Building the Memphis Grizzlies’ all-time draft bust starting lineup
Jarell Martin (2015, Pick No. 25)
Total NBA games played: 184
Jarell Martin, the athletic power forward out of LSU, showed a ton of potential after being named one of the top freshmen in the SEC in 2014. He stuck around for his sophomore season an increased his scoring by more than six points per game and turned into a double-double machine.
The Grizzlies took him in the back half of the first round in 2015, only to learn that he had a stress fracture in his foot and couldn’t play in the Summer League. That began a string of lingering foot injuries for the 6’10,” 240-pound big man.
Martin had a few setbacks but could never get his game to translate to the NBA level and spent a lot of time in the G-League. He had his best NBA season in 2017-18, averaging 7.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG, but was eventually traded to the Orlando Magic while he still held some value.
He played with the Magic for a season and spent another season in the G-League before going overseas to play in the National Basketball League in Australia.
Where is Jarell Martin now?
Martin, still just 28 years old, signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel in July 2022.
F – Xavier Henry (2010, Pick No. 12)
Total NBA games played: 185
A former standout for the Kansas Jayhawks, Xavier Henry looked every bit like a prototypical NBA player when he was drafted No. 12 overall in 2010 by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Henry, a five-star recruit out of high school, had a 6’6″ and 220 lb-frame. He averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.5 SPG for Kansas.
But, he never could develop his three-point shot, shooting just 12% from beyond the arc during his 38 appearances for Memphis.
This was the first season that the Grit N’ Grind era really started for the Grizzlies and the young Henry suddenly become expendable in the name of win-now veteran help. Xavier Henry was traded in a package that helped land Marreese Speights in January 2012.
Where is Xavier Henry now?
Henry landed with the Hornets in January 2012 and spent time floating back and forth between the main roster and the G-League.
He joined the Lakers as a free agent in 2014, and bounced around between the G-League and NBA teams for the next two years after rupturing his left Achilles. He never was the same player. It’s unknown what Henry has been up to since being waived by the Milwaukee Bucks in Sept. 2016.