There are three things that Memphis Grizzlies fans want from their team this offseason. Shooting, shooting, and more shooting.
The Grizzlies were not a poor shooting team last season, but they were extremely inconsistent. This likely started with the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. and was amplified by the fact that Ja Morant had a lid on the bucket for most of 2020-21.
The Grizzlies gained a strong shooter in Desmond Bane and had a huge shooting year from De’Anthony Melton, but neither of these guys shot at a high enough volume to make a big difference by the end of 2021.
Their shooting percentage actually increased from the previous season, but the Grizzlies didn’t do much to “wow” their audience. The Grizz would go from a solid shooting team at the beginning of the year to one of the lower-ranked teams in the league, specifically struggling on nights when they had limited rest.
The Memphis Grizzlies have a handful of players with the potential to help their shooting woes
Thankfully for Memphis, their team has all of the potential in the world when it comes to taking the 3-point shot. Despite an off year, they’ll see the return of Jaren Jackson Jr., the team’s best volume shooter, and they’ll see a likely bounce-back year from Ja Morant from deep.
But one of the key fixes to their 3-point problems might be waiting in the shadows. That fix goes by the name of John Konchar, a soon-to-be third-year player from Purdue Fort Wayne.
Konchar, or Konch, went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft and was somewhat of an afterthought when he was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies. Against, he has become a key reserve player for Taylor Jenkins.
The small forward generally only enters the game in blowout situations or if injuries stack up. That said, he has been excellent in the small sample that we’ve had from him.
The best part about Konch is his ability to make an impact all over the floor. He’s not your typical 3-and-D player. Instead, he can be a pesty defender, averaging almost 2 steals per 36 minutes. On the other end, he’s an elite 3-point shooter, knocking down 39% of his deep-range shots over the course of his career.
Rather than your usual reserve shooter, Konch steps onto the court and acts as more than just a deep-range shooter. He fits in with the lineup and doesn’t have any clear holes in his game.
Most importantly, he provides a spark of energy off of the bench, which is something that is hard to come by in the modern NBA. Coming from a small school in Purdue Fort Wayne, he isn’t afraid to step into a reserve role in the league.
His all-around game will allow him to step into a key bench role in the next couple of seasons, so even though he may not completely solve the Grizzlies’ 3-point shooting woes, he is one of the players on this team who will make a quiet impact.
Down the road, it’s easy to see Konchar’s 1.3 3-point attempts per game transform into a higher number, turning him into one of the volume shooters of this team. He would join players like Grayson Allen and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Konchar just wrapped up the first year of a four-year deal with the Grizzlies, so he’ll be around for a while.