Memphis Grizzlies: An early look at 2019 NBA Draft prospects

The Memphis Grizzlies don’t have a lot of building blocks for the future. The 2019 NBA Draft is a big opportunity to get another player to build around.

This is all predicated on whether or not the Grizzlies keep their pick. Right now many feel that they are set up to finish somewhere between 8-14 which would have them lose the pick but also missing the playoffs.

Obviously, this isn’t something they’ll let happen easily. If this isn’t a playoff team they need to do everything in their power to ensure that they keep their first-round pick.

If it is outside the top seven the pick goes to the Boston Celtics. With older plays like Mike Conley and Marc Gasol on your roster you never want to tank though.

Even with those two, the Grizzlies might have no other choice. If these team goes on a losing streak and falls way behind in the standings they’ll have to what’s best for the team.

It’s been a solid start to the season and they’ve shown they can compete against a lot of teams. If they continue to play like this they’ll win a lot of games.

Will they do enough to make the playoffs? That’s the decision that the front office is likely going to have to make some point throughout this season.

With how last season went it’s clear the Grizzlies do not want to have a full blown tank this season. That said losing the pick would set this franchise back.

They’ve made so many bad decisions in the past and they need to start building a legit basketball team for the future. The grit-and-grind era was a lot of fun and they had a lot of success but they never could get over the hump.

A lot of that was because of bad drafting by this front office. Though they seem to have picked some solid players the last couple years with Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr.

But just imagine if they hadn’t taken Hasheem Thabeet with the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. If they had taken a guy like Demar DeRozan or James Harden the past decade would’ve been completely different.

They can’t mess that up this time around. They have a franchise big and now they need to get another franchise star to go with him. There are a few options that really stand out but it’ll just depend on what pick if any, that they have.

The Memphis Grizzlies have made a lot of mistakes in the past. If they aren’t a playoff team they have to make sure they keep their pick. And if that happens, they need to make sure to make this pick count.

Here are five players who could fit in with the current roster and help this team win right away. But more importantly, they are guys who could be a part of the young core going forward for the long haul.