Memphis Grizzlies 2024 Off-Season Guide

Memphis Grizzlies 2024 Off-Season Guide

Mor with a running start oh oh my [Music] goodness as we move closer to the NBA draft and the summer I wanted to take a moment to dive into the Grizzly’s potential for this off season and why this will be a make or break year for all involved with the team this might be a long one so get a drink sit back and let’s get into this offseason guide for the Memphis Grizzlies the Grizzlies 2023 2024 season of historic injury numbers started before the year even began Steven Adams who blew out his knee diving for a loose ball last season Brandon Clark who TS Achilles the year before was also on the show before the first game even combine this with Luke Canard and Santi dama getting injured the morning of the first game of the year and you’re going to end up with a brutal season the Memphis grizzley lost a combined 592 games last year due to injury on top of the johnar 25 game suspension everyone wants their team to break records but not like this not like this not like this at one point in this season the griz’s played a game with 13 players on the injured list Memphis is perceived starting five never even played together and your new core 4 only played six games together to say the Grizzlies were the walking wounded would be an understatement the year obviously played out how you think it would with the Grizzlies only winning 27 games but to be fair to be fair to be fair to be fair winning 27 games with this roster is next level impressive Memphis went through injury after injury after injury and loss after loss it was a difficult year to watch to say the least that doesn’t mean that there weren’t at least a few good moments usually when you lose 55 games in a season you come out of it traed in a deep depression but there is a reason why last year will be considered a gap year and not the new Norm Believe It or Not There are actual positives from this lackluster season the first bright spot has to be GG Jackson now I don’t like to toot my own horn but I feel like I need to here I was h on Gigi from the first game of his I watched in college and was always confused by his naysayers when I watched Gigi play I Saw an 18-year-old in a large frame handle the ball in traffic with a bag already filled with tons of moves before the Grizzlies traded for Marcus Smart I wanted them to take Jackson with their pick in the 20s so when he fell to 45 I lost my mind I don’t know the potential of Gigi but I do know his skill and size mix are rare and his approved mental status bows well for his growth gii broke records all year and that led him to earning a spot on the all rookie second team the team ceiling might very well be tied to G Jackson going forward the next bright spot has to be Vince Williams Jr a second round pick from the previous year for for whatever reason Vince was bared on the bench behind players that he would later take Victory lapse on so many times that fans started to question Taylor Jenkins understood how to evaluate talent correctly it was only after the Grizzlies were forced to play Vince due to sheer amount of injuries did we see his value to say that Vince Williams was outplaying all of the wings for the Grizz except for desm Baine would not be enough in the month of January when Vince was firmly pushed into the rotation he averaged 15 points per game 6.5 rebounds over three assists 1.2 steals .7 blocks and shot a blistering 47% from three on a 30 for 64 clip Vince also earned a spot in the rising stars game but unfortunately was shut down for the year not long after that Vince provides a good mix of offensive traits combined with a defensive motor much like X Grizzlies Tony Allen or Dylan Brooks and now projects to be a key rotation piece for the foreseeable future jiren Jackson Jr was definitely a bright spot this season jiren played more than any of the other core players and was only shut down late to mitigate wear and tear Triple J took a big Leap Forward on the offensive end as he boasted his best scoring average ever and was rinely used as the main point of attack all year jiren’s progression as an on ball score has been a long journey gone are the years of jiren diving full speed into the lane and flailing to get off a shot jiren now attacks with an array of post and spin moves mixed with a much tighter handle allowing him to get past most bigs in only a few moves jiren street ball continues to leave much to be desired as this very well could be the last skill needed to maximize his offensive potential potential Triple J also continues to have rebounding issues and well I don’t think jiren’s a great or even good rebounder the fact that jiren wers on defense to help others so often normally leaves him out of position to get boards his low rebounding numbers are a bit misleading because of this jiren Bean asked to be the main guy for most of the year is going to pay off huge next year when he is surrounded by his All-Star level running mates the last bright spot can’t be forgotten and that’s a top 10 pick theoretically a team with this much talent should not have organically had access to a high lottery pick for years down the road this new asset will give the front office many routes to go down to improve the team many will argue to just make a selection at 9 and swing for the fences the