that has more than four players out with long-term injuries uh can apply for hardship waiver and it’s very likely and it’s going to get accepted once that’s the case uh you can sign a player to a 10day now once you have more than four players

Like you have five guys now you can get two guys in 10 days six so forth and if you look at the Grizzlies right now I mean pretty much the entire starting lineup alone you know meets the criteria there John Morant Desmond Bane uh Stephen Adams Marcus Smart then when you

Get into Jake laravia that’s a fifth guy Brandon Clark that’s six guys right there which allows the Grizzlies to go get three hardship waivers and the way this works is of course uh we’ll see how long they need these guys but after the first 10 days I think maybe Jake laravia

Because he’ll be less than because long-term injuries are classified as longer than two weeks uh J Jake mivia I believe was given a 3-we timeline of of reevaluation so we’ll see kind of what happens on that end maybe they bring one of the guys back two of the guys back

But here’s what we know about these guys Matthew HT you saw it up close everyone saw up close if you been watching the Memphis hustle you weren’t really surprised I mean the guy can flat out shoot the basketball he played with the grizzli a little bit in the preseason a

Little Spar but he was around the team he practiced with the team he’s kind of that stretch four mod defensively uh not really your NBA type Defender that if you’re wondering what’s kind of been holding him back a little bit slow you know uh feet wise a little bit slow hey

A little bit slow he’s got quick sand in his feet Joe there you go that’s what you want to hear Jo he got if he were any slower he’d be called molasses is what it but offensively very skilled guy and uh the other two guys so you got toan e

Obama how did is it let me let me go back to the pronunciation guide on this might have gotten it on the first try there Michael E tosan ewma yeah that’s how it’s pronounced and he’s kind of sort of your Swiss Army nice in this group a solid rebounder a

Solid playmaker play it on that Princeton team if you’re March Madness friend out there the team that beat uh Missouri in the NCAA tournament and he was kind of uh the leader in the game so if you want to really see him kind of shine go back and watch that game Mark

Spears over the Escape also wrote a story you know about after that game as well uh he’s he’s he’s from England and he’s kind of had to carve his own route to get to the league here but uh decent shooter doesn’t really shoot it a lot

But he is very capable of knocking it down uh he’s kind of the Swiss army knife of this group uh think of a guy who can he can score he can rebound he can pass the ball uh not necessarily great at any of those areas but good

Enough uh to play in the NBA for sure at this point Trey Json is the one that everyone’s kind of been talking about for the longest matter of fact we talked about him here gzz uh solid low poost presence when I think tra I just think of the defensive side

Of the basketball sure you going to get the dunks and whatnot but defensively is where he’s kind of carved out a role you know at this level he’s a solid defensive anger you’re talking 610 260 pound guy he’s gonna block some shots and right now if you look at the bodies

That the gries have inside they don’t have that type of imposing presence to go alongside of a j Jackson J the other guys we’re talking about is Santio D who’s a little fra and Xavier till who is a solid Defender but he’s 68 guys are just shooting over the top of him in

Certain situations so now you get Tre Jon into the fold I think he can really help from a physicality standpoint I think that Matt of the three options hurt is the one that’s least likely to stick I think that he can shoot the basketball I think that he

Has the connection to the Memphis hustle they’re rewarding a guy that’s done some good things in the G league for them the Grizzlies have a tendency to do that from time to time a little bit of a Payday bump those sorts of things I think if it comes down to the way that

You explained it to Michael and maybe you know laravia can come back but the other guys are still out I think it’s hurt that’ll go back to the G League I like jemson I like him a lot I think that there’s interesting talents and and replication of skill there in terms of

His size and ioma I love this guy I have no idea if it’s actually G to translate to the NBA but I watched some of those Princeton highlights and I re I remember him now I’ll be honest I didn’t remember him at the time dominated Missouri I I remember

That game for that exact reason and it was an impressive showing he’s a jack of all trades he’s a Swiss army knife he has a frame that he looks like he could almost play all five positions on the floor maybe he doesn’t do any of them particularly well as you alluded to but

