Draft week news and rumors, and my top target for the Grizzlies

Draft week news and rumors, and my top target for the Grizzlies

[Applause] Mor with a running start elevat Point D oh my goodness TI game in overtime Gasol will turn his he is gone is on top s remain Conley now a three counting a 15o lead for Memphis and Blake Griffin gets into it on the floor with Randol hard to tell if there are any punches being thrown under there but Griffin took acceptance Adams going long Mor H it he hit it he hit it jat Insanity you got to be kidding me welcome to grits and grinds a Memphis Grizzlies podcast my name is Keith parish and it is draft week I am very excited on today’s episode I’m going to tell you who I’ve decided I want the Grizzlies to draft the most I’m also going to go over the latest NBA reports and rumors that relate to the Grizzlies let’s get right to it Jake fiser of Yahoo at the end of the week last week reported uh a few things about the Grizzlies one of them he said the Grizzlies are not interested in moving mark marus smart that report came out basically right as I was wrapping up my last episode with demichel Cole on that episode demichel said the Grizzlies of course are always going to be listening in trades and will be aggressive when necessary but maybe aren’t necessarily shopping marus smart so all that lines up does that mean I will slow down with my fake trade ideas involving Marcus Smart of course not I think one of the Grizzlies paths to getting way better is possibly including Marcus Smart in a deal that doesn’t mean they’re going to to of course and it also doesn’t mean this report isn’t just maybe the Grizzlies being like Oh Rockets you’re actually interested in Marcus Smart well let’s up the offer let’s get some real considerations if we’re going to make some kind of big Blockbuster deal not that the Griz would make a blockbuster deal of course but um I thought that report was interesting but also what Jake fiser is talking about that I think really interests us Grizzlies fans is him continuing to bring up all of the bigs and centers that are being I mean essentially shopped maybe shopped is too strong of a word these guys are just available but beyond like the Clint capella and the Hawks situation Jake fiser saying like Brook Lopez is available I mean Brook Lopez for Marcus Smart straight up possibly makes a lot of sense for both teams maybe both guys are on the downward slope of their career maybe Brook Lopez more rapidly so but it feels a need maybe for both teams um Isaiah Stewart is available once again this being mentioned out there that the Pistons are looking to shake up their front Court Isaiah Stewart would be a useful player for the Grizzlies that’s someone you wouldn’t have the trademark is smart for you could probably just do that with Luke Canard and maybe some second round picks or something um Mitchell Robinson lots of outlets are talking about how the Knicks are prioritizing of course keeping Isaiah hartenstein that will be an expensive proposition and thus Mitchell Robinson could be available and I’m seeing a lot of outlets maybe just echoing each other but they’re saying the Grizzlies continue to monitor the situations with Clint capella and Mitchell Robinson as they look to bolster their front Court of course Mitchell Robinson has some pretty extreme injury concerns he’s only appeared in 90 games over the past two seasons but his contract isn’t that big he’s a great defensive rebounder he’s a great shot blocker and possibly if you’re going to break through into the second round or into the Conference Finals you need some luck and maybe rolling the dice on someone with injury concerns like Mitchell Robinson could be a path forward for the Grizzlies if the acquisition cost is not too high like I understand maybe Robert Williams too injury-prone you know to consider on a flyer maybe Mitchell Robinson would be somebody uh that you would consider but there are just so many names out there on the big man Market that are available via trade also this continues to be interesting to me Jake fiser emphasized that basically the entire Hawks team is available outside of Jaylen Johnson now the Grizzlies have no interest in the guards Trey young or Deonte Murray but beyond Clinton capella I remain interested in Ana anangu also DeAndre Hunter I think my priority for the Grizzlies this off season it’s not necessarily getting a big like they’re going to get a big my number one priority this offseason for the Grizzlies is to get a wing with size to get someone who can play the three and the four someone 68 or higher possibly who can score and like maybe that will tip my hand for what I’m thinking or what I want the Grizzlies to do in the draft but I think getting a player like DeAndre Hunter would be super useful another guy who maybe fits that mold not a score is Dorian finny Smith uh a report on Hoops hype came out this was first of all it echoed Matt Moore’s report from last week that the Grizz are interested in Dron sharp that of course is a big not a wing it’s saying that Grizzlies reached out at last year’s trade deadline to try to get Dron sharp this is the first time I’ve ever seen this report uh Hoops hype had this today they also said the Grizzlies continue to be interested or have previously shown interest in Dorian finny Smith we’ve all thought that’s someone who the Grizzlies attempted to acquire when they were rebuffed on getting Mel Bridges maybe they also offered stuff for cam Johnson and then maybe maybe they offered stuff for Dorian finy Smith Dorian finy Smith wing with size can play the three and the four not a particularly good shooter but I think Dorian finin Smith acquiring him would be a nice pickup for the Grizzlies I think interestingly in this