3 Memphis Grizzlies who could win league awards in 2021

Memphis Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson should be considered a frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year

We’re on a bit of a slippery slope here, as there are a couple of factors that could make Kyle Anderson’s run for Sixth Man of the Year a bit tricky. For starters, pun intended, he might end up being in the starting lineup for a solid portion of the year.

Even though it seems painfully obvious that Dillon Brooks is a much better small forward, Taylor Jenkins has shown that he loves running Brooks at the two and Kyle Anderson at the three. This points to the fact that Anderson will land in the starting lineup, at least to begin the 2021 season.

The other part of this is the fact that Anderson seems like a popular choice as a player who could be traded away from the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s a great player, but at peak value entering a contract year, it may not make sense to hold onto Slow-Mo.

Still, if he does stick around, he could easily be Sixth Man of the Year. Here’s why.

Jaren Jackson Jr. is back in the starting lineup. If the Grizzlies choose to run a rotation where Anderson is coming off of the bench, they’ll likely only reduce his minutes slightly. This is not a team with a handful of depth at the power forward spot. His stats should stay relatively constant with what they looked like a season ago.

If the Grizzlies made a playoff run with Anderson coming off of the bench running the point, playing defense in the paint, and dishing out passes, it would be hard not to consider Anderson for this award.