He has that versatility and again for a roster that is this banged up e ma makes a ton of sense for that versatile type of player it’s almost like a a souped up David Rody in that way uh but in your opinion to Michel do you see hurt being

The one that could potentially stick or are you with me that I mean all three of these guys probably won’t stick but who do you think is going to best utilize this NBA opportunity between the three of them yeah I’m flipped around from you here Joe you said her is the least

Likely for me he is the most likely interesting don’t you think he’s a bit redundant with Jake laravia he is but he’s better he’s better right now whoa time out time out you’re saying that this is Better Than Jake laravia right now right now for sure wow now now

Granted all around game all around game Joe I might give you that you know but when you watch them go look at them playing the G League both of these guys have played a lot of minutes in the gague and Matthew H’s numbers this year are much better than Jake loria’s

Numbers and his time down there as well we see the confidence with the shooting I mean he made more three-pointers in one quarter Than Jake Laria has made the entire season for the m and that’s supposed to be that’s loria’s calling card right I mean we got Joe M on lock

On Grizzlies backing up Jake laravia today oh what’s really going on but um here’s the thing Joe I think I think you know Jake laravia is an upside guy you know you see the fade away solid footwork offensively and all that but he hasn’t really put it together yet and

Plus by the time he’s back you know the 10day of Matthew hurt will be long expired so I don’t think we’re gonna get in a situation where it’s uh laravia or her at any point because you know you you only can sign guys to two 10 days

Once you sign them to the second 10 day you have to either keep him on the roster or you can’t retain them uh so I think by the time Loria returns he’s either either you know a rostered guy or he’s not on the roster and it’s hard to

See any of these guys sticking on the roster based on the current landscape goodness gracious what does that say about that draft pick if that is a true statement Jake L ravia is not as good as Matthew HT um yikes well we’ll talk more about Jake laravia throughout the show

Uh we’re gonna be talking injury updates nothing too substantial the Grizzly’s practice today that’s important to understand so we’ll get more definite information going to our next episode but again this episode was Guided by our wonderful listeners and viewers so we wanted to keep it true to that so we’ll

Talk a little bit about injuries maybe which ones are closer to returning than others uh that’ll come up next here on lockon Grizzlies but first this episode of lockon Grizzlies is brought to you by eBay Motors it’s that time again to Michael our partners at eBay motors have

Teamed up a lockdown fantasy basketball host Josh Lloyd to bring you some of the best fantasy picks each week all season long whether you’re prepping for a daily draft are scouting the waiver wire every week we’re going to provide you players that are guaranteed to fit on your

Roster let’s see who Josh has picked out for us on this week’s eBay guaranteed fit fantasy picks of the week we’re familiar with Jared Vanderbilt here in Memphis we remember him from the Los Angeles Lakers series we’ve also saw him in the Minnesota Timberwolves series a couple seasons ago where you are well

Aware of what vanderbelt brings to the table Josh says that the Lakers lineups have seemed to work a lot better of late with v in them uh the coach has been stored in deploying them Darvin ham still his fantasy value is on the rise and he fits in a few different fantasy

Builds Josh Lloyd from lockon fantasy basketball is going to help you win your fantasy Championship an eBay Motors knows a championship team is about being a perfect fit with each player same thing with your vehicle with over 122 million parts for your number one whip you can make sure your ride stays

Running smoothly break kits LED lights bumpers whatever your car needs eBay Motors has it with the eBay guaranteed fit it’s guaranteed to fit your ride the first time every time or your money back at these prices you’re burning rubber not cash keep your ride or die car alive at ebaymotors.com eBay guaranteed fit

Only available to United States customers eligible items only exclusions apply the Michael Cole we are looking at injuries now and again we mentioned a moment ago the idea of this team’s injury report still in notes section right like on an Apple iPhone you have to take a screenshot of your notes you