situation that’s a player Dorian FY Smith is a player you could trade Luke Canard for straight up maybe you need to attach some second round picks or something I don’t think that would Merit a first round pick but a reason the Nets would do this is it would get them out of Dorian finy Smith’s player option that he has for the 2025 2026 season with the expiration of Ben Simmons contract and then getting rid of Dorian finy Smith’s contract it would open up even more cap space potentially for the Nets in a couple of Seasons so that could be something the Nets would be interested in also that leads into some other reports uh that Jake fiser has said and I’ve seen it other places that there has been trade interest League wide in Luke Canard now I perhaps was wrong thinking that other teams would not want to pick up his last year of his deal and just take on an expiring $15 million salary my thinking was it’s a slight overpay for Luke Canard but mainly cap space isn’t that important anymore in the NBA free agency has been diminished what with all these players usually signing extensions there aren’t normally that many good players available in free agency we’re seeing seeing it right now the magic thought they were going to maybe spend big to get like Malik monk no no he stayed on the Kings even the Sixers who opened up all this cap space this year maybe they’re going to get Paul George maybe not and then what do you do so I thought because like expiring contracts aren’t as important as they used to be like say 10 or 15 years ago maybe teams would not line up to get Luke Canard but there have been reports including from Jake fiser that there’s been significant interest in Luke Canard League wide as the Grizzlies continue pondering what to do with his contract situation the trading of Luke Canard for Dorian finny Smith it helps out the Nets if they want to clear some cap space and it gets the Grizzlies I think a very useful player um the Home Run version of that trade with Dorian finy Smith is if you could get Dorian finy Smith and Dron sharp for say Luke Canard and zy Williams I mean how many second round picks is that worth to you that’d be an awesome Hall to add a young big you can try out to add a useful Wing Defender a guy with some size who fits alongside jiren and Desmond and jaah and Marcus and then you also get to keep your ninth pick that seems like a great outcome for this Grizzlies summer um another situation where you could trade Luke Canard where a team might be interested in his expiring contract is the Orlando Magic if the magic they’ve been reported to to only want to pay large balloon short-term contracts like maybe they don’t want to give Klay Thompson a three or fouryear deal if they strike out on other frent options this would allow them to roll over their cap space to next year and add shooting one year of Luke Canard I mean maybe they would just take Luke Canard into your salary cap space you pick up a trade exception maybe they would send you back Wendell Carter Jr or something like that so all of that I think continues to be very interesting the League wide reports about centers being available I mean Walker Kesler is available that’s not somebody I’ve floated a lot of fake trades about the Grizzlies of course took Walker Kesler uh with their pick a couple of seasons ago it was part of the J clavia trade they didn’t actually you know use that pick but the Jazz apparently are willing to listen to offers on Walker Kessler would you trade the ninth pick for Walker Kessler it’s an interesting proposition it is maybe a lower ceiling move but if you get Walker Kessler uh salary matching not really an issue because he’s on a cheap rookie scale deal that remains something I think that becomes um I don’t know another option for the Grizzlies all of these names of players available again Brook Lopez Mitchell Robinson Walker Kesler Isaiah Stewart uh Clint capella all these guys very very available it gives the Grizzlies plenty of options for what to do now as far as like what the Grizzlies should do this off season I like I said I want them to get a wing with size I think that’s more important long term to get someone who can play the three and the four so you can let jiren play the five and you’re not dependent on like Brandon Clark always being healthy always being available I think you need some more scoring of course for this team um that’s one of my priorities I was listening to the dunked on mock off season if you don’t know it’s Nate Duncan um he and his cohorts like they pass ly care about covering the NBA accurately and they do their thing where they try to simulate what could happen in the offseason with player movement their target their objective for the Grizzlies was to get a front Court big which makes sense but then their other Target was to dodge the tax completely which I just found that to be totally not on the mark for the Grizzlies that is not I think an objective for the Grizzlies with that objective they declined on their mock off season they declined canard’s contract they signed Andre Drummond to a one-year deal for $7 million and then that was it and I think like that did show perhaps when they went this when they went through this entire exercise that you could get a useful Center like they signed Andre Drummond for $7 million also uh like Jaylen Smith my target signed for I believe like six or seven million goo baz was available for the same amount of money that let me know that maybe some of these front Court freee agent dreams are attainable modest dreams as they are they also when they went through their exercise they kind of showed that a lot of the shooting guards are not going to get paid and that’s something I’ve gone over before like in their uh mock off season