The Memphis Grizzlies already made a trade to move them up to the 10th-overall pick in the draft, but with a roster full of tradeable players and a couple of first-round picks that will likely be sent elsewhere, Memphis is far from settled.
According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Grizzlies are looking to move up to the 6-8th pick range, giving them a more secure shot at landing a solid wing player. Here’s what O’Connor said about the situation.
"After acquiring this pick from the Pelicans, league sources said the Grizzlies were trying to move up again to the no. 6 to no. 8 range. In recent days, Memphis has pursued meetings with Davion Mitchell, Alperen Sengun, Jonathan Kuminga, and other lottery prospects it wasn’t previously in range for with the no. 17 pick."
The Memphis Grizzlies’ options will expand in a bit way if they can move up even further in the NBA Draft
At the 10th pick, it seems like the likely selection would be Josh Giddey, an international point forward prospect out of Australia. Giddey will hope to be everything that Justise Winslow didn’t end up being, so drafting him would mean that Winslow is all but gone.
Even so, the odds of Memphis staying at the 10th spot seem slim — or at least 50-50. As a result, I’m going to be going over all of the Grizzlies’ options if they move up to the 6-8th pick range in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Without further ado, here are your Grizzlies draft prospects.
Memphis Grizzlies Option No. 1: F Jonathan Kuminga
Jonathan Kuminga would be an interesting pick for the Memphis Grizzlies. Of all of the prospects that I’m going to be discussing today, he is the most likely to be around by the time the Grizzlies’ pick comes around.
Kuminga is a 6-8 18-year old prospect from the G-League with an extremely high ceiling of potential. That said, he should be looked at as a long-term project for whichever team drafts him, as that’s exactly what he is.
He’s arguably the best athlete in the draft with a knack for creating shots, though his shooting percentages don’t look ideal right now. The bright side is that all of the areas that he struggles with are areas that have seen improvement in other NBA players. Primarily, these weaknesses are his decision-making and shooting.
That said, Kuminga is an extremely strong finisher at the rim, he’s a great rebounder, and has all of the potential in the world on the defensive side of the ball.
He averaged 15.8 points, 1 steal, and 7.2 rebounds per game in the G-League. He may not be the ideal starter right away, but he could be a star down the road.
Memphis Grizzlies Option No. 2: Wing, Franz Wagner
Franz Wagner is another prospect that could be described as raw. You can see a ton of skills there, but it may take some time for him to settle in at the NBA level.
Allegedly, Wagner now sits at 6-11, though his listed height is 6-9. The german wing out of Michigan can be an elite shooter, though his 34.3% 3-point shooting percentage might mislead you in that respect. Wagner shot at a high volume and he likely will not take as many shots in the NBA, so expect his deep-shot percentage to increase.
Outside of that, his primary upside is on the defensive side of the ball. Even though he’s not the same elite athlete that you see in Jonathan Kuminga, this guy was capable of guarding virtually anybody you put against him in college.
Unlike Kuminga, Wagner always makes the smart play. He doesn’t have a lot of bad turnovers and seems like he could fit really well into any system. He averaged 12.8 points, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
Wagner is the safer pick here — even though he’s just 19 years old, you know what you’re getting out of him. That said, he may not have as high of a ceiling as some of the other players mentioned.
Memphis Grizzlies Option No. 3: Wing, James Bouknight
James Bouknight seems like a fan-favorite among Grizzlies fans even though he is the smallest player mentioned thus far with the worst 3-point shooting statistics.
That said, at 6-3.5, the 20-year old wing has enough athleticism to make up for his lack of size. He’s a fast defender, capable of sticking in front of virtually any ball-handler, though he can become undisciplined at certain moments on that side of the ball.
On offense, Bouknight is everything the Grizzlies could ask for if they’re looking for a wing that can create offense. The UConn guard is a great ball-handler and knows how to get to the bucket. When he gets there, he can score on virtually any defender, even larger guys.
That said, he hasn’t proven that he can be a consistent shooter quite yet, which is something that the Grizzlies desperately need, especially if they plan to ship off one of their sharpshooting wings to make room for him.
He’s a high-upside player who may not even be available when Memphis makes their pick.
Memphis Grizzlies Option No. 4: Wing, Moses Moody
Noticing a trend? Almost every player listed is a wing and Moses Moody is no exception to that. Part of the reasoning here is that this is a very deep draft in terms of wing talent, but the Grizzlies also need an effective wing after essentially playing with two larger guys in Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson for the bulk of the 2020-21 season.
Moses Moody is another player who is a huge fan favorite for the Grizzlies if they’re able to trade up and it’s not just because he has an awesome name.
Moody averaged almost 17 points per game at Arkansas and shot the ball better than any of the aforementioned prospects at 35.8% from deep. Like many of the other prospects, he’s young at just 19 years old.
The Razorback is arguably the most well-rounded player that we’ve discussed thus far. He’s a solid playmaker, elite defender, strong rebounder, and above-average deep-range shooter. The only area that he doesn’t match up to his counterparts in is attacking the rim, which he can learn to do.
At 6-4.5 and 211 pounds, he’s the ideal size for a shooting guard in the NBA. His wingspan, which is over 7-feet tall, helps him on defense and could allow him to be a better scorer down low in the future.
Moody is arguably the most NBA-ready prospect here and could be an immediate difference-maker for the Grizz.
Memphis Grizzlies Honorable Mention: Wing, Scottie Barnes
I’m listing Scottie Barnes as an honorable mention because he seems like a lock to go to the Orlando Magic at No. 5. It’s hard to see a scenario where the Grizzlies trade up higher than the 5th pick and draft him, but Barnes was worth mentioning regardless.
Barnes is another young playmaker out of Florida State who isn’t a refined shooter but can play elite defense, even against bigs. At 6-7, virtually nobody at the college level was unguardable for this wing, who averaged 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game in college.
Even though he’s listed as a forward, Barnes played point guard for Florida State, averaging 4.1 assists per game. He’s a strong playmaker who could fill the point forward role that Memphis was looking for with Justise Winslow and may still draft in Josh Giddey at No. 10.
Perhaps Barnes’ best quality is the fact that he’s a hard worker out on the court who wants to win basketball games. While there are areas of his game that could be refined, he’ll never be outworked by the opposing team.
Again, he’ll probably be gone by the time Memphis drafts, even if they move up to No. 6, but he was worth a mention.