Can’t just type it into an X post um that that’s how bad things have gotten in terms of heal for health for the Memphis Grizzlies uh more definite information likely to come out after today’s practice but again multiple listeners multiple viewers on YouTube asked for injury updates so maybe

Organizing these in terms of likely to return soonish we talked about Jake laravia a little bit in that way uh guys that we know for sure aren’t coming back this season John marant Stephen Adams those sorts of things and then the names that are in between kind of help our

Viewers and our listeners make sense of the current state of play for Grizzlies injuries going into practice today where we should get some more updated information yeah I think Derrick Rose is the the big question mark uh when you talk about who’s close who’s far away he

He’s been working out before the games a little bit and things like that more which is something he wasn’t really doing much of a couple weeks ago so there is progress uh there but again as you alluded to uh we’ll know more kind of on Derrick Rose kind of have more

Definitive update on him for tomorrow’s show everyone else still seems kind of far away at this point because they all have to get reevaluated that’s kind of like the thinging if you know with the Grizzlies once you reach that re-evaluation period sometimes you don’t know what’s going to happen but uh in

The case of Desmond Bane for example I think he’s one of the more encourage encouraging ones that should get towards that six week evaluation stretch uh I BL Mike Wallace uh has said it that uh he believes that you know Desmond bank is aead of Base I myself said it here on

Lock on Grizzlies uh a couple days ago that I’ve actually been hearing as well that Desmond B is really pushing uh to kind of uh be right at that six week timeline and potentially even beat it but that’s kind of a mentality thing with Desmond Bane as well you know he’s

He’s only been injured pretty much three times uh in his basketball life where he’s had real serious injuries in his mind he and he told me it was the back injury it was the injury last year with his foot and then it’s the one he has

Right now outside of that you know TCU he pretty much played every single game so uh he’s pushing the envelope there I think you talk about between him Marcus Smart he is closer to returning Marcus Smart still has a splint on his hand so uh since the SPL the splint has not been

Removed yet he is still doing very limited activity uh with that hand so I believe the splint won’t be removed until his evaluation period is up and then he’ll be able to do basketball activities so amongst that group I think Derrick Rose is probably the closest one we’ll know more definitively

Jake laravia shouldn’t be far as away shouldn’t be far away as well and then Desmond Bane it’s sounding like somewhere around Allstar break uh we should have a very definitive answer on when he’ll be back Brandon Clark has been doing more before games as well

Every once in a while you’ll see a post from either our friend Parker Fleming somebody else in Grizzly’s media a picture of Brandon Clark doing a dunk Brandon Clark doing some sort of pregame workout a lot of the guys do that as you alluded to they’ll get their work even

In the injured guys they’ll do some practice drills whatever the case might be they’ll go shower change back into their street clo and then they’ll head to the bench for the game uh do you have any semblance of an idea again understanding the practices today maybe

There’s more of an update coming out of that practice looking at Brandon Clark the time frame was always around the trade deadline is have you seen anything to suggest that’s not going to happen or do you think Clark is still on track for a late February or mid to late February

Post Allstar break return yeah I mean I think he’s definitely on track um in terms of where he is physically I mean he looks good you know seeing him you know move around and things like that you mentioned him working out before the games and whatnot I’m sure we’ll see him

A little bit you know at practice later today as well but uh timeline wise we haven’t heard much you know from Taylor Jenkins in terms of how the Grizzlies their plan of attack for this because uh it could be different now and we don’t know yet uh in terms terms of how what

This team’s record how that will play into uh the effectiveness in terms of how they plan on uh using Brandon Clark it could be a situation where they say ah the record really doesn’t matter you want to get him some game reps or it could be a situation where they say

We’re not really in it right now we’re gonna just take this a little slow uh and pretty much let him get a full off seon where he continues to get closer to 100% or pretty much be at 100% but the physic physically he looks great I mean

He he looks explosive which I wanted to make sure I pointed out to you Joe molx because uh you kind of thought he was going to come back jumping around like gilit or something but uh he he looks pretty explosive Joe well I do think there’s a difference between in-game

