Memphis Grizzlies 2017-18 Player Preview: Ben McLemore

As the regular season approaches, we’ll take a look at each player on the Memphis Grizzlies. Could Ben McLemore benefit from a change of scenery?

After seven seasons of Tony Allen, the Memphis Grizzlies have shifted their focus towards the future. Their first step in finding the shooting guard of the future was signing Ben McLemore.

The fifth-year swingman from Kansas was a highly-touted prospect coming into the 2013 NBA draft. Some analysts even considered him as a potential number one pick. He possesses elite athleticism and a smooth shooting stroke that was captivating. However, he slipped to NBA purgatory: the Sacramento Kings.

So far in his first four seasons in the NBA, his play from college never translated. His 3-point shooting has been average (35.2 percent), and he’s not a dynamic scorer (9.4 career average). Four coaches and a disgruntled DeMarcus Cousins later, and Ben McLemore has a fresh shot at redemption.

More importantly, McLemore has a chance to do something he was never able to do in Sacramento: find a role.

What can McLemore’s role be on this team? Is he simply a shooter? Or can he come close to the play that had scouts raving?

Finding his role

Luckily — very luckily — the Memphis Grizzlies won’t need McLemore to be a scorer. They have other guys (Conley, Gasol, Evans and Parsons) to play the role.

At the moment, he’s nursing a fractured foot. When he comes back, he needs to find his rhythm to become the Grizzlies’ go-to sharpshooter.

Whether he’s in the starting lineup or off the bench, he has the chance to fill in as a fourth option on the court and stay ready for easy cuts to the basket or open looks from distance. In the starting lineup, more teams will be fixated on Conley, Gasol and Parsons, which should allow McLemore to play loose and find opportunities to score.

Off the bench, he could find the chance to get out and run. Ideally, the main 5-man second-unit will be Chalmers, Evans, McLemore, James Ennis and Brandan Wright. This would be the fastest, most athletic lineup for the Grizzlies, and McLemore would be a huge beneficiary. With playmakers like Chalmers and Evans, McLemore should be able to spot up and get ready to let it fly.

The Grizzlies just recently gave up Tony Allen and Troy Daniels, the two biggest fan favorites among the wings. While the former has a nonexistent jumper, the latter has a flamethrower from distance. To shore up the fan’s displeasure with trading him for nothing, McLemore must come out of the gates ready to fire from deep. Without Daniels, they lack that microwave scorer, and McLemore has the chance to fill the void.

Closing Remarks

It’s easy to say that McLemore could be a sneaky offseason signing for the Grizzlies. After all, he checks off all of Chris Wallace’s boxes.