The Grizzlies have promising young pieces and plenty of draft capital to work with in the next few years. A loaded 2026 NBA Draft and guys like Cedric Coward and Zach Edey already being on the roster should help the team return to the playoffs soon. But one crucial lesson is clear from these playoffs: The Grizzlies badly need proven veterans around their young pieces that can still contribute.
Many factors can be blamed for the Grizzlies not building on their 2021-22 season, but the lack of established veterans proved to be costly. Even though the Grizzlies were not able to beat the eventual champion Golden State Warriors, their young core was well surrounded with veterans such as Kyle Anderson, Steven Adams, and Tyus Jones.
Even though it was becoming increasingly clear that the Grizzlies' core three of Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane were unlikely to lead the Grizzlies to the NBA Finals, it did not help their cause that they did not have enough reliable veterans.
This year's playoffs should be a valuable lesson for the Grizzlies
I can name plenty of examples, but look at CJ McCollum's big game performance against the Knicks in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks played a great three quarters, but CJ McCollum scored 32 points and was the driving force of Atlanta's comeback win. Another example, the Lakers in last night's win against the Rockets were driven by former Grizzlies Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard.
Even though responsibility will mainly fall on the Grizzlies' future core to perform in big moments, it is essential to have reliable veteran surrounding pieces. There were some cases the Grizzlies were right to move on from certain veterans; however, the organization still managed to get younger and did not do well to replace key veterans.
Zach Kleiman's rebuild hinges on veteran players as much as the draft
Truthfully, the Grizzlies have done well in the draft the last couple seasons, and it can be assumed their war chest of future picks should yield good results. However, even though it is important to build a culture from within and have strong homegrown talent, the Grizzlies need to bring in proven winners that can still contribute.
Don't get it twisted; Taj Gibson's veteran voice is currently a great asset for the Grizzlies, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has winning experience despite his decline. The Grizzlies will not just need good mentors for their young core but also players that can still contribute in a winning capacity, such as CJ McCollum with the Hawks right now.
When looking at recent NBA champions such as the 2024 Celtics and the 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder, they were able to win because their best players performed. However, both teams strongly benefited from having veterans to take some pressure off their cores. The 2025 Thunder brought in Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, and the 2024 Celtics greatly benefitted from having Jrue Holiday.
Grizzlies fans can be hopeful that the organization will assemble some of the best young talent in the league. But one lesson has never been more obvious for the Grizzlies as they rebuild: they must supplement their homegrown talent with proven veterans outside the organization.
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