Explosivity and and jumping at The Rim when nobody’s around you trying to defend you or foul you it is good to see that and and I do hope because Brandon Clark is such an important piece of this he’s been out for a while maybe folks have forgotten that maybe you’re newe to

The Grizzlies and haven’t watched Brandon Clark play when Brandon Clark’s at his best this team You could argue is a legitimate title Contender when healthy uh that’s how good Brandon Clark could be for them if he recovers nicely from this injury and that ties in you know closing out this part of the

Conversation to Michael whether it’s Clark Marcus Smart how much of a rush would you be to see these guys get back out on the floor I don’t know that Memphis is tanking we’ve talked about that a little bit doesn’t necessarily make sense for them to tank they’re not

Going to be as bad as the Pistons or the Spurs or Wizards you know the the bottom four teams in the NBA are pretty well set but Brandon Clark coming off of Achilles is a little more serious than a finger injury do you anticipate them taking it slow what what angle do you

See them playing sure maybe Clark is eligible to play March 1 yeah but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s on the floor March 1 yeah I think they’ll play him based on what we see right now now again roster the roster construction was going to tell us everything we need we

Need to know right now the Grizzlies don’t have a lot of front Court depth that’s why they went out and got Trey jimeson and again that’s a 10-day contract so he’s probably not going to be on the roster by the point uh Brandon Clark returns for example and Xavier

Tillan is someone who we potentially talk about the next segment or in future episodes as we get closer to that to that point it’s someone that could be traded at the deadline he’s on the expiring contract he’s on a very cheap contract uh teams will covet uh a kind

Of a a defensive big man who is on a cheap contract that won’t cost you much so if you take a trade for Xavier Tillman who you’re probably not resigning anyway uh now you only have a couple guys and jiren Jackson Jr and Santi Adama that you’re playing so

They’ll either need to get another big you know in a trade or you know a 10day or whatever the case may be but they’ll need someone else on that roster and if they’re comfortable enough trading away Xavier Tillman sen for example then I think that kind of tells us everything

We know with the plan to Brandon clar because you’re going to need to play him at that point you’re going to need minutes from him so uh based on the way the roster looks right now I see no reason why he doesn’t play this season I

Fully expect him to that’s a great point and that will tie into our next segment if Brandon Clark’s gonna play Xavier kilman’s probably not long for this Grizzlies world and and that’ll be an interesting kind of balancing act to see as the trade deadline approaches when we

Come back here on lockon Grizzlies we will talk about that NBA trade deadline some trade ideas possibility from Memphis moving things around I wouldn’t expect them to do too much but there’s always a chance and we’ll break that down a little bit for our listeners and

Viewers who asked us to coming up next year on lockon Grizzlies but first I want to remind you that lockon sports today has launched the first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel on YouTube covering the top sports stories of the day with the local Experts of lock on plus our national shows covering

Every league go to locked on sports today on YouTube and subscribe to the first ever National Sports 24 7 streaming Channel this episode of lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by LinkedIn LinkedIn understands that at the start of the new year every small business owner is asking themselves the

Same question one move that they can make that’ll take their business to the next level LinkedIn jobs knows that success depends on the people that you surround yourself with and the team that you build that’s why LinkedIn jobs has created tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and

For free LinkedIn is not just another job board it has a vast network of more than a billion professionals which makes it the best place to hire it’s why small businesses rate LinkedIn jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus the leading competitors thankfully with LinkedIn the process is intuitive quick

And easy post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NBA that’s linkedin.com lockon NBA to post your job for free terms and conditions apply when we come back here on lockon grizli we close out with trade ideas heading into the NBA tread deadline for these Memphis Grizzlies stick around welcome back to

Lockon Grizzlies I am Joe Mullen x one of your hosts for this episode joined by my co-host Michael Cole of the Commercial Appeal there in Memphis Tennessee he’s a Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for that publication I’ve been covering the Grizzlies for over a decade Here There and Everywhere you’ve come to

