Which Memphis Grizzlies made the best impressions during Summer League?
The Memphis Grizzlies have concluded their slate of seven Summer League games, finishing with an overall record of 4-3. They finished 2-1 in Salt Lake City and an even split (2-2) in Las Vegas.
The exhibitions were highlighted by a 120-84 blow-out win vs the Brooklyn Nets on July 12, which we found out tied the record for most points scored by a single team during a Summer League game. Their 120 points matched the Denver Nuggets’ total, set way back in 2007— when rookies Kennedy Chandler and Kenneth Lofton Jr. were just five years old.
Nearly all of the main roster players showed up over the course of the two leagues, including Ja Morant, who made his presence known in just about every game, thanks to the copious amounts of television coverage on all the ESPN television properties and NBATV. Whether he was cheering, coaching or socializing, the guys competing on the court were appreciative that he was there watching.
We all know that Morant and Chandler had a pre-existing relationship prior to him being drafted by the Grizzlies, but that still left several other newcomers and a few main-roster players (Ziaire Williams, Santi Aldama, and Xavier Tillman Sr.) that perhaps had an extra pep in their step by having one of the league’s brightest stars on hand to watch them hoop— especially when he could literally be anywhere else in the world celebrating the signing of his max contract extension.
Morant being there not only shows you what kind of leader he is, but how important it is that these young players find their place in the team’s culture and system. The team will be counting on a lot of these young players to contribute in meaningful ways next season due to a variety of factors: Kyle Anderson leaving in free agency, De’Anthony Melton being traded, Jaren Jackson Jr. being ruled out for 4-6 months due to recovery from surgery.
So which players on the Memphis Grizzlies Summer League team impressed? Who raised their stock and perhaps earned a bit of trust and capital from the coaching staff to be plugged in with Morant and Desmond Bane once the regular season kicks off in the fall?
Let’s take a look at four players who raised their stock the most during the 2022 Summer League.
Santi Aldama Summer League Stats
After a couple of rough outings to start Summer League, Santi Aldama turned a corner against the Timberwolves in Las Vegas, erupting for 22 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks.
Grizzlies Twitter took a collective sigh of relief after that outing vs Minnesota because it got really really bad prior to that moment.
Aldama looked lost at times, got pushed around too often and made really poor decisions with the basketball.
Damichael Cole of the Commercial Appeal reported Aldama as being in his own head a bit too much.
"“I feel very confident, but yesterday, it was kind of weird, Aldama said. “I wasn’t playing my game. I think the key is go to sleep, forget about it, it’s a new day. I’ve been playing basketball my whole life, so just do it again and start from scratch.”"
His game against Minnesota and the next game against Brooklyn were fantastic outings— probably the best stretch of basketball we’ve ever seen from Aldama in a Grizzlies uniform. It was quite the turnaround for the young reserve player.
He was hitting three-point shots, finishing near the basket, and being aggressive on defense. He finished the final three games of Summer League with seven total blocks.
It’ll be interesting to see how he looks come training camp time in the fall. Some time in the weight room and film room will do Aldama a lot of good.
Can he make the jump from reserve player to rotation player next season? He’ll have a chance as long as Jaren Jackson Jr. is sidelined. Santi Aldama has a chance from going from picking up a few minutes of garbage time minutes to being able to crack the rotation.
Here’s how Santi Aldama performed in all of his appearances for the Grizzlies this summer:
- Grizzlies vs 76ers: 13 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts
- Grizzlies vs Thunder: DNP
- Grizzlies vs Jazz: 14 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs Clippers: 4 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs T-Wolves: 22 pts, 8 rebs, 6 stls, 2 blks
- Grizzlies vs Nets: 31 pts, 9 rebs, 3 blks, 2 asts
- Grizzlies vs Celtics: 10 pts, 6 rebs, 2 blks
Kenneth Lofton Jr. Summer League Stats
The wild card and perhaps the biggest surprise in all of Summer League was the play of Kenneth Lofton Jr, an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech.
Lofton made headlines around the NBA for his magical performance against Chet Holmgren and the OKC Thunder in Salt Lake City. He looked like a younger Zach Randolph playing bully ball against the taller, but much lighter 2022 No. 2 overall pick.