Grizzlies have basically been given a mulligan after the poor selection of zy Williams at 10 just a few years ago so this is a doover so to speak you could also argue to trade the pick for a veteran big with GG Jackson looking like found money in her possible wing of the future why swing on another possible player that could stun his growth going forward or this could also give them more fuel to trade up for a higher Prospect player needless to say the pig adds a lot of potential to possible Avenues of growth looking at the current Team Construction salaries future assets lets us know just how much work the grizzly front office is in for this off season as it currently stands the grizzly are over the first apron by a small margin and this is even before they exercise are team option on Luke can’s $14 million salary I think it’s fair to assume the gries will look to bring back Lamar Stevens the price is reasonable as Lamar showed immediate value with his defensive versatility ion slashing ability the Grizzlies as currently structured will only have a little over $5 million for a mid-level exception unless they get under the first apron which is very doable unfortunately there are only a few teams with flexibility this season to take on straight salary even if it’s a small contract the Grizzlies could send Zer Williams to team like the Pistons which Cuts an immediate 6.1 million unfortunately you might have to bribe a team with a lowend second round pick to take on Zer Philadelphia is another team that will have massive salary flexibility and will need cheap able players to fill out their roster with this being a potential option to dump salary I would send John coner in his 6.1 million salary and as for the 76ers pick at 41 these two moves are reasonable and put you firmly under the first apron giving you the flexibility to make a larger trade to bring in a big salary or use a team’s full mid-level exception around 10 million or so there’s always hesitation with adding massive salaries with the fear that the player won’t work out but with the TV deal now done and Inked we know that cap will be raising 10% each year for the next five seasons in just 3 years a player at $20 million will only account for 10% of the team cap this future flexibility means the Grizzlies can move assets around now to add a player of real value even if the deal is in that $25 million range adding players is always easier said than done but there are three main ways to add [Music] Talent there are three normal avenues that teams can go down to improve their club and build towards a championship the first First Avenue is the draft this is the most common way to add Talent simply said you’re given draft pics you perform Talent valuation on players and then select that player you believe elevat your team the most it sounds easy but the draft has always been an inexact science with more misses than hits if the draft is off the table then the next most common Avenue is free agency which is a time frame in the offseason where players with expiring deals are now allowed to explore all their options and pick the team that best suits them this also seems straightforward you meet with players and offer the money based on the value that you and your team have determined but this too is full of miscalculations many teams overpay and get stuck on bad deals for players that never live up to the contract and most likely were never going to in the first place this is common for smaller teams who have to overpay to get just average players over their big Market Rivals which leads us to our Third Avenue which is the trickiest to do but has the highest rate of success and that is making trades trading for players with good value that are already on long-term deals is the best way for small Market teams to land Stars yes you can get lucky in the draft or find a hidden talent on the market and sign them to a small deal before their value goes up but trading for players is the quickest way to get immediate return on your investment and land the exact player you need with all that said these are the three strategies the grizley should approach this off season as they look to retool and make a real run at a title even after tumultuous and discouraging season one could argue that Memphis Grizzlies are closer to making a title run today than they ever have been in the past yes I’m talking about the same Memphis Grizzlies team that just went 27 and 55 and will be picking ninth in the upcoming NBA draft the johnar LED Memphis Grizzlies are coming off of the most historically injured season the league has ever seen and somehow they still produce one of the League’s best defenses if any team had ever had the excuse to just lay down and die it would have been the 2023 2024 Memphis Grizzlies despite the fact that Memphis routinely trotted out a g-league team led by jiren Jackson Jr They Were Somehow competitive most of the year sure there were the blowout losses but there were also unexpected wins led by players who were far from household name even for the most DieHard NBA fans the competitiveness of this team has to be a credit to the coaching staff and the I for talent in the front office I say all this to Simply say that this grizzli team might need to just simply run it back or apply What’s called the plane Jane strategy one could