The right place for Memphis Grizzlies content this and every day here on lockon Grizzlies to Michael this episode’s been dedicated to our faithful commenters and followers on YouTube and on X lots of good input we’ve grouped a lot of these similar questions in three categories we talked about the new

Grizzly signings we talked about injuries different perspectives on those again more ex more definitive information will probably be available on our next episode of lockdown Grizzlies especially with regard to Derrick Rose as you alluded to um that leads us to what a majority of folks asked about last and that is trade ideas

Now this kind of coincides and works out nicely with the tweet that came out from Adrien wowski or the post whatever it’s called goodness gracious um on the thing formerly known as Twitter W posted the projected 20124 2025 salary cap levels this is a little in the weeds we’re not

Going to talk too much about it because I might make you fall asleep the main number that our listeners and viewers need to know to Michael is $179 million that is the amount for the first apron level over the salary tax the reason that number matters is they

Are likely to be closer to that number next year than the $190 million that is the second apron level there are so many more punitive things that happen to a team in terms of building a roster when you pass that second apron of the tax it is extremely unlikely that even if you

Want to say Robert Perry is one of the richest owners in the NBA that might be true just for the sake of building a team it’s unlikely that Memphis go past that second APR so between 179 and 190 million is where this Memphis is probably going to live that almost

Certainly means a couple of the guys currently on this Grizzlies roster will not be here this time next year as they try to avoid it because if the as things stand right now they’re past the first apron without signing a lottery pick first rounder they’re gonna go past the

Second apron something’s got to give to mik something’s got to give and to me that’s why this this year honestly it’s going to sting a little bit for a while I I don’t want to really just harp on that point too much but this is the last last year of Desmond Baines rookie

Contract and you got the first year of Jaws you know second deal and whatnot so this was kind of the Year where you could could have went out like if all those guys were healthy you could have made a big swing without with moving one of those bench pieces who have you know

A decent Siz contract to kind of add to that core and now that’s really you know kind of an outside option so yes it it it hurts but if you look at the future of this team around those guys that’s the core again we know the jiren Jackson

Jor extension talks will probably uh be a conversation that we get into uh next season and whatnot but to me Joe it’s all about those first round picks of the last couple years that’s that’s where the money when you you talk about the difference between staying maybe below

That first apron being above the first apron and uh avoiding the second apron it’s that Zyra Williams you know uh contract where he’s projected to make what around six seven million next season it’s it’s the Jake laravia contract you know it’s you know David Rice contract even to a you know lesser

Degree uh these are all former first round picks who at the end of the day don’t really look like first round picks and we know that because Vince Williams and GG Jackson was drafted in the second round and especially Vince Williams it looks better than those guys from what

We’ve seen with all that being said you have excellent value in in Vince Williams contract you’re probably going to get decent value whenever you sign GG Jackson and surpris some you want to do uh going into the offseason for sure now my thing is zire Williams is the main

Guy that I think if you’re gonna move someone uh that’s the guy that I would say you want to get off that contract because yes next season would be his final year as opposed to Jake laravia you got him two more seasons you know in addition to not only just this season

But next season and the year after that so uh that’s probably one that you want to move as well but it’s plain to zy Williams we’ve been here a while now Joe we said it before the season he said no one worked harder than me and we got to

Be honest at some point if if he’s worked harder than anyone and these are the results that we’ve seen uh I don’t think he can really push himself that much more he’s getting all the opportunities right now with guys out and we haven’t seen Z Williams kind of

Separate himself but you know what there may be a team out there that says hey this guy is a former f-star recruit this guy is a former top 10 pick and maybe a different situation you see the flashes he’s coming off he’s had a couple good games recently you see the flashes and

What not go to a different situation and a team says hey we get him we fill him out for the rest of this season and he goes into our offseason program for the entirety of the off season and we get a full year to see what we want to do with

Him uh there may be a team out there uh that says 6869 Wing that is a proven solid Defender he may be worth a shot so I think that’s the guy now again as I saw Bobby marks uh ESPN’s uh kind of salary cap Guru say uh you you can’t

