When a team is well outside the playoff picture, it usually means things haven’t gone as planned.
That is certainly the case for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are currently 24-50 on the season, after seeing star point guard Ja Morant play a total of just nine games, while also missing Desmond Bane for nearly half the season.
That’s even before going into long-term injuries to Brandon Clarke, and the now traded Steven Adams.
Their lone available star, or at least star adjacent, was Jaren Jackson Jr, who himself has missed 10 games this season.
Essentially, health and availability was a mess for the Grizzlies this season.
That’s bad news for this season, but in the right light could easily be seen as a great thing moving forward.
The lack of quality available in the primary rotation allowed for younger, and untested, players to get a crack at it.
This allowed two young wings to prove themselves as long-term keepers for Memphis, having spent most of the season proving to the organization they’re better than what most initially thought of them.
Vince Williams Jr, a 6’4 defensive-minded playmaker, is an all-around threat who initiates the offense, hits the three-pointer at almost 38% accuracy, and functions a strong asset on the glass.
His 10 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists are well-rounded, and should come in handy next season when the Grizzlies are back to being healthy, and in need of some punch off the bench.
The second guy to break out for Memphis this season is also the youngest player in the NBA, at just over 19 years old. The 6’9 GG Jackson has turned heads, averaging just over 13 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while already proving himself capable as a long-range shooter (36.5% on over five attempts per night), and as a big agile forward who isn’t afraid to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.
Of the two, Jackson clearly offers more upside, and if he becomes a long-term starter next to Jackson, Bane, and Morant, that’s a big hole filled for a team that’s been looking for a big wing for a while.
(The team has long been rumored to make a play for either Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby, but could ultimately have solved their need from within.)
Finally, the Grizzlies are back in the lottery and are expected to make a Top 10 selection in this year’s draft, offering them yet another talent injection for next year when everyone should be back healthy, and ready to contribute.
This isn’t to say the Grizzlies will come into next season as champions contenders, but they should be drastically better than this year, to the point where a Top 6 placing, and thus automatic playoff berth, should be expected.
For the Grizzlies, it’s all about staying with the youth movement, and using the next couple of years to develop their young core, as to create the longest window of competitiveness as possible.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.