they declined Luke canard’s contract someone else signed him for three years $30 million and then when they were done they decided that was probably an overpay because there were plenty of shooting guards available who just missed out completely on getting new contracts it was like uh Gary Harris and I think Malik be and Eric Gordon and just there was a lot of players when they were done that those guys were available for the minimum so I thought that was useful as far as an exercise to wonder about like what the Grizzlies should do with Luke canard’s player option and to think about what could happen in free agency but as far as like again in objective I thought they were wrong the objective is not to get a front Court player and to dodge the taxs the objective boys and girls is to build a contender and the objective specifically in my mind is to build the best team possible for the next two seasons the Grizzlies offseason objective is to do what it takes to maximize your opportunities to win playoff series in the next two seasons before jiren Jackson Jr Hits free agency perhaps maybe the subtitle to that or the further context to that is you want to maximize your chances to win in the next two seasons while also not mortgaging your future while also maintaining long-term sustainable success I think you can make a strong argument to say no you actually should maybe short circuit your paths to long-term success to maximize the next two years I think the next two seasons when you have johnar Desmond Bane and jiren Jackson Jr all under contract all in their absolute Primes this might be your best chance to win and because of that most decisions you make I think should be made with the idea of how does this maximize our chances to win this year or next year also of course Marcus Smart not getting any younger he’s also signed for the next two seasons now with that objective of maximizing your next two seasons you don’t have to make any big moves this summer you can wait and see what happens you can wait to see how your team looks during the regular season with the healthy jaah and Desmond and Marcus and jiren all playing together but I do think your goal should be we need to win before 2026 or at least we need to realize this might be our best chance and thus I think decisions should be influenced by that now will that influence what they do in the draft Yeah I think so I really think it should now I’m not saying that means take the most quote unquote NBA Ready Player I don’t think that normally works out for a team but I think you have to at least somewhat consider fit I know a lot of times with the NBA draft people say ignore fit draft the best player available I hear you but for the Grizzlies specifically I think you have to look at I’ve got J Desmond and jiren I want players that kind of compliment them and that’s who I prioritize and so let’s talk about who I want the Grizzlies to draft about what they should prioritize and we’ll do that right after this short break Underdog fantasy is a unique gaming experience it’s a way to play fantasy sports for cash I’ve been playing Underdog fantasy for over a year you can pick highers or lowers you can play daily fantasy against your friends you can do best ball tournaments they have every single sport I love it for the NBA also I really enjoy it for the NFL which is coming up in not too long if you want to try out Underdog fantasy use my promo code F BBF that’s F BBF as in Fast Break breakfast if you use my promo code they will match your opening deposit up to $250 plus give you a free pick so if you want to play fantasy sports for cash it’s a great time to try it out again use that promo code FBF or click the link in this episode’s description and Underdog will match your opening deposit up to $250 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right so I’m going to tell you who I want the Grizzles to draft and honestly I’m probably going to put it in the YouTube thumbnail so you already know who I want I want the Grizzlies to draft Ron Holland now before I explain why I want the grizly to take Ron Holland I have to continually emphasize I’m not a draft expert this is of course the subjective opinion and it’s largely an uninformed opinion the people who professionally do this know way more than me I’m not a draft expert the studying I do is I read a lot of other draft experts I digest their opinions I don’t even like when people say they watch tape I don’t watch tape I don’t have access to Synergy I’m not going back and watching college games or overseas games I’m watching YouTube clips where other analysts many of them amateur analysts give their own opinions so I think you know all that but I just feel like I have to reemphasize like when the Grizzlies draft someone on Wednesday night I’m not going to second guess them I’m going to trust that the Professionals in the Grizzlies front office they know infinitely more than I do if they trade the pick for an existing player or if they trade one of their own players for a pick I will give what I think is an informed opinion about that based on the perceived value of like a certain pick I know kind of what the 15th pick is worth so I feel like like I can give an informed opinion on that but on the draft prospects I cannot give honestly an informed opinion however when I look at the Grizzlies team when I look at some of the prospects what they theoretically could be that’s how I formed my opinion so this is not an expert this is just a grizzli podcaster who I figured you guys want to hear who I want the Grizzlies to draft and it is Ron Holland and here’s why I was initially drawn to him based on the again the athleticism the speed the defense and the reports of the motor I think the thing that I get most