Dance on the Dance Floor without having a dance partner so uh you’re gonna need a partner to make it happen but uh that’s kind of the main guy that stands out to me Jo I think that’s a good pick I’ll uh I’ll do you one better that’s

Gonna hurt my heart a little bit oh uh Luke Canard I think would be an option right now that would that would make sense for a team that’s trying to compete a team that is thinking longterm in terms of their own salary cap situation I look at the Indiana Pacers

And Buddy hee being an expiring contract that maybe they’re not going to be able to resign that guy you have Luke Canard come in he’s on a team option I think for you know around4 million next year that’s certainly less than what you would imagine buddy heeld would make in

Free agency uh I I think that there is a lane for a Canard deal that would help a team like an Indiana imagine Canard in that Indiana offense and it would also put Memphis in a position to avoid that spot entirely if they don’t have a dance partner for somebody like a zier

Williams or a Xavier Tillman you could also pair Tillman’s smaller deal with either of those contracts more than likely and find a way to make a trade happen I see them prioritizing second round picks to be honest with you had more success with those recently Vince

Williams Jr and GG Jackson being a great example of that the the way that you sign those guys to a contract is also a little bit more Team friendly in terms of control yeah so I think you tag zier and x and you get a couple of second

Rounders for that that kind of things because zier was a first like you said top 10 lottery pick but at least you’re getting something and it’s something that can help you build your roster around your new reality that you alluded to the fact that you’re GNA have John

Marant and Desmond Bane as Max contract guys jiren Jackson Jr is not coming at a discount this time around he’s going to be another Max contract guy you’d imagine and with three max contract guys on the roster things get fishy in terms of H the the numbers around those guys I

Believe that Robert peris Zack kman they’re planning to be in the luxury TXS I do believe that I think that they’re willing to do that to keep that core together are they going to be a second apron team for a variety of reasons no whether it’s the money that goes along

With that and the tax and the punishment for that whether it is again the inability to do certain things in and around the salary cap trades veteran minimum signings whatever the case might be it just gets a lot harder to build a team if you’re above that second apron

So yeah for a market like Memphis that just doesn’t make sense so I do think they’ll live in that 179 to 190 million world they’re pretty close to the second a going into next year with the group that they’ve currently constructed whether it’s now or whether it’s as

Simple as not picking up Luke gard’s option this offseason Something’s Gotta Give but I would also rather them get something for Canard now and things to say that because I love Luke Canard but are you are we talking about trading Marcus Smart in his18 million contract absolutely not so Somebody’s gotta go

And Stephen Adams in terms of his contract being an expiring deal I love Stephen Adams I think he fits and that really drives home the point that you made a moment ago to Michael you know this year is going to sting for a while because if all these guys could have

Been healthy I think we’re talking about a team that’s in the top two or three of the Western Conference and we’re looking at potential playoff matchups at this point not trades that are trying to avoid the luxury tax second apron and that’s just the tough spot that Memphis

Is in this year yeah I I think it’s it’s not even this season is kind of going to stink because it’s a lost Championship season it’s a l opportunity right before Desmond Bane’s contract kicks in where you have a clear identity of what’s needed going forward we didn’t see

Enough of John Morant Desmond band Marcus Smart and jiren Jackson Jr on the floor this season to say that’s a championship Contender I mean we it looked good you know six and three and whatnot but we didn’t see enough we didn’t see them go on the road and play

You know of the Boston Celtics we didn’t see them you know take on the Minnesota timber wolves and those type of teams we didn’t see them go against the Oklahoma City Thunder so we did not see enough even though it it looked good for that n

Game stretch and that’s kind of where it stinks because now you’re going into this next offseason and you’re still kind of swinging toward the fences but the resources are going to be a little bit smaller now I agree with you right there on uh I think our overall point

Which Joe we seem to do a lot like we have different ways of getting there but we agree at the end of the day I think we both agree from the standpoint that the B biggest key at the trade deadline should be creating rooster flexibility now my way of getting there

