The eventful offseason the Memphis Grizzlies had has died down lately with the roster fully intact and only one two-way spot open, which is widely assumed to go to their 2025 second-round draft pick, Jahmai Mashack. While some of their moves have been called into question due to an expected step back in experienced high-end talent, the team still ranked in the upper echelon of the NBA in CBS Sports front office rankings.
Outside of the 2022 draft, which only has one player out of four picks remaining on the roster, Grizzlies' general manager Zach Kleiman has been one of the best at drafting during his tenure, beginning with the selections of Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke in the 2019 NBA Draft. Although he wasn't officially the general manager in 2018, he was in the front office as Senior Director of Basketball Operations with the group that selected Jaren Jackson Jr.
As the team prepares to explore life without arguably their best valued draft pick since 2018, Desmond Bane, their ranking in the latest front office pecking order shows they won't be going in the opposite direction any time soon.
Grizzlies ranked 10th in NBA front office rankings
In February, CBS Sports released a ranking of NBA front offices and ranked the Grizzlies 6th before stumbling down to 10 in their latest addition. While falling four spots isn't a good thing in any regard, remaining in the top 10 means they are doing something right.
CBS Sports' Sam Quinn noted their impressive draft record as 13 of their 14 players who played the majority of the team's minutes last season were either drafted, signed as an undrafted free agent, or developed on a two-way contract by the organization. Luke Kennard was the only notable player who didn't reach that criterion.
However, the trade that sent Desmond to the Orlando Magic and two free agent signings (their most in an offseason in the Zach Kleiman era) will give the Grizzlies three players that will not have been developed or drafted by the organization heading into next season. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Ty Jerome, and Jock Landale will give the team more veterans and a different view.
The article referenced the Grizzlies' struggles with their trade swings and misses with Justise Winslow in 2020 and Marcus Smart in 2023, hurting the team a bit in the rankings. Also, the coaching fiasco last season, when Kleiman essentially made Taylor Jenkins a lame duck coach after hiring his successor (Tuomas Iisalo) as an assistant last offseason, affected their positioning as well.
Kleiman has always received praise as a good general manager, including winning the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2022. However, he hasn't proven to be good at building a team outside of the draft to put the finishing touches on his excellent picks. Seeing how they execute their strategy with the assets received in the Desmond Bane trade will determine if the Grizzlies can take the next step to becoming great or become another "what could've been" story.