Memphis Grizzlies’ rebuild: The future is so bright
By Jack Donlon
2019 Offseason
As the offseason rolled around, the Memphis front office began to make a series of incredibly strategic moves. First, the Grizzlies fired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and replaced him with Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Taylor Jenkins. Jenkins has been credited by many in the Bucks organization for being instrumental in the development of Milwaukee’s young core, including reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Grizzlies then encountered possibly the biggest stroke of luck the organization has ever been gifted. Though the team finished with the eighth-worst record in the NBA last season, Lady Fortune smiled on the Bluff City, and when the lottery order was revealed, the Grizzlies saw their team logo get pulled out of the envelope that contained the rights to the #2 overall pick.
Then, heartbreak. In June, the team traded franchise point guard and all-around great guy Mike Conley to Utah, in exchange for Jae Crowder, Kyler Korver, Grayson Allen, the #23 pick in the 2019 draft, and a protected 2020 first-round draft pick. Grizzlies fans knew that the team would never be the same as it was with Conley leading the troops out onto the floor, but the team got an absolute haul from the Jazz. By putting emotion aside, the front office was able to set the team up for future success while still doing right by a guy who had given his all to the city of Memphis for twelve years.
On draft night, the Grizzlies accelerated the team’s rebuild by two years when they drafted Murray State point guard Ja Morant at #2 and traded up to draft Gonzaga power forward Brandon Clarke at #21. Two of the freakiest athletes in the 2019 draft class will be wearing Beale Street blue for the foreseeable future, and all of a sudden, the Grizzlies found themselves with an electric young core.
Free agency period was an absolute blur for the Grizzlies. Memphis signed a couple of big-name free agents to multi-year contracts (Jonas Valanciunas, Tyus Jones), whittled down its roster by trading away some guys who weren’t going to find themselves in the rotation (Chandler Parsons, Jevon Carter, Kyle Korver), gained some valuable trade chips (Andre Iguodala, Josh Jackson, DeAnthony Melton), and received several future draft picks in the process (2020 second-round pick and 2021 conditional pick from the Suns, lightly-protected 2024 first-round pick from the Warriors).
As it currently stands, the Grizzlies have a lot of young talent, a lot of potential, and a lot of draft picks in the next few years. However, there are several steps that the team still needs to take in order to vault its way back into contention in a star-studded Western Conference.