Is a little bit different than yours because I think that the Grizzlies they have these assets that they’ve kind of accumulated that they haven’t used yet and now this is the time to potentially use some of them uh I agree with you from the standpoint of you might want to

Come off of a telman for a second round pick or something like that and you don’t really have to get a salary back you don’t have to get a salary back because uh you have that Dylan Brooks traded player exception that’s estimated to be around $7 million or same thing

With another player if you want to move say John conar for example you can move John Kar for you know a couple second round picks or whatever the case may be and you don’t have to take a player back you can just get a salary filler with in

Terms of the traded player exception and a second round pick that’ll create roster flexibility not only for the remainder of this season where you can potentially sign one of those 10 gay guys or check this out Joe you can use your injury exception one of them you

Got a one that’s about $6.3 million from Stephen Adams and you got another one that’s around 12.4 million for John Morant and if you use one of those remember you only can use it uh for a player that’s signed just through the rest of the season so you can’t go into

Next season with so signed player using that traded exception because John Mor St sh to be at that point so I think you got all these exits you say hey we can ship one of those those guys out you create that roster flexibility and guess what you still have that roster

Flexibility at the end of the season because I think roster spots are more important right now than sheer dollars the dollars are right behind it but creating those roster spots uh so you can because you gotta sign a first round pick uh GG Jackson needs to be addressed

Because even if you don’t plan on keeping him longterm uh he is an asset and that’s something we can talk about way down the stretch but uh you kind of just got to uh approach this from from a standpoint of roster flexibility is the key how much are you going to make

People mad if you say that GG Jackson is not part of their long-term plan I’m not saying that I just said I just said it maybe it could be said that not me I’m not not saying that you picked John Kar over GG Jackson a couple days ago and

Now you’re talking about if GG’s part of the future I don’t know YouTube commenters you might want to give that to Michael Cole a hard time for his hate on GG Jackson I’m just kidding of course uh but speaking of our YouTube commenters thank you so much to

Everybody that chimed in whether it was on X or on YouTube thanks for helping us guide this episode of the show it is much appreciated and thank you one more time for getting us past 3,000 subscribers on YouTube onward and upward partner to 4,000 I know we’ll get there

Here soon next time we’re together on lock on Grizzlies we’ll be breaking down all the updates from practice to Mich is gonna have all sorts of goodies for us I am sure we also will be talking Grizzlies basketball again Grizzlies have a big game coming up of course

Every game is Big when you’re the Memphis Grizzlies this time it’s against the Cleveland Cavaliers it might be an interesting time to Michael to compare and contrast because Cleveland’s had some injury issues themselves this season and maybe not quite as bad as Memphis but still not great Cleveland

Remains one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference and obviously Memphis is in the spot they’re in so maybe how Cleveland got their job done what Memphis can maybe learn from that experience lots of different angles we can take going in to our Thursday episode of lock on Grizzlies for de

Michael I’m Joe until next time stay locked in remember to check out locked on sports today on YouTube 247 sports streaming Channel great perspective from myself to Michael other locked on hosts the locked on NBA crew locked on NFL all sorts of different things check out locked on sports today make sure you’re

Checking out locked on Grizzlies every day and until next time for de Michel I’m Joe stay locked in we’ll catch you next time here on lock on Grizzlies thank you so much have a good one

The Memphis Grizzlies have signed three new players under NBA hardship waivers. How will the crew, led by Matthew Hurt, get Memphis through this difficult roster stretch? That, plus hosts Damichael Cole and Joe Mullinax share trade ideas and injury updates for the Grizzlies, on this episode of Locked on Grizzlies!

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOGrizzlies?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#MemphisGrizzlies #JaMorant #Grizzlies #nba

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

Quiiiz
NBA Quiiiz is the ultimate knowledge challenge for fans that live & breath basketball. Go to App.quiiiz.com to test your knowledge and win cash today. WHERE FANS BECOME CHAMPIONS!

eBay Motors
For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel
Make Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your best bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)