argue that the Grizzlies just need to stay the course get healthy and improve internally that combined with the 9th and 39th picks assuming the Griz Mo off their last pick in the draft then adding a reasonably priced veteran big You could argue might be good enough to contend now there is some truth in this strategy when you look at the grizzley’s roster they look deep at nearly every position bolstering multiple Allstars two former defensive player of the years one of the best three- level scores in the NBA one of the best bench bigs in the league and arguably the best three-point shooter and then you add two up and cominging wings on great contracts add to a core that strong even at a basic level could catapult them right back into a top SE contention in the west and onto a short list of legitim title contenders so let’s look at some possible paths that the Grizzlies could take to build on their current roster without having to make drastic changes let’s start with the ninth pick in the NBA draft this pick was an unexpected asset that the Grizzlies have to use to lock up their ability to contend whether that’s through a trade or taking a player at nine in this strategy let’s just assume the Grizzlies hold strong and make the pick and that pick is going to be a big since that seems to be their most need so here are the possible Targets in the draft that make sense going off of the plane Jan model a big to play next to jiren is the obvious one and need to some degree there is an argument to be made for jiren to play the five and pair him with those multi-kill power forward however jiren has been very outspoken about playing the center position just assumed the Grizzlies attend to pair a new center with jiren sliding him back to the four with this in mind who can the Grizzlies Target at number nine Donovan Clingan is the obvious and most common answer Donovan has a large frame was heralded as the best defensive big in college sets great screens and shows real potential as a passer it is a long shot at this point for Donovan to fall with new reports saying that he’ll most likely be taken in the top three with that in mind who could potentially be on the board that’s a good big in that range few names come to mind but they all come with their own drawbacks Zach e has been a name moving up boards with a lot of gzz fans slowly shifting to being okay with him being selected Zack is actually larger than Donovan coming in at 7′ 4 he has also been one of the most dominant bigs we’ve seen in college in recent memory he scores at a high clip in the paint rebounds well and sets massive screens Ed had a better than expected draft combine but we still have years of film showing his limitations on defense and with the NBA only becoming faster and requiring more of bigs to be able to defend on the perimeter Ed could have limited in-game value in a short career because of this next on the list is Kyle filipowski an offensively skilled big out of Duke Kyle is a 7-footer with tribles shooting pass skills which fits the Grizzlies theme and model the past couple years Kyle moves Wells for his size he scores well in the paint added a three ball to his bag and is a smart passer however Philip palski is an average Defender at best and only an average rebounder and not a great rim protector You could argue that Kyle might only be slightly better than Santi Alama but if you didn’t want to pay Santi then Kyle could be a good [Music] replacement Kell wear could be the next option on the list wear on paper should be a top 10 pick based on stats measurements and athletic testing but wear has been labeled as a low motor guy and it’s a label that he has not been able to shake we is the most athletic big in this draft and he would pair well next to jaw on the break he also is a real shooter from three a strong rebounder a good weak side Defender just flashes a good passing connectivity but using a pick this high on a guy who might not want to put in the work would be a real setback for a team that needs to add a rotation player for a deep play off run now EES Mei and Tyler Smith are the last two two options Mei has great size with a massive wingspan he runs the floor well and has Next Level defensive instincts but his offensive game needs a lot of work and his main value would be as a rim Runner and hiding in the dunker spots all [Music] game Tyler brings the opposite skill set as he is a longrange big who can really stroke it from three Tyler is also good at putting the ball on the floor and getting to his sweet spots Smith adds very little on defense and and he’s under 6’10 so pairing him with jiren Jackson might not be The Versatile fit that they want but he can be a spread big if they move into a more five out style offense if the Grizz are dead set on taking a big and if we assume that Donovan is off the board at nine then I would go with Zack e or Kell wear Ed at worse will give you a bruising big with a good scoring potential tough screens and more offensive rebounding where at worse will be an athlet big with size and good scoring tools to bring Off the Bench to get the offense more options but at best if wear hits his potential him and jiren would be one of the most dynamic big Duos in the league at pick 39 the Grizz should look to add versatility from a veteran player if we look at possible options