Grizzlies: 3 prospects GM Zach Kleiman was right to pass on

The Memphis Grizzlies passed on a risky prospect who may have reached his ceiling already

Player No. 2: James Bouknight

I want to start this slide out by saying that I’m not nearly as confident that the Grizzlies made the right choice by passing up on Bouknight. With Duarte, there were clear signs that point to the fact that this pick could easily go awry. With Bouknight, I have to reach a little bit.

That said, Bouknight is a very similar prospect to Ziaire Williams, who the Grizzlies eventually decided to pick up. Both players have solid size for a wing and are strong rebounders for their position. Both struggled to shoot the ball leading up to the draft.

The difference here is small but distinct.

Bouknight was given a bigger role at UConn and, in all honesty, he didn’t improve drastically. His numbers plateaued and his shooting splits got worse, dropping to a sub-30 3-point shooting percentage in his second year of college. His primary strengths lied in areas that the Grizzlies didn’t need drastic improvement in.

He wasn’t a strong shooter. And while Williams had an equally poor year from long-range, he has shown in the past that he can be a knock-down 3-point sniper. Bouknight also doesn’t have the same defensive ceiling as Williams. Ziaire could help a Grizzlies team defend on the perimeter — an area where they struggled mightily last season.

It’s hard to start handing out awards for the Grizzlies picking Williams over Bouknight, but if we’re splitting hairs, Williams is the right choice.