What to do about an overcrowded Memphis Grizzlies wing position

The Memphis Grizzlies are in the middle of a long-term plan that seems to involve a couple of trades each week. This plan has resulted in five trades thus far, most recently bringing Juancho Hernangomez and Jarrett Culver to Beale Street in exchange for Patrick Beverley. This trade was nothing short of highway robbery by the Grizzlies, who seemingly had no intentions of keeping Beverley in the first place.

This does, however, create a small issue for the Grizzlies, especially if Zach Kleiman plans to hold onto Culver. With the addition of the former 6th-overall pick, Memphis now has double-digit players who could be considered wings.

Even if the Memphis Grizzlies make another trade, the wing position will be jam-packed

It’s hard to see a world where the Grizzlies go the remainder of the offseason without making another trade. With 18 rostered players, they don’t really have much of an option here. Here’s a full list of every player that could be considered a wing on the Grizzlies’ roster in no particular order.

• Jarrett Culver
• Kyle Anderson
• Desmond Bane
• Dillon Brooks
• Brandon Clarke

I realize that Clarke isn’t a wing, I just wanted to be able to say that the Grizzlies had double-digit wing players. Please forgive me.

• De’Anthony Melton
• John Konchar
• Sean McDermott
• Sam Merrill
• Ziaire Williams

Among the players on this list, you can narrow it down to two likely starters in Kyle Anderson and Dillon Brooks. Thankfully, Anderson is a more natural power forward, so he can slide up to remedy the crowding. Brooks can play the two or the three, but he looks much more comfortable as a small forward.

Beyond that, you have players who will be receiving significant minutes off of the bench in Desmond Bane, De’Anthony Melton, and Ziaire Williams. Williams will likely take some of the minutes that Grayson Allen left behind. It’s unclear if the Grizzlies will keep Jarrett Culver at this point, and if they do keep him, it’s even more unclear how many minutes he’ll receive. Logically, he’d be at the tail end of this group.

Beyond these players, you now have an overflowing group of back-of-the-bench reserve players, including John Konchar, Sam Merrill, and Sean McDermott. There simply isn’t enough space on the floor to include these guys in any individual game, especially if you believe that Memphis needs to narrow down their rotation.

The logical course of action here would be to try and include at least a couple of these players in a trade package, which may be tough. The Grizzlies already have some overcrowding at the point guard spot, with Tyus Jones still on the trade block. Still, including a few of their wing players should be a big priority right now.

Last season, the Grizzlies included six players in their normal wing rotation. Even that seemed a bit crowded, as Melton wasn’t getting the minutes that many fans expected, even with Anderson sliding up to the power forward spot for most of the season. A 9-man wing rotation isn’t going to work — plain and simple.

The Grizzlies only have a few untouchable players at the wing spot, including Brooks, Williams, and Bane. Everybody else should be watching over their shoulder for a trade.