Grizzlies facilitated one of most ‘underrated moves’ this offseason

This summer, the Memphis Grizzlies were quite a busy bunch with their wheeling and dealing ways. From free agency additions to blockbuster transactions, GM Zach Kleiman and company were rather active throughout the offseason, and easily their biggest splash made was the acquisition of Marcus Smart via multi-team trade.

The veteran’s arrival in Grind City has people already pointing to Taylor Jenkins’ club as being a legitimate title contender this coming season, with some going as far as to state that his presence alone is going to make Memphis “scary.”

However, the Grizzlies were seemingly not the only ones who benefited from these late June festivities, as Brian Martin of NBA.com recently tabbed the Washington Wizards’ addition of Tyus Jones in the exchange as being one of this summer’s most “underrated moves.”

Tyus Jones’ move from Grizzlies to Wizards one of most ‘underrated moves’

Citing Washington’s need for more backcourt help to pair alongside recently acquired Jordan Poole, Martin believes that Jones could now find himself making the leap from being considered a high-end backup to a full-time starting one.

"“Jones has already established himself as one of the top backup point guards in the league and now gets a chance at a starting gig in D.C. after being a reserve for much of his first eight seasons in the league (94 starts in 535 career games). However, it is important to look at Jones’ production in those limited starts,” Martin said."

Frankly, when it comes to his potential as a primary point guard, Jones has already proven himself more than capable of excelling when in the right situation.

Last season, as a result of Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant being sidelined due to injury as well as his slew of off-court issues, the 27-year-old saw 22 appearances in the starting lineup and posted averages of 16.4 points, 8.1 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in such a role while shooting 50 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from deep.

On top of this, Martin noted in his piece that the eighth-year pro “led the NBA in assist/turnover ratio at an impressive 5.64 assists per turnover” in 2022-23.

Now in a new setting with the Wizards, many such as Gibson Lowenberg of Wiz of Awes believe Jones could be a true breakout candidate during the upcoming season.

Should the point guard be able to produce similarly to how he did while leading the charge with the Grizzlies last season, big things could easily be awaiting him now that he resides in the nation’s capital.

3 untouchable Memphis Grizzlies not named Ja Morant

There are three players on the Memphis Grizzlies roster not named Ja Morant that should be considered untouchable commodities.