Memphis Grizzlies: 5 questions from January 2018 mailbag

No. 1: How long until the Griz are back to being in the playoffs

This depends a lot on who makes the decisions and what decisions are made leading up to the All-Star break, in the draft and free agency this summer.

Chris Wallace is a charming man and has done much to build up support for the Grizzlies in the area, but his basketball decisions of late have left much to be desired. Assuming Wallace makes a decent move for Tyreke Evans, rests Gasol, Parsons and Conley for the rest of the season, and doesn’t blow his best draft pick since 2009 (when the Grizzlies drafted Hasheem Thabeet) and 2010 (Xavier Henry) then the turnaround could be quick. A healthy core plus a talented young player could easily get the Grizzlies back to the playoffs.

Failure to move Evans, a continual decline in Gasol’s play, along with injury issues with Conley and Parsons, plus another wasted draft could keep the Grizzlies down for a long time. The top-line talent is aging and in many cases decrepit. The youth is uninspiring. They, at best, have a future as role players but not leaders. The younger veterans have shown no ability to be more than bench players on a competitive team.

Then, there’s the coaching issue. David Fizdale may be an excellent basketball mind, but he clearly wasn’t a good fit with Memphis. Chris Wallace finally came to that conclusion after less than two seasons. Fizdale was Wallace’s first real head coaching hire so to give up on him that quick shows deeper issues than simply upsetting Marc Gasol in a game. Wallace was the man who brought him here regardless. Does Wallace know what type of person can achieve what he wants from the team?

Without a solid front office leader who has a clear vision for the future, there’s no reason to be excited about the team’s ability to turn things around quickly. Right now, Grizzlies fans don’t know what the front office wants, who will be coaching the team and what players will be on the roster. That’s not a recipe for success or quick turnarounds.

This isn’t an insurmountable problem. If the Front Office creates the vision, hires the proper coach to implement it and makes a few choice roster decisions, the Grizzlies could return to the playoffs next season. — Chip Crain (@Chipc3)