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NBA Draft Lottery: This Could Be the Memphis Grizzlies’ Big Break

By Christian Dudley

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Cam Reddish #2, Javin DeLaurier #12, RJ Barrett #5 and Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils huddle during their game against the Boston College Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Cam Reddish #2, Javin DeLaurier #12, RJ Barrett #5 and Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils huddle during their game against the Boston College Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 05, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 80-55. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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There has been an NBA Draft Lottery surprise in many instances, so why not have 2019 become the year of the Memphis Grizzlies?

The anticipated week has arrived for the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, which will take place on Tuesday. The Memphis Grizzlies are hoping Elliot Perry and his lucky socks are enough to propel them into the upper tier of the lottery, which could quickly brighten their future as a rebuilding franchise.

While the Grizzlies are penciled in at the eighth overall pick ahead of Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery, it is not uncommon for teams to get extremely lucky and defy the odds of the ping pong balls.

For instance, in 2003 with perhaps the best NBA Draft class of all-time, Memphis had the best odds to land the sixth pick, but managed to fall to No. 2 prior to conveying it to the Detroit Pistons. In 2005, 2007, and 2008, a team favored at sixth or worse actually moved to the No. 1 overall pick after the lottery’s results. One of those instances include the Chicago Bulls leaping from eighth to first and drafting Derrick Rose with the top pick.

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In 2009, the Memphis Grizzlies wound up in a situation of their sixth-turned-second overall pick once again. This was the beginning of the dreadful story behind the Grizzlies drafting Hasheem Thabeet ahead of multiple future NBA All-Stars and League MVPs. To this day, many NBA fans refer to this as being the biggest mistake by a team in basketball history. It stings for Grizz Nation, too, in case you were wondering how it really feels.

One of the biggest triumphs for a team at the NBA Draft Lottery in recent history took place in 2014 when the Cleveland Cavaliers jumped from their intended ninth position all the way to the first overall pick, where they drafted Andrew Wiggins prior to trading him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love. This is the type of luck the Grizzlies need on May 14th.

The Memphis Grizzlies have never owned the first overall pick, but there is a first time for everything, right?! The Grizzlies have owned the second and fourth overall picks on four different occassions each — dating back to their Vancouver days for half of them.

Of those top-four selections, the Grizzlies have never developed one of these prospects into an NBA All-Star themselves. You could make the case for Mike Conley — 2007’s fourth overall pick — as he has been deserving of an All-Star bid, but has been overlooked in the wild, wild Western Conference. Plus, the jury is still out on Jaren Jackson Jr., which could be Memphis’ best NBA Draft pick in franchise history if he fulfills his potential.

If the Memphis Grizzlies were to be the next NBA franchise to get lucky and land a top-three or top-four pick, this could completely change the lanscape of their impending rebuild project. They already have Jackson Jr. in place, and all he needs is another star-powered counterpart to run the Southwest Division with him in order for people to really fear the Grizzlies yet again. It all begins with the NBA Draft Lottery.

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Memphis does not even need the No. 1 overall pick. Assuming that spot belongs to Duke’s Zion Williamson, the Grizzlies could find tremendous value in No. 2 overall by choosing Ja Morant. If the Grizz do in fact deal Mike Conley in the offseason, Morant will instantly be handed the reigns at the point guard position. Ja would be a star from the start.

If the Memphis Grizzlies were to fall in the three, four, or five spot, not all is lost either. This upcoming NBA Draft is filled with players with a lot of potential, even if they are entering the league at a very raw stage in their development. Guys like R.J. Barrett, De’Andre Hunter, Jarrett Culver, and Romeo Langford could become star talents even if they do not have a stellar NBA rookie season.

If you are the Grizzlies, of course you want to swing for the heavens while holding out hope for Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery. Though it would probably be best to convey this year’s Draft pick to the Boston Celtics rather than land in the eighth spot, you cannot help but to imagine what it would be like to land a player such as Williamson or Morant. These two guys in particular are can’t-miss talents that are almost guaranteed to excel on the professional stage.

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Landing Zion Williamson or Ja Morant would take the Memphis Grizzlies to a place where they have never been. All of the nation’s eyes would be on them, and not for a single playoff game or series. It would not only make the Grizzlies the most relevant they have been in their franchise’s history, but it would wipe away a large portion of the frustrating narrative about their poor NBA Draft history. With a new regime in town, this is exactly what needs to happen in order to start off with a clean slate.

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