Memphis Grizzlies Potentially Saved Lance Stephenson’s Career

The Memphis Grizzlies took a flyer on Lance Stephenson in 2016 and he is lucky they did. 

When considering the basketball player known as Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson, the good definitely comes with bad.

Sometimes it is too much dribbling. Maybe a bad foul or a poor time to pull a flop. Perhaps an inopportune time for a turnover. It is these types of mistakes.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B…

And Exhibit C…

However, Lance deserves credit for the progress he has made in his eight-year NBA career. He truly plays a winning brand of basketball.

There is just something about the Indiana Pacers uniform that transforms Stephenson into a star player. Yes, “Born Ready” has always been a big name since his high school days. He was nearly named an NBA All-Star during the 2013-14 NBA season.

Nonetheless, Lance Stephenson has not always enjoyed stardom in the NBA. Following his first stint with the Pacers, it seemed as if he was on his way out of the association.

Opting for a larger role and a slightly higher paycheck, “Born Ready” left the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 2014. He joined the Charlotte Hornets via Free-Agency, but it was not a smooth transition. From battles with the coaching staff to not being able to find a rhythm with their system amongst other issues, it was a failed plan.

At the time, it was looking as if Lance Stephenson was a locker room cancer. He was now a team’s leader and was not surrounding by the veteran players that kept him in line in Indiana.

Lance received another chance on an NBA roster to begin the 2015-16 season. In teaming up with the “Lob City” Los Angeles Clippers, it was a very intriguing pairing. Lance’s incredible playmaking skills along with the All-Star trio of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, surely this would be a dominant mixture in the Western Conference, right?

Wrong.

It was bad. Stephenson was playing a very minimal role on the Clippers team and was placed on the trading block just halfway into the season. He was free-falling.

Surprisingly, the Clippers found a taker for Lance Stephenson. Shockingly enough, the Clippers were perhaps receiving higher trade value in return.

It was Memphis. The Memphis Grizzlies. The player they once thought was the X-factor to a championship run — Jeff Green — was on their trading block. M-Town was able to dump the salary of Green for an intriguing project in “Born Ready.”

If any franchise could turn around the career of a young player, it was definitely going to be the Grizzlies.

Look at Memphis’ all-time franchise cornerstone, Zach Randolph. He had a bad reputation on and off the court. Troubled. Locker room issues. Selfish. All these words had been thrown at the power forward.

The Memphis Grizzlies took a flyer on Lance Stephenson because they saw the talent he possessed and knew they could crack the code to enable the good version of Lance.

The combo guard finished the remainder of the season with the Grizzlies. In a season where Memphis had reached an NBA record of 28 different players on their roster, Stephenson solidified himself as one of the top names in uniform.

His fearlessness made him a fan favorite in a short amount of time (26 regular season games). The addition of Lance was also a major component of the Grizzlies’ playoff push in that year.

Stephenson remained a journeyman for a portion of the 2016-17 season. He spent time with the New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves. Not only did he join these teams via 10-day contracts, but he sustained a few injuries while on these cheap contracts. He was free-falling once again.

Luckily, as fate would have it, the Indiana Pacers came calling. There was obviously mutual interest. the Pacers had not been quite the same since Stephenson’s departure, and “Born Ready” clearly was not same player as he was in 2013-14. Lance began a second stint with Indy.

It has been a great match — again. The Pacers are winning. Stephenson is balling. However, if it were not for the Grizzlies proving Lance could perform at a high level in a system other than Indiana’s, it may have been wraps for his NBA career in a large capacity.

Rather than 10-day deals and spot minutes here and there, he is a key cog for a team with high hopes in the Eastern Conference. The Memphis Grizzlies gave Stephenson his swag back.

Looking in the past, it is very ironic the Grizzlies traded Jeff Green for Stephenson. Not only are both guys ex-Grizz players, but they have gotten into several spats in recent playoff games within the past two weeks.

Following Sunday’s Game 4 in Indianapolis, Jeff Green had an interesting comment. Referring to Lance Stephenson, Green stated “if we wanted to fight, there’s a big [expletive] parking lot out there and we can fight.”

Lance gets underneath opponents’ skin. He is very much a “grit-‘n’-grind” type of player. This is a major reason why Memphis traded Jeff Green for Stephenson in the middle of the 2015-16 schedule.

It was a great fit, and in an injury-riddled season, he brought intensity, entertainment, and excitement. Most of all, Lance was a good teammate.

As of this Friday evening, Indiana has forced a Game 7 following a 34-point beatdown of the Cavaliers. The insane atmosphere was generated from Lance Stephenson being…well…himself.

https://twitter.com/sportscenter/status/990050259589058560?s=21

His “shenanigans,” as the ESPN commentator described, are the key to his popularity. Lance truly is an quality basketball player, but if you take his antics into account, produced is one of the best on-court personalities in the entire league.

With Lance, there is good and bad. Regardless, if he is in an Indiana Pacers uniform, he will be just fine. He will lead his team to victories. Stephenson is a difference-maker.

You know you are good when you can rattle one of the best to ever play the game — LeBron James — on a regular basis.

Love him or hate him, Lance Stephenson’s basketball career is as fruitful as ever and Indiana is on the verge of reaching the second round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

Pacers fans, you are very welcome. The Memphis Grizzlies placed “Born Ready” back on track.

Go Grizz! 

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