Grit, Grind and Grow - the rebirth of the Memphis Grizzles
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Since the 2019 - 2020 season the Grizzles are 272-252. Competitive? Yes. Relevant? Sure. But not world beaters by any stretch of the imagination. Not a place you want to be in todays NBA. During this time they had the same general manager they still have to this day. Zach Kleiman.
Zach Kleiman
The USC and Duke Law School alum Kleiman, rebuilt the Grizzles once before. Moving on from Franchise cornerstones like Mike Conley for 2 future first round picks. Drafting Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Hiring innovative coaches like Noah LaRoche. Who invented, in my opinion the best offense in the NBA featuring more purposeful movement and less screens (now seen in the Miami Heat. The team LaRoche is now employed by). Peaking with two 50 plus win seasons with no rings to show for it. Seeing the window closed for this version of the Grizzles, now its time once again for Kleinman to pivot.
Grizzles have traded Desmond Bane and JJJ for a total of 7 first round picks. They have potentially 13 picks in the next 7 drafts. When it comes to drafting, the Grizzles are amongst the elite. They hit on the majority of their picks. Ja, JJJ, Bane, Wells, Coward, LaRavia, Aldama, Cam Spencer, Brandon Clarke, Edey, GG Jackson all were solid. They drafted and traded away Trey Murphy, Will Richard, Walker Kessler on their respective draft days. Simply outstanding talent evaluation. They do not need lottery luck on their side to pick the right player for their system. Which is why this doesn’t feel like a rebuild, its simply a recalibration. Smart front offices don’t accumulate picks for upside, its about flexibility. Thirteen picks don’t guarantee success. No front office bats a thousand. But they do give Memphis time, leverage, and room to breathe. And when that capital is paired with a track record of strong evaluation and development, patience becomes a strategy instead of a gamble.
So what is it going to take for the Grizzles to take the next steps....
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The offers at the deadline must have been awful. The Grizzles stayed strong with their price and will go into the off season with Ja Morant still on their roster. 2 1sts, a young player and a starter will go a long way in accelerating the rebuild
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will almost certainly opt in to his 2026-27 21 million dollar player option. Once he does that, the 33 year old should be moved. Another 1st round pick can be added to the warchest this way
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Grizzles currently own the Orlando Magic’s 2026 1st and their own. This draft is loaded with talent and draft will be make or break for them. With 4 franchise changing talents, the Grizz could use some lottery luck. Guaranteed they will be resting players for the rest of 2026 to secure better odds at a top 3 pick
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Teams are always looking for salary dump spots for bad contracts. With the addition of a 1st rounder to a bad contract, the Grizzles can be a prime contract dumping destination.
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Who to keep?
GG Jackson - last 5 he is averaging 14 ppg and 5 assists on 55% 3pt shooting. 6’9” wings that can perform like this do not grow on trees
Cedric Coward - Grit and Grind 2.0. Coward is an efficient high usage 2 way guard. Currently sporting the same True Shooting % as Devin Booker (58%). Coward should be a lock to reignite Grit and Grind
Zach Edey - Sure Edey has only played in 11 of a possible 53 games this year. Sure its concerning that at 7’3” he’s having ankle issues. But when he plays, he is valuable and effective. He would be top 20 in offensive rebound percentage, defensive rebound percentage, true shooting, effective field goal percentage and block percentage. Not a player you would want to part with.
Cam Spencer - I was a little hesitant to add Cam Spencer here but he has been lethal this season. 44& from three 93% from the line, 27th in OBPM, Cam is legit. Grizzles smartly locked him up for 4 more years at less than 3 million per year. A steal for his production and value