Memphis Grizzlies: How the Draft Night additions fit in
Desmond Bane, TCU, Pick 30
First and foremost, every team in the NBA would like to add the following three things: shooting, passing and toughness. Three simple skills, but three skills that are hard to find in one player.
Bane is one of the few who possess all three skills and that is the reason Bane moved into the first round in mock drafts over the last few months.
Forget the reasons why he dropped to 30th, whether that be his lack of a quick first step or his short arms. He’s going to a good fit in Memphis, because a player with his skill set is a good fit pretty much anywhere.
In Memphis, his fit begins with 3-point shooting, of course. After appreciating Bane’s high basketball IQ and great work ethic, his veteran skill set led by his shooting ability makes him a prospect who should make an impact right away.
To a certain extent, front offices draft based on potential, at least in the lottery. Anthony Edwards went No. 1 because he’s a great scorer who the Timberwolves think will develop a more consistent 3-point shot and defensive fundamentals. The Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball because he has the highest ceiling in the draft despite having one of the lower floors of a top-three pick.
Memphis didn’t draft Bane on potential. The four-year college player is who he is and probably won’t show Memphis a lot of things they haven’t already seen. Bane’s skill set might not expand in the NBA like Edwards and Ball, but it’s hard to believe he won’t be able to bring those skills to Memphis immediately.
There was only one Grizzly last season who averaged more than 20 minutes per game who shot better than 35 percent from beyond the arc. That was Jaren Jackson Jr., who also led the team in threes attempted at 6.5 per contest. Only two more players averaged more than 3.7 attempts, Joe Crowder and Dillon Brooks. Of course, Crowder is no longer a Grizzly but he only shot 29 percent on those attempts and Brooks shot 35.8 percent on 5.6 attempts.
Memphis’ starters and bench ranked in the back half of the NBA in 3-point percentage. The starters shot 35.3 percent while the bench shot 34.4 percent, according to hoopsstats.com. Memphis was slightly below average in almost every 3-point field goal category and even further back in team percentage at 23rd.
Bane will be able to play with both lineups. Among the starters, he could play a role similar to that of Dillon Brooks. He fits nicely in a hypothetical lineup featuring Ja Morant, Justise Winslow, Jackson and Jonas Valanciunas. He moves really well without the ball, running hard off screens and reads the floor at a really high level with a knack for relocating to the right spot on the floor. He will fit nicely along with Winslow as a mainly off-ball, catch-and-shoot threat that Morant can find off of pick-and-rolls and when he gets downhill.
On the defensive end, he’s got quick footwork and excellent fundamentals and should be able to guard the other perimeter player assuming Morant is guarding the other team’s quickest player and Winslow is tasked with the opponent’s best perimeter player.
With that being said, the majority of Bane’s minutes will come in the second unit early in his career. I’m even more excited to see what kind of offensive boost he could bring coming off the bench. The bench was sixth in the NBA in points per game and first in assists. Those two stats add up to the fourth most efficient bench in the NBA last season, according to hoopsstats.
Bane will be in lock step with that efficiency. He was third in Big 12 conference play in offensive rating and fifth in effective field goal percentage. With Tyus Jones on the floor, Bane will be able to play off the ball and benefit from having another playmaker set him up rather than having to do all the work on his own. He also has the potential to be the second unit go-to scorer that Memphis was missing.
Yes, De’Anthony Melton was good and Grayson Allen is poised to take a step forward in 2020-21, but Bane’s playmaking ability in the pick-and-roll, passing and experience being a go-to scorer might translate into the best scorer Memphis has off the bench. And once teams realize how good of a shooter he is, they’ll run him off the 3-point line and turn him into a playmaker where he is dangerous.
When Jones was out with injury in the bubble, the Memphis bench really suffered. Allen was knocking downs shots, but there just wasn’t a playmaker. In Memphis’ last regular season game against the Bucks, Clarke, Allen, Melton, Gorgui Dieng and John Konchar all came off the bench. Where’s the playmaker, the guy who is going to help others get shots? There isn’t one. Bane has the potential to be that guy alongside Jones or without Jones on the floor.
Alongside Jones, Memphis should have one of the best benches in the NBA with Bane, Clarke, Allen and, in theory, Melton. Memphis’ other acquisition on draft night will also impact that second unit.