The Memphis Grizzlies secured the two seed in the Western Conference and made it to the second round of the playoffs in 2022. Their depth was a key component to their success that season, as the team had a 20-5 record in the games Ja Morant missed, and he was an MVP candidate in the 57 games (finished 7th) he played.
What followed was the team revamping their bench as they traded away Sixth Man of the Year candidate De'Anthony Melton and allowed multi-positional reserve forward Kyle Anderson to leave in free agency. They decided to draft four rookies, including Jake LaRavia and David Roddy in the first round, and extended John Konchar's contract to insert him into the playing rotation.
Early season injuries to LaRavia and second-year wing Ziaire Williams allowed David Roddy to take control of the backup small forward spot behind Dillon Brooks, and eventually led to playoff minutes for the rookie. However, his career has gone downhill as he has struggled to remain on a roster since the Grizzlies traded him the following season.
Roddy just got released from his 5th team in less than two years
Recently, David Roddy was signed to the Toronto Raptors on an Exhibit-10 contract and was waived ahead of their final preseason game after playing in two of their previous five preseason games. It marked his fifth team since the Grizzlies traded him to the Phoenix Suns at the 2024 NBA trade deadline.
Roddy was traded to the Atlanta Hawks last offseason and was waived in February of this year. He signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in the same month, but was waived eight days later. He then signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets in March before being traded back to the Atlanta Hawks in July. After being waived by the Hawks again, he signed with the Raptors.
The NBA hasn't been kind to "Big Body Roddy," as he went from guarding LeBron James in the playoffs in 2023 to being borderline out of the league in a little over two years. He battled with his draft classmate, Jake LaRavia, and Ziaire Williams for the future of the Grizzlies' small forward position before the team ultimately moved on from all players.
Roddy provided toughness for the Grizzlies, but he was more fit as a power forward at only 6'4". Unfortunately, his career hangs in the balance as he has only played in 50 regular season games, after playing 118 games in his first two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies.