Memphis Grizzlies 2017-18 Player Preview: Ivan Rabb
By Chip Crain
Ivan Rabb is the newest player the Memphis Grizzlies have acquired to replace Zach Randolph. He has the pedigree, but can he take the next step up?
The Memphis Grizzlies have been trying to develop a replacement for Zach Randolph for a number of years.
The Grizzlies spent their 2015 first-round draft pick on Jarell Martin. They traded for the draft rights to Deyonta Davis last season. This summer, the Memphis Grizzlies traded to get the draft rights to Ivan Rabb.
Rabb has the most pedigree of all of them.
Rabb was considered one of the nation’s top-10 high school players his senior season. He was viewed as a potential lottery pick (possible top 10) after his freshman season. However, Rabb returned to Cal for his sophomore season.
Rabb’s sophomore season wasn’t the breakout he hoped for. He struggled with the slow pace of the team and the loss of Jaylen Brown also affected his performance. Then there were the unfortunate injuries. Despite this, Rabb was named first team All-Conference and a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year award.
Then Rabb missed summer league due to an ankle injury, delaying the start of his professional career. It hasn’t helped that he wasn’t even signed by the Grizzlies until few days before camp.
These delays will likely restrict his minutes early in the season. Still, the Grizzlies will want to see what they have in Rabb sooner rather than later. Jarell Martin and Brandon Wright are playing on the last year of their contracts, and JaMychal Green is only signed for two seasons.
Could he be good?
Rabb has the opportunity to become the next great power forward in Memphis Grizzlies history following in the footsteps of Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph.
Ivan is a long way from being named with those two players. First, he needs to put on muscle to hold his position around the basket. Rabb also needs to extend his range out to near, if not to, the 3-point line. He has shown the ability at times in college, but it has to become a dependable part of his arsenal. He needs to prove he can get out and run a full court game as well. This was something he wasn’t asked to do a lot of in college.
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Rabb’s slow development this season will likely require him to spend the majority of the early season with the Memphis Hustle as well as spending a lot of time in the weight room. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Rabb brought up, especially if rebounding becomes a problem off the bench this season for the Grizzlies.