in that range would come away with a short list of names Dylan Jones Jaylen Bridges Baylor shyman and Kevin mcculler Junior every player on this list is older and brings versatility in their game any of these players can come in from day one but play a role and give the Grizz a strong 15 minutes a night let’s assume the Grizzlies go with Baylor shyan Baylor has good size for a wing and can come in and immediately add a consistent three ball which is desperately needed on this Grizzlies team Baylor’s great off the ball a good connector piece and a hardworking Defender but lacks good athleticism so he will have limited upside but if Baylor is able to come in and just do what he does he’ll be a really good piece for the Grizzlies moving into free agency the Grizzlies are up against the first apron so they can only use part of their mid-level exception unless they dump salary but let’s just assume that they want to go bargain hunting let’s look at some reasonable veteran bigs that the Grizzlies could pursue the first name everyone brings up is Andre Drummond who’s coming off of a strong year with the bulls Andre does the things you need he runs the floor he rebounds well he blocks shots and he scores in the Ducker spots but Drummond has issues as well his awareness in general IQ is below average as he consistently makes bonehead plays causing turnovers and dumb fouls Andre also has no offense outside of the paint and it’s a poor free throw shooter but you could argue that Drummond’s positives outweigh his negatives and his overall skill raises the team just enough to reach the next tier and the next possible big is Goa Bazi a strong post big coming off a solid backup roll in Orlando Goa has a lower ceiling than Drummond but he will be cheaper and is younger Bazi is a good scorer in the paint and is not terrible at the free throw line so he’s usable late if need be as a starter playing an average of 25 minutes per game Goa averaged almost 10.7 boards in two blocks a game which honestly might be good enough to raise a ceiling marites Wagner is also a sensible name to throw in the mix he has a team option at 8 million but Orlando could decline to pick it up Orlando is poised to make a big run at bigger names in the market and that 8 million could be better spent elsewhere maritz is a 6’1 in center with a tough mindset good touch in the pain and is a solid free throw shooter MO is not a great rebounder but he would be a step above all the options that the Grizzlies were playing just last year let’s assume that the Grizzlies land Mo Vagner as drumming gets bigger offer and the magic go cheap and bring back Goa for a lower amount chrisy might have to shed a deal or two in the process and let’s take that into consideration and say that they move off of John conar and his $6 million salary for a future second round pick finally we hope that the Grizzly’s main core comes back healthy and plays at least 70 games this leaves him 12 games for minor issues and rest and needing to just be you know monitored for wear and tear but assumes that they play the bulk of the season with all this in mind let’s look at our finished roster heading into training camp Trey and Scotty on 2A deals this gives you a few other roster spots I would bring back Lamar Stevens and I feel like jakc Arabia did enough to take Z Williams spot which gives you another dump option this final roster shows a lot of potential on both ends of the court with players able to play multile spots the strategy is boring and assumes good health which has not been the grizzly strong suit over the last few years however if healthy and with these Regional moves in place I can see this team winning 55 games being a top three seed and making a real run at the title net year playing it safe is a fair and reasonable strategy but it is a little boring let’s imagine the Grizzlies have decided to swing for the fences and create a short-term window to make a run at multiple championships over the next three seasons which is obviously easier said than done finding a trade that moves the needle this much is tricky the player in question has to feel an immediate role their age needs to be in the timeline of your window their contract needs to be actually attainable oh and they need to actually be available for trade with that said I have four players that are legitimate needle movers and put the Grizzlies in real title contention there’s been one player on the short list for every gries fans let’s just get that out of the way first Mel Bridges on paper looks like the perfect fit for the Memphis Grizzlies he has great size is a great defender can play multiple positions has a great scoring package and is in the same age as your core main three and his contract is very manageable currently but why would the Nets trade a player with this much value well Brooklyn is nowhere near close to a real playoff run let alone contention Brooklyn can get large amounts of assets for Bridges who’s set to be a free agent in just a few years a deal that could make sense would have to involve a good deal of the Grizzlies picks and this trade that the Memphis Grizzlies receed Mel Bridges while the Nets land Luke Canard Santi Alama GG Jackson the number nine pick in this draft a 20125 first rer with some light protections and a 2029 first rounder also with some light