Justise Winslow likely has played his last game for the Memphis Grizzlies
One of the more interesting storylines for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2020-21 season was the arrival of Justise Winslow.
Along with Jaren Jackson Jr., Winslow was a player that Grizz fans were anxiously waiting to see suit up. He would miss over half of his first season with Memphis with an injury that was sustained in the bubble.
He’d miss over a year of basketball as a result.
Because of this, his return was something that fans were looking forward to. It was generally thought that his return, paired with the return of Jaren Jackson Jr., would push the Grizzlies to the next level toward the end of the season.
On both accounts, that did not end up happening. In fact, it wouldn’t be out of bounds to say that Winslow has been the worst player on the team for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021. This leads me to the entire idea behind this article.
Justise Winslow may have played his last game with the Memphis Grizzlies
In the past few weeks, Justise Winslow has been completely out of the Grizzlies rotation. In fact, in the past 16 games, post-season and regular season included, the former Duke point forward has played in just three of those contests.
Even worse — nobody is asking any questions about why he isn’t playing. He got benched, plain and simple.
Player Efficiency Rating isn’t the end-all, be-all but Winslow’s PER is worrisome. At 6.29, he’s tied for seventh-worst out of 370 qualifying players. Think about how bad that is.
It’s hard to have any animosity toward Winslow but as a Grizzlies fan, you definitely don’t want to see him on the roster next season. For one reason or another, he just couldn’t get going on Beale Street. At first, it seemed like he was settling in, but after a while, it became clear that his offensive skillset was nonexistent and his defense was not strong enough to make up for it.
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In all likelihood, the Grizzlies will move on from Winslow in the offseason, as his contract has a team option for the 2021-22 season. It’s nearly impossible to see the Grizzlies front office taking on $13 million for a player who has sat out throughout their entire playoff series.