Signing “Junior” to a two-way deal may be the most shrewd move of the entire draft process for GM Zach Kleiman. He was one of the most consistent and mature players on the court for the summer league squad.
He has a silk, soft touch. He knows how to use his body to gain an advantage over just about any opponent and has excellent passing vision.
It’ll be interesting to see how he will fit into the plans for the team next season. Going into Summer League, no one really though Lofton had a chance to be on the main roster, but after watching him compete in six games, it’s clear he’s ahead of some of the players the Memphis Grizzlies actually drafted.
His stellar play has many wondering if the team should go ahead and convert his two-way contract with the Hustle to a full-time, guaranteed deal on the main roster.
Here’s how Kenneth Lofton Jr. looked in 2022 Summer League action:
- Grizzlies vs 76ers: 9 pts, 3 rebs, 1 blk
- Grizzlies vs Thunder: 19 pts, 6 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl
- Grizzlies vs Jazz: DNP
- Grizzlies vs Clippers: 18 pts, 4 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs T-Wolves: 4 pts, 10 rebs
- Grizzlies vs Nets: 11 pts, 8 rebs, 4 asts
- Grizzlies vs Celtics: 16 pts, 2 asts, 2 rebs, 1 stl
Kennedy Chandler Summer League Stats
Coming in to the exhibition series, we knew Chandler would no longer have the pressure of being the No. 2 point guard on the team’s depth chart after Tyus Jones agree to re-sign with the team for a couple of more seasons.
We saw a few different versions of Chandler in Summer League: starting point guard, off-ball combo guard and rotation player off the bench.
Kennedy showed promise in each of those roles and was never rattled too much by being put in different situations. One thing that was constant throughout his playing time was his aggressive approach on defense. He averaged 2.3 steals per game in six games, which is outstanding. .
His ability and basketball IQ allow him to read defenses incredibly well and get himself in position to make a play on the ball.
Even though he’s considered by today’s NBA standards as “undersized,” his quickness (and 6’8″ wingspan) will allow him to play alongside Ja Morant this season for stretches and help cover up any weakness covering opposing guards.
Just taking into account his time competing in Las Vegas, he outperformed several of the guards drafted ahead of him, statistically speaking.
Here’s how Kennedy fared in Summer League:
- Grizzlies vs 76ers: 8 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 4 stls, 3 blks
- Grizzlies vs Thunder: DNP
- Grizzlies vs Jazz: 12 pts, 2 asts, 2 stls, 1 reb
- Grizzlies vs Clippers: 6 pts, 3 asts, 2 rebs, 2 stls
- Grizzlies vs T-Wolves: 9 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls
- Grizzlies vs Nets: 9 pts, 6 asts, 3 stls, 2 rebs
- Grizzlies vs Celtics: 11 pts, 10 asts, 4 rebs, 1 stl, 1 blk
David Roddy Summer League Stats
The big, surprise first-round pick for the Memphis Grizzlies in this year’s draft, David Roddy, showed plenty of reason why this front office was aggressive in acquiring him.
Roddy struggled a bit in his first game, as anyone probably would, scoring just 4 points and pulling in 4 rebounds. Nerves were probably rampant, thoughts of doubt may have started creep in and turned into unnecessary pressure to perform and show why he was worthy of being drafted.
Those were quickly shook off because he looked better and better after each game. For games three through seven, he averaged 14.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 2.2 apg and had a mixture of starting and coming off the bench.
Everyone thought drafting Roddy at No. 23 overall was a stretch for Memphis, now it looks like a really great pick-up— even accounting for the small sample size.
You can envision a scenario in which Roddy gets some serious consideration for minutes with the second unit next season. He looks like the most complete player in our rookie class and can play multiple positions.
Having his mentor, Tyus Jones, on the team will make for an easier transition and help him pick up the system even more rapidly than he’s shown in his first games for the Grizzlies.
Here’s how the David Roddy performed in Summer League:
- Grizzlies vs 76ers: 4 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls
- Grizzlies vs Thunder: DNP
- Grizzlies vs Jazz: 16pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast
- Grizzlies vs Clippers: 10 pts, 5 rebs, 2 asts, 1 blk
- Grizzlies vs T-Wolves: 10 pts, 9 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
- Grizzlies vs Nets: 20 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk
- Grizzlies vs Celtics: 16 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts