Santi Aldama’s success could complicate the future of two Grizzlies players

Xavier Tillman may be the odd man out of the Memphis Grizzlies rotation

Xavier Tillman Sr. has struggled to get minutes in the team’s regular season rotation, but proved to be the only player who could step up to help slow Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns during the Grizzlies’ first-round playoff matchup last season.

Tillman went from 20 DNPs in the regular season to being a playoff starter. That’s an insane turnaround for someone teetering on the edge between a reserve and a rotation player. But that designation is not a knock on Tillman, who brings a lot of value to the team as a hard-nosed, hard-working undersized big. But the Grizzlies already have that in Brandon Clarke who happens to play that role more consistently than Tillman.

With Aldama coming into his own, it’ll be increasingly hard to get Tillman minutes during the regular season. Aldama has a wider skillset than Tillman in that he can hit three-point shots at a consistent rate, he has better size and length and a touch more athleticism.

When you compound that with Jaren Jackson returning to the lineup soon, Tillman is going to struggle to get consistent minutes. Once everyone is healthy, you’ll have Steven Adams and Jackson starting. You’ll have Brandon Clarke, Aldama and rookie Jake LaRavia coming off the bench in the rotation. All the minutes are soaked up. Unless someone gets injured or traded, things aren’t looking good for Tillman to get much action during the regular season for the Memphis Grizzlies.