Grizzlies start, bench, cut: David Roddy, Luke Kennard, Ziaire Williams

Bench: Luke Kennard

As mentioned already, Kennard was heavily considered when pondering who could wind up taking the starting small forward position for the Grizzlies this coming season.

However, upon further examination, it seems as though his services may best be utilized when filling the role of sixth man for the team which, as we all know, is essentially an honorary sixth starter.

Acquired at last season’s trade deadline, the 27-year-old took a bit of time to get adjusted to his new surroundings and mesh with his new running mates, but once things clicked it became clear why Kleiman and company were so willing to ship out three future picks (all seconds) and veteran Danny Green for his services.

Over his final 13 games of the regular season (March 15 through April 7), Kennard was playing lights-out basketball, and supported stellar averages of 15.2 points on an electric 58.8 percent shooting from the field and 58.1 percent shooting from deep to go along with 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and just shy of a steal whilst predominantly coming off the pine.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1639444946062127104

During this span, he would also see a mesmerizing 30-point performance off the bench where he cashed in on 10 of his 11 long-range attempts.

Add all this to the fact that his arrival to the Grizzlies made them 13 points better per 100 possessions when he was on the floor last season, and Kennard could be an ideal spark-plug scoring option for Jenkins to use as the first option rolling off the pine in 2023-24.