protections this is a huge risk for Memphis Landing Bridges would be a great get but you lose a good amount of future assets and a potential Allstar on GG Jackson who’s already on a great contract for only a short period of 2 years if Bridges decides to walk the next player the Grizzlies could Target that puts him into title attention would be Jared Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers Allen is a bit short for Center but he plays much bigger than his size he runs the floor well it’s a dog on defense with his ability to play on and off the ball is a consistent law of threat and scores well in the lane Allen has had issues closing games because it’s poor free throw shooting but that’s an issue for another day so why would the Cavs be looking to move off of Jared Allen well Evan Mobley looks like they’re big of the future and that pair seems to be a little too limited on offense to work late in games together this coupled with the Cavs trying to force jar all to play through a rib injury has left both sides sour and ready for divorce a deal that could get Allen to Memphis could be Marcus Smart the number nine pick and a top 10 protected pick in 2025 Marcus would give the Cavaliers a much needed Wing Defender and a co-leader in the locker room they also get an immediate top 10 pick and a future pick both of which can be moved again for another big move to maybe bring in an even better piece this lets Memphis slide Bane back back to his natural spot of the two jiren gets to slide back to the four and you can move Gigi or Vince Williams to the three spot the risk is that grizz’s losing out on a top tier Defender before ever getting to see how he actually fits with the full team and they lose out on arguably their last chance to take a swing on a big draft prospect player number three is a new name on the trading block but one that fits like a glove next to Triple J Lorie marinin on the Utah Jazz will provide real outside scoring as he might be one of the best big man playing from the wing Lori also plays defense he rebounds and is athletic enough to run with John Morant in transition and finish on the break so why would the Jazz trade him away well Lori is in line for a monster contract extension and the Jazz are not good enough to justify giving him such a large extension especially if the same extension would limit them on how they can even build a team around him in the first place I would propose the same deal I made for Bridges Luke Gigi Santi and three first round picks with the cap raising each year by % each of the next 5 years a lurry extension starting let’s say at 40 million won’t be back breaking but it does put all your eggs into one basket the Jazz get the same high potential player in GG Jackson and a bag of picks to help get their roster where they need it to be this is risky for the gy to invest so heavily in their starting five even with the cap raising management will have to be smart with rotation contracts and Landing good second round players our fourth player also comes from the Nets Nick claxon will be an unrestricted free agent and would likely look for a four-year deal starting at $100 million if the Nets are hesitant the Grizzlies could come in and offer a good package to pair with claxon next to jiren why would the Nets make the trade well Brooklyn could risk losing nclon for absolutely nothing in return if negotiations were to break down and the Nets don’t feel very comfortable offering over $25 million a year well this is where the Grizzlies could offer a trade package paying Nick 25 to 28 million a year is a lot cuz as I have said with cap going up you will be able to work with this in just a few years claxon brings size athletic ability solid rebounding and scores well at The Rim a package of Luke Canard John conchar Z Williams the number nine pick a 2025 first rounder and maybe a second rounder would be enough to get the deal done we know that Claxton and jaah are cool so Memphis is a team he would actually want to play for but putting together a package that works will be tough of these four potential Blockbuster moves I’m leaning more towards the jiren Allen move Lory marketing will be too costly muel is a great fit but the assets needed might be too much to actually give up and you might have to overpay too much for Nick Claxton adding Allen feels an immediate need does not take too many assets and there’s a real chance that Vince Williams or GG Jackson could actually fill Marx’s role from a production standpoint big Blockbuster deals are fun but there’s a reason why they rarely happen most teams look to make smart and calculated risks that have good potential with a risk fader that is not too detrimental if the move fails let’s look at a few of these moves that the Grizzlies could make in our final offseason strategy the third strategy the Grizzlies could implement this offseason is the calculated risk strategy it’s more or less a mixture of our first shoot strategies in this approach the hope is to make a pick in the first round of the upcoming draft and make a move for a solid player who will add good value to the rotation the first move that Grizzlies could look into making would bring in a pair of vets the Warriors are in a weird spot they are in a wind now window with no real ability to compete and stacked with a few bad