With the 2020-21 season in the rearview mirror, the Memphis Grizzlies will now have two priorities in their future: free agency and the 2021 NBA Draft.
The Grizzlies have done extremely well with these two things in recent years, so there shouldn’t be any reason to worry. In fact, quite the opposite is true. For a Grizzlies team that isn’t immediately competitive, this may be the most exciting time of the year.
Yesterday, we looked at Chris Duarte as an option for the Grizz to pick up via the draft. We already discussed the reason why they don’t have a need for a shooting guard but there may be room for another big behind Jonas Valanciunas.
An 18-year old Turkish star may be the perfect fit for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2021 NBA Draft
The Grizzlies don’t have very many clear needs right now. That said, without Jaren Jackson Jr., it became clear that they were thin on big men throughout the entire season. Taylor Jenkins showed no interest in using an aging Gorgui Dieng so that only worsened the situation.
In the 2021 NBA Draft, the Grizz could pick up a key addition that could give them more depth at the center position down the road. That addition goes by the name of Alperen Sengun.
Sengun isn’t the most well-known player in the draft but his resume speaks for itself. The Turkish center stands at 6-10 and while he will need to fill out his frame a bit, he’s well-built for an 18-year old. Oh yeah, maybe I should have mentioned that first. He’s 18 years old.
Not just any 18-year-old, either. Sengun became the Turkish League’s MVP after averaging 19.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game in just 28 minutes per contest. He made 64.6% of his shots and shot at a pretty high clip from the free-throw line at 81.2%.
His 3-point shooting was early season Ja Morant-esque, but he has the shooting mechanics to develop into a good shooter, as evident by his free throw percentage.
If Sengun is available when the Grizzlies’ 17th overall pick comes around, they should absolutely take a chance on a player that is reminiscent of a young Nikola Jokic. Right now, CBS Sports projects him to be taken by Memphis in this year’s draft, referencing his mature game as a good fit for this Grizz roster.
Either way, it’ll be easy to trust Zach Kleiman and the remainder of the Grizzlies’ front office to make the right pick, as they have been elite in recent NBA Drafts.