Memphis Grizzlies: Four players for the long term core
By Ethan Becker
The Memphis Grizzlies have a wealth of young talent; outside of the top four players, who are some of the lower profile players the team should keep around?
Right now, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are probably looking at the Memphis Grizzlies and scratching their heads. It took years and a GM controversy for Philly to go from lottery team to playoff contender, and it looks like Memphis is on track to do that in just one to two short years.
A big part of the Grizzlies early success is the roster that the front office has built, and the rotation that the team has worked all season to build. Memphis hasn’t just brought in a few top-level players, though they have done that in Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas, but have also stacked their roster with a number of key rotation players.
That begs the question: who are some of the players that the Grizzlies should keep around for the long term? Now, it’d be easy for me to just list of Jaren Jackson Jr, Brandon Clarke, Valanciunas, and Morant’s stats and then head off to the bar. But, in order to stay inside, I’ve eliminated those four players from consideration; not because the Grizzlies shouldn’t keep them, but because they’re too easy of a choice.