swayed by is people talking about his motor I saw someone compare his motor to Dennis Rodman that has probably unfairly unduly swayed me I am all about motor especially in these athletic wings now initially I made the comparison to Josh Jackson because when I was watching video that’s what I saw but I keep seeing all these NBA draft experts these NBA Twitter draft guys who I actually hold their opinion in some esteem um I saw John Hollinger put him number one on his big board that is all probably just confirmation bias I admit that but when I consider the fit on this team yes I am considering fit and the player type I think maximizing the Grizzlies chances going forward getting a guy like Ron Holland seems like a awesome path to take when I look at the NBA and I think about some of the most important things for roster building it’s getting size and shooting and athleticism shot creation defense Ron Holland of course does not have shooting but he does have size he has athleticism he has shot creation he was able to score in the g-league no problem of course his team was horrible the ignite basically lost all their games but I still think with how young he is and the burden placed upon him he can create his own shot um the huge issues like again no shooting most important things in the NBA probably size shot creation shooting athleticism right now he does not have shooting somebody tracked that one in four of his three-point attempts in the g-league this year missed the rim also there are concerns about his shot selection all of that to me I care not that much about because I just want the motor I want wings with size and also when I look at the Grizzlies and this is where I consider fit again the Grizzlies best players John marant Desmond Bane jiren Jackson Jr those are all very good offensive players they’re extremely skilled they’re all Allstar level players in my opinion desm Bay of course has not been an All-Star yet but he absolutely could be all of them in my mind don’t really have a high motor that’s not their thing grabbing loose balls getting rebounds not really their thing I think the Grizzlies to maximize their roster to maximize their best players need those connective pieces we hope Marcus Smart is one of those connective pieces Vince Williams Jr I absolutely believe is one of those connective pieces you cannot understate his importance to me like the emergence of Vince Williams Jr last year is a massive thing for the Grizzlies I believe because he fits so well alongside jaah Desmond and jiren I think adding another high motor athletic Wing makes all the sense in the world and I think it’s something they need to prioritize this off season finding a big will happen you can sign guys to play center you can draft guys in the 30s in the 40s I think they can turn into useful centers centers have never been more replaceable I know the Grizzlies really struggled not having Steven Adams when he got hurt and he was unavailable for the Grizzlies the last year and a half but I don’t know if I believe necessarily in the Grizzlies trading up to get Donovan kingan like if Donovan kingan were on the board for the Grizzlies all right I would be tempted just to do that because it does fit that need so much it fills this giant hole you need but I’m going to go and assume I’m kinging is not available for the Grizzlies in this exercise I’m also going to assume like Alex SAR not there um it looks like mock drafts have kind of consens has been like listen the top four ree is going real high Alex sar’s going real high kingan’s going real high maybe like Reed Shepard’s going real high I’m not certain I would take Reed Shepard of a Ron Holland just because I want the athletic Wing give me an athletic Wing I love the idea of GG Jackson and Ron Holland again we’re building up Wings on the team with size that fit around our core the ceiling for those guys is so high Ron Holland was the number one Prospect coming into last season for whatever reason he slid down a lot of draft boards not the draft boards I care about but a lot of the draft boards keep having Ron Holland available for the Grizzlies at 9 I cannot frankly see the Grizzlies passing up if Ron Holland on the board when they pick at nine I cannot see them taking Dalton connect over him sorry UT fans I would love it if the Grizzlies took him if you look at some of the mock drafts that have been out the most upto-date mock draft that I’ve seen like ESPN Jonathan gavone and Jeremy woo did theirs uh came out today they have their Griz taking Cody Williams okay I see it that’s a wing that works for me but um Bleacher Reports uh they have Ron Holland going to the Grizzlies SP nations from last week Ron Holland Kevin oconor has the Grizzlies taking Ron Holland I think I think Ron Holland is the type of player that Grizzlies still need and you can never have too many of I don’t know if there’s a roster building lesson from like the Celtics because not everybody can get Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum those guys both taken very very high in the NBA draft but to have just young super young wings like GG Jackson and Ron Holland on the team that could one day be those interchangeable switchable huge wings that is the prototype in my mind for the modern NBA it also is the prototype for building around a team that’s a little bit small with johnar with Desmond Bane and also with a subpar rebounding jiren Jackson Jr now ideally those big wings would shoot but going back to the shooting thing demichel Cole was talking about how you know the Grizzlies have targeted shooting in the draft it just hasn’t worked out it’s why they chose to ride with Santi Al dama over like Kyle Anderson I think it’s useful to look at maybe past drafts and think about the