Jamaal Franklin and the Long-Term Outlook
By Kevin Yeung
January 12, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Jamaal Franklin (21) talks with the referee during the second half against the Colorado State Rams at Viejas Arena. The Aztecs won 79-72 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Heading into the draft, Jamaal Franklin was largely perceived as a late first round pick. I personally had him going to the San Antonio Spurs at 28th overall while believing he wouldn’t fall any further than that.
Of course, this proved to be wrong. Not only did Franklin slip into the second round, but he wasn’t picked in any of the first ten picks of the round either. The Grizzlies decided to be the team to finally stop the slide, and selected him with the 41st pick.
The stigma of being drafted in the second round is a funny thing. Franklin, like other decent NBA prospects in the past, could struggle to develop properly and eventually flame out of the NBA. We’ve seen it happen to many other young players that were simply never able to find consistent playing time while riding the bench of a contender.
Certainly, the Grizzlies have struggled with their own prospects over the last few years. Of their current pieces, only Mike Conley is an original draft selection of the Grizzlies (they’ve held Marc Gasol since his rookie season, acquiring him through trade with the Lakers). From 2008 until now, however, none of the Grizzlies’ draft choices have panned out for them. Most of them have already been cut or moved from the team, with only last year’s Tony Wroten and 2008’s Donte Greene (signed again last season after being shuffled around the NBA for a few years; likely to be waived this offseason) still remaining.
So, where does Jamaal Franklin go from here? A shooting guard with tremendous versatility in his skill set, there could be a place for him in the NBA. He can create his own shot and offers solid rebounding, passing and defense. Further development might help before he’s ready to fulfill a role as a consistent NBA role player, especially on his long-range jumpshot, but his prospects look nice as a potential role player down the road.
Right away, it’s unlikely that Franklin fits into the Grizzlies’ plan. They have numerous guards on the roster, and their primary need is one who can spread the floor consistently. That means Quincy Pondexter, Mike Miller and Jerryd Bayless will likely have the edge up on Franklin. Franklin will be a third-stringer to start, and the Grizzlies are unlikely to have any need for him throughout the whole season. They’re a team looking to make a deep postseason run, and a still-developing rookie won’t help much on the court. A D-League stint with the Grizzlies’ affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, might be more likely.
It’d likely take an injury or two for Franklin to come into consistent playing time with Memphis. At the moment, his defensive presence is probably solid enough to be able to handle second-string NBA assignments. Offensively, he’d be more of a garbage scorer picking up baskets off of backdoor cuts and the like. He typically created his own shot in college, but he lacks the polish to rely on that at the NBA level. I can’t imagine that the Grizzlies would benefit too much off of playing Franklin at this stage in his career, but at the least, he can do enough things that he can at least be used to plug a hole.
Regardless of what happens this season, the Grizzlies will likely continue to develop Franklin. Because of the lack of reliable young talent in recent years, most of the current group is in their prime or fading out of it. Most notably, Tayshaun Prince is 33 and Tony Allen is 31. Even new addition Mike Miller is 33. That’s a lot of age on the wing, and that’s playing time that could be perfectly set up for Franklin to slowly place a claim on over the next two or three seasons, when some of those contracts begin to expire.
Specifically, early indications are that the Grizzlies view Franklin as something of a “Tony Allen 2.0”. At least, that’s what these two tweets would seem to say. Obviously, tweets are hardly indicative of a freshly drafted rookie’s future NBA career path, but the idea isn’t too far-fetched either. Franklin plays a competitive game and makes plays defensively. Tony Allen might make a great mentor to him. Who knows how much longer Allen can start for the Grizzlies (he re-signed for four more years this offseason), but there may come a day when Allen may concede significant playing time and possibly even the starting role to Franklin.
Of course, that’s all dependent on whether or not Franklin can develop his game to be consistent at a NBA level. The all-around game is there, but it needs to be taken to a higher level as a whole. If Franklin plans to make his money off of being a strong defender, he’s going to need to be able to react quicker to NBA-level scoring guards. Given the Grizzlies’ need for range, a consistent jumpshot would also be very important for a player like Franklin, especially a catch-and-shoot three-point shot (look to what Kawhi Leonard has become in San Antonio for a reference).
With that said, Franklin has time on his side. Lionel Hollins, notorious for being stingy with giving his young players playing time, is gone. Dave Joerger, former D-League head coach, is in. While Franklin might not be ready to fit into the Grizzlies’ plans now, he could be a significant contributor in just two or three seasons. His own development will be key, but he does represent the Grizzlies’ newest hope for a contributor out of the draft.
Tony Wroten is still developing. Hasheem Thabeet, Xavier Henry, Greivis Vasquez and DeMarre Carroll are all long gone. Can Jamaal Franklin and Wroten alongside him help turn this franchise and its recent draft failures around?