Memphis Grizzlies: Buy or Sell on Ivan Rabb?

The Memphis Grizzlies are close to a full rebuild. Let’s discuss whether we should buy or sell the stock of young players like Ivan Rabb.

Even though Dillon Brooks is the rookie playing right now, Ivan Rabb was the Memphis Grizzlies’ first draft pick in the 2017 draft.

However, Brooks started much faster. He looked solid in summer league. Brooks had a good training camp. Then he took off in the first quarter of the season earning a starting role along the way.

Ivan Rabb didn’t play in Summer League due to an injury. He didn’t even sign a contract until the day before training camp. Ivan wasn’t a factor in the frontline battles in training camp. Rabb has been a deep Grizzlies’ bench player or in the G League so far this season.

Still Rabb may have the best potential of the two players.

Don’t forget that Rabb was a top-ranked high school player. He was listed by some organizations as a top 5 player. Rabb was considered a lottery lock in the 2016 draft before returning to school for his sophomore season.

That’s when the storyline changed.

Instead of improving his second season in college, Rabb battled plantar fasciitis and an ankle injury which limited his ability to handle the focus from other teams.  After Jaylen Brown left for the NBA, Rabb was the only threat on Cal’s team. Rabb still managed to put up 14 points and grab 10.5 rebounds a game. He was named 1st-team All PAC-10 Honors.

At 6’10”, Rabb can play power forward or center but is slightly built for the interior game in the NBA. Rabb needs to put on muscle to handle the banging inside. He’s showing a surprisingly strong offensive game as he’s averaging 15.9 PPG, while hitting 56.1 percent of his field goal attempts. He’s also hitting 66.7 percent of his 3-point attempts. This is a small a sample size however. Rabb is also averaging nine rebounds per game for the Hustle. He’s doing this despite playing only 28.3 minutes a night.

Rabb’s is under restricted playing time, because he has been bouncing back and forth between the big club and the Hustle at a dizzying rate. Last weekend Rabb was in uniform for both Grizzlies games and both Hustle games.

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In comparison, Rabb’s performance in the G League this season has far outpaced Jarell Martin or Deyonta Davis’s play last season in Iowa. Rabb is still a work in progress. He needs to build up lower body strength to better hold his position inside and continue to develop his perimeter offensive game. Rabb turns 21 in February, however, so there’s still time to work on his weaknesses.

Memphis Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has struck out consistently with first-round draft picks. His forte has always been finding value in strange places. Dillon Brooks has been a good example. Perhaps, Ivan Rabb will as well.

Ivan Rabb is clearly a buy at this stage.