contracts Andrew Wiggins and cavon Looney both could be had for a fair price Wiggins did have a down year and his contract has two years left with a $30 million player option on the third year but as we’ve already discussed a 30 million dollar hit in three years will not be as bad as it currently is weekin only averaged 13 points per game last year but in Memphis he would only be asked to be the fourth option Wiggins is a good rebounder plays solid defense and it’s a career 35% three-point [Music] shooter aloney is a great rebounder a smart post big who plays well in his role he would provide much needed leadership and basketball intelligence to the big man room Triple J was routinely the only usable big last year and Kevin Looney would bring in some much needed [Music] help but to get you have to give I would start with a package built around Marcus smart Luke Canard and maybe the pick at 58 the Warriors will be looking to cut money and CP3 is on his way out smart comes in as a much needed Wing Defender and can actually play with curry one of the best Shooters in the league while Luke Canard is one of the best Shooters in the league and his services will always be in demand the second move is to go after a wing who can fit a few different roles and will be available Kyle kozma no matter how you feel about him is a very solid player Kyle is a proven scorer from the wing can play both forward positions and is a solid offender who can slot next to [Music] jiren I would start with a package of John conar zire Williams Luke gard and a pick swap of 9 for 26 why would the Wizards do this well this gives Washington more money that will fall off the books a good cheap player in conar and two picks in the top 10 this also allows the team to clear the way for the next wave of talent in below K Bali Den Avia and these two top 10 picks now moving to 26 also gives a Grizzlies a new Avenue to maybe Land Zack Edy or maybe don Holmes if we assume either could be an actual Target you could have to sweeten this deal a little bit with an extra pick but I would start with what was pitched and then add on from there move three will bring in a veteran big who can slot right next to jiren and do all the dirty work with Atlanta jumping to one and most likely taking alexar clink capella becomes a piece on the Block the Grizzlies will be suitors when the hawk start floating his name out there for trades Pella might be a one- trick pony but damn it it’s a pretty nice trick Clint is a defensive big who rebounds well protects the rim and it’s a good lob threat but outside of that capella does not add much more value pair next to jiren Jackson Jr though and you don’t really need your Center to do more than what Clint already brings to the table a deal that might make sense to the Grizzlies could be luke Canard Z Williams and a 2025 first round pick maybe a second rounder if need be this sounds like a weaker offer you know player value-wise but I would guess that not too many teams are going to want to put a first rounder in a deal for Clint capella who is 30 years old and only has one year left on his current contract move four is targeting a good Big Man Who is younger than capella but brings more versatility to the role Wendell Carter has slowly become one of the best big man defenders in the NBA he’s also coming off of a season where he shot over 37% from three [Music] a simple trade of Luke Canard pick swapping nine for number 18 and a protected future first round pick should be enough to make this move happen the magic have a good bit of salary and can upgrade on the market at the position with a player like Nick claxon or even Isaiah hardenstein but landing a top 10 pick a future pick and arguably the best shooter in the league is a very strong offer however this is a risky move from Memphis since W Carter has been injury-prone most of his career only playing an average of 57 games per season but it would be a risk worth taking there is no correct answer on which strategy is the best all three have their pros and cons and I assume the Grizzlies will attempt for the Blockbuster move but instead end up going with a calculated risk route let me know in the comments what your favorite move was or your own personal trades or even how dumb you think all of my moves are I’m not an expert I’m just a basketball Junkie who loves talking about basketball don’t forget to subscribe hit that like button if you enjoyed the video be on the lookout for my mock draft 2.0 where I will be joined by someone much smarter than myself until next time

Andrew goes into detail on multiple strategies the Grizzlies could explore this off-season to improve the team. NBA Draft, Free Agency, and Trades are all here for you to look at and decide they are all bad decisions.

I could have gone a little cleaner on my trades, they could seem off one way or the other, but I believe their are great “bones” to a multitude of moves. The Memphis Grizzlies are facing a make or break year, so I wanted to go over all of the possible options they could explore to get to their title hopes.

0:00:00 Intro
0:00:40 Regular Season Recap
0:02:00 Yearly Bright spots
0:05:37 Team salary and roster
0:07:20 3 avenues to build a team
0:09:51 The Plain Jane Strategy
0:18:17 The Blockbuster Move Strategy
0:24:07 The Calculated Risk strategy
0:28:40 Final Thoughts