players who were drafted specifically because they were good Shooters okay look at last year’s draft 2023 the players that were taken because they could shoot you jet Howard going to the magic with the 11th pick jet Howard barely played last year you look at Grady dick going to the Raptors you look at Jordan Hawkins went 14th to the Pelicans Jordan Hawkins showed he could score last year had a pretty promising year but like when I think about the Grizzlies in their situation which is I want to win in the next two seasons before J Jacks Jr Hits free agency when I look at the idea that you know these young guys almost all of them probably going to be unable to help immediately maybe some guys like kingan that’s immediate help but like you think about guys who get drafted who are a little bit older they don’t always immediately help like he had Brendan psky last year he was a rookie he helped but when I look at the shooters taken last season in the draft uh Kobe buffkin taking 15th for the Hawks didn’t do much last year uh Chris Murray went 23rd to the Trailblazers did Chris Murray have an impact on the NBA last season no he shot an okay percentage like you go down to Ben Shepard for the Pacers Ben Shepard he actually had some moments in the playoffs as injuries forced him into the rotation but all is to say you look at last year’s draft the guys drafted for shooting did not have that much of an immediate impact maybe they’ll all develop to be great you look a couple seasons ago uh Jabari Smith was in the conversation for the top pick in the draft because of his dead eyee shooting reminder Jabari Smith his rookie year shot 31% from three last year 36% from three uh Kean Murray all right he was picked fourth two years ago he did come right in and make an immediate impact for his three-point shooting but like Jabari Smith Jr and Keegan Murray those were the very top of the draft guys you look at lower down in the draft two years ago you had Johnny Davis taken 10th that guy’s unplayable one of the worst picks in recent years uh AJ Griffin was one of the top shooting prospects in the draft two years ago he was taken with the 16th pick he’s okay he’s also available he’s on the Hawks uh Jake laravia take a 19th I mean Patrick Baldwin was supposed to be an elite shooter he was taking 28 in the 2022 draft he stinks so like drafting guys for shooting it doesn’t necessarily work out I mean you think about the Grizzlies in the draft again they took Santi Alama they took David Rody they took Jac ravia because they were Shooters turns out they couldn’t shoot so in my mind shooting is important obviously maybe the most important thing in the NBA but in the draft right now I’m more interested in getting a an NBA athlete who’s a good player who maybe could become a good shooter that is like the herb Jones or Norm Powell years ago kawhai Leonard these guys were athletes they were players they developed the three-point shot I don’t know if Ron Holland will ever develop to be a good three-point shooter his free throw shooting is fine but I’d rather take a risk on an unbelievable athlete with a highlevel motor who can defend who can finish lobs who can get up and down the court and also has this high draft pedigree I am all in on the Grizzlies drafting Ron Holland now if they don’t get Ron Holland if Ron Holland’s not available here are the other guys this is not maybe necessarily in an order but these are the guys I’m most interested in modest balis Devin Carter khil wear Stephen Castle Cody Williams I’m starting to kind of fall for Tyler Smith he was a late edition but like for me right now my number one target above all else is Ron Holland so I’d be super excited if the Grizzlies end up with him and again I’m gonna make a a bold claim if he’s on the board I’ll be very surprised if the Grizzlies don’t take him but again caveat I have no idea what I’m talking about anyways um let’s wrap up with a couple of news items one Brandon Clark is not playing on the Canadian national team for the Paris Olympics the Canadian national team is very very deep with NBA Talent it seems like Brandon Clark would be a great addition to this team because they’re a little light in the front Court although maybe Zach Ed is going to make the national squad but uh for whatever reason and I honestly would be extremely interested to find out the reasons that Brandon Clark is not going to play on Team Canada if it’s injury concerns if the team if the Grizzlies suggest that he not play as he prepares for the upcoming season I don’t know um Santi odama however is playing for the Spanish national team which has Olympic qualifiers coming up at the start of July so maybe we’ll get to see some summer Santi playing international basketball oh and by the way johnar at his basketball camp in Memphis he said he’s two weeks away from being cleared for basketball activities that of course is good news as johnar comes back from his shoulder issue anyways uh the draft of course Wednesday night I’m not doing anything as far as you consumer for the draft on Wednesday There’s not going to be an official watch party in Nashville I’m not doing anything online apologies but I had some conflicts and I’m going to enjoy it offline it’s going to be a tremendous treat but of course there will be lots of content on the podcast feed and over on YouTube for all you Grizzlies fans so make sure you check all of that out anyways happy draft week thanks you guys for listening I’ll talk to you soon go Grizz

This episode goes over the latest news and reports involving the #Grizzlies, including available centers on the trade market and more rumors with the #Nets. Plus- Keith shares his number one target for Memphis in the draft. 

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