3 Questions that will shape the Grizzlies 2023 offseason

How will recent departures impact team philosophy/chemistry?

The Memphis Grizzlies recently lost lead assistant coach Darko Rajaković to the Toronto Raptors, who was reported to have accepted the head coaching position on June 10. Rajaković, who has been with the Grizzlies coaching staff since 2020, was reportedly a driving force behind several developmental focuses during his time coaching the Grizzlies Summer League.

Notable among them was Rajaković’s insistence on challenging Desmond Bane to take on more ball-handling duties, which has resulted in Bane’s assist numbers nearly doubling from 2.7 assists per game to 4.4.

While losing an assistant coach may not lead to wholesale changes from a philosophy standpoint for Grizzlies Head Coach Taylor Jenkins and his staff, questions on how particular strengths of particular players can be developed from here forward should be considered. How many other secondary traits of other players were developed due to Rajaković’s insistence? Could his input have lent to the overall freedom players seem to have in the offense, in particular allowing for players like Dillon Brooks to have a longer leash than typically expected in the NBA?

Speaking of Brooks, while several fans and pundits are happy to see him not return to the Grizzlies “under any circumstances,” several players have been vocal about the leadership and accountability Brooks brings to the locker room. If these players are correct in their assertions about Brooks’ impact on team morale, a fair question would be how that changes the dynamic going into next season. Brooks’ vocal style may have even contributed to other aspects of the team that may have gone unseen.

For example, Luke Kennard has a history throughout his career of being reluctant to take many 3’s in a game, despite being one of the league leaders in three-point percentage. That did not manifest many times in Memphis, with Kennard only showing reluctance on a handful of occasions.

Coach Jenkins spoke about this reluctance and the team’s effort to get that out of him after a 30-point outburst by Kennard near the end of the season, saying “Obviously, he’s coming out, talking about how we’ve been on him, his teammates have been on him about being aggressive. You see his confidence building one game at a time.” Could either Rajaković or Brooks be a particular factor in truly getting through to him? And without that particular motivation, could Kennard regress back into reluctance with his shot?