As the offseason continues, Memphis Grizzlies fans are beginning to learn that you cannot get too comfortable with any individual trade. After six separate deals, the Grizzlies still find themselves way over the league’s 15-man roster limit.
So the question remains — what do the Memphis Grizzlies plan to do about their overloaded roster?
As things stand, it seems like Zach Kleiman and his front office are incapable of making a trade that doesn’t net them more players than they began with. Still, nobody is complaining, as each of these trades has drastically improved the team. We just don’t know the end goal.
The Memphis Grizzlies are treating the offseason like they’re in a video game
For those who haven’t played MyGM mode in any NBA 2K game in the past, you may be very confused at this point. Heck, the title alone probably doesn’t make much sense. Allow me to explain.
MyGM mode in NBA 2K21 allows you to run the team in every facet of the game. You can relocate, change the team’s branding, make trades, change the team’s lineup, mess around with the rotation. Really, you can do virtually anything.
The part that really separates NBA 2K from real life is the fact that you can pile on trade after trade in an effort to better your roster. Anybody who had played MyGM knows that most offseasons will see half of your specific team’s roster come and go, with an average of double-digit completed trades.
See where I’m going with this?
This offseason, the Memphis Grizzlies have already made six trades. These trades included sending Jonas Valanciunas to New Orleans, receiving Eric Bledsoe from the Pelicans, sending Eric Bledsoe to the Los Angeles Clippers, moving Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo… give me a second, I need to catch my breath.
In short, Memphis has been making trades that net them more players than they’re sending out. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the Grizzlies now find themselves with more trade assets than they may be able to release. In total, most fans would agree that the team holds more value with players like Daniel Oturu, Ziaire Williams, Santi Aldama, Kris Dunn, Sam Merril, Carsen Edwards, and Steven Adams.
Now, they’re at the point that every NBA 2K MyGM reaches — they need to get the value out of these players that they were hoping for when the acquisitions are made. Undoubtedly, we’ll see at least one of these players cut from the roster, while a few others may be involved in trades that net the Grizzlies future first or second-round picks.
Fans will have to be patient. While it may take an hour to complete an entire offseason in a video game, we won’t see this one out for the foreseeable future.