Damian Lillard makes no sense on the Memphis Grizzlies, right?
The Memphis Grizzlies are one of very few NBA teams with a decent amount of roster security. They’ve got their two blossoming stars in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., both of whom are steadily improving.
In 2020-21, Morant emerged as a true NBA star, knocking Stephen Curry out of NBA Playoff contention and giving the top-seeded Utah Jazz a scare in the first round. Jackson Jr. didn’t have a great season, but before a tough injury, he was developing into a strong defender and an elite 3-point shooter.
Beyond that, the Grizzlies’ roster has some of the league’s best supporting cast in guys like Jonas Valanciunas, Dillon Brooks, and Kyle Anderson. The Grizzlies aren’t quite at a contending level but their roster is extremely exciting. It’ll be tough to part ways with any of their players, so it’s hard to see Memphis making any big changes in the near future.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Portland Trail Blazers star PG Damian Lillard wants to make a move to a contending team
When first hearing about Damian Lillard and the possibility that he may move on from Portland, nobody thinks of the Memphis Grizzlies as a potential destination. Memphis seems set on developing their young team to the point of winning an NBA Championship and they don’t necessarily have a huge trade piece.
Most importantly, the Grizzlies already have a point guard in Ja Morant. While one could make the argument that Damian Lillard could shift to the shooting guard spot, both of these guys are dominant ball-handlers, so they would likely not gel together very well.
That said, this is something that is worth considering. For those who will inevitably see the title of this post and get extremely angry, keep this in mind — I don’t think the Memphis Grizzlies should trade for Damian Lillard, I’m merely exploring the possibility of it.
So with that, I continue with something that we’ve heard too many times this offseason. The Grizzlies are one piece away from contending. If you reference the bold italicized text above, that’s exactly what Lillard is looking for.
While Memphis could surprise any team on any given day, they didn’t have the star power or talent to win in the NBA Playoffs. The youngest team competing was unable to find consistency, which is something that Lillard could bring to Memphis.
He would step onto Beale Street as the best player on the team and an experienced NBA vet. Sure, Memphis would likely have to give away an excessive amount of draft capital and Jaren Jackson Jr., but they’d be immediately competitive.
If we were talking about a video game, this may be an interesting situation to explore. That said, nobody will be upset to see Lillard land outside of Memphis if he ends up parting ways with the Portland Trail Blazers.
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In short, this won’t happen. The Grizzlies are no longer in a position to take a huge risk like this, though they may look to bring in another high-profile player to help Morant and company.