The NBA Draft is coming up, which means The Game Haus will be doing draft profiles for each NBA team. Each day, a new team will be analyzed for their past season, their team needs and targets. Today the Memphis Grizzlies will be evaluated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNyQC5Ms-V0
The Grizzlies finished the season with a 33-49 record and traded Marc Gasol to the Raptors in the middle of the season when it was apparent that Memphis wouldn’t make the playoffs. They did keep franchise point guard Mike Conley and had the emergence of Jaren Jackson to build on for the future. The Grizzlies will have to figure out if they want to trade Conley this offseason and start their rebuild or if they want to try to contend.
Memphis had trouble scoring as they ranked last in the league at 103.5 points per game. They ranked 29th in rebounds per game and 19th in assists per game. The Grizzlies ranked 25th in the league in three-point shooting at 34.1% per game.
Conley, Jackson, Chandler Parsons, Avery Bradley, Kyle Anderson, C.J. Miles, Dillon Brooks, Jevon Carter and Bruno Caboclo are under contract for next season. Ivan Rabb has a team option, while Jonas Valanciunas has a player option. Justin Holiday, Delon Wright, Joakim Noah, Tyler Zeller, Yuta Watanabe and Julian Washburn are all set to be free agents.
The Grizzlies have one pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
First Round: Pick No. 2
Wings- With Conley and Jackson as a good duo, for now, the Grizzlies need to get better help for them on the wings to spread the floor.
Shooters- They need players to knock down perimeter shots to improve their terrible offense. Ranking 25th in the league for three-point shooting isn’t good enough.
Players Who Can Create Their Own Shot- The offense needs to be there even if Conley isn’t on his game. Especially if he is traded this offseason.
Rebounding- For such a tough defensive team, the Grizzlies were awful at rebounding last season.
Center- Center is only a need if Valanciunas rejects his player option.
Ja Morant (Photo by commercialappeal.com)
First Round: Pick No. 2: Ja Morant, PG, Murray State
Morant is an athletic freak who also has the intelligence to be a good pro point guard. He can get his own shot and is willing to set others up for open looks at the basket. Morant has drawn comparisons to Russell Westbrook because of his passing and athleticism, but he may end up shooting better than Westbrook. He may have played at a small school, but he proved he could play against good competition when given the opportunity. The Grizzlies have Conley, but are reportedly looking at Morant. Morant could play with Conley or the Grizzlies could trade Conley to get more assets to build a team around Morant and Jackson.
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