The Memphis Grizzlies sit at 24-49 and are an abysmal 2-13 in the month of March. With just 9 games left, the losing is far from done given the need to fight for draft positioning. It is challenging to find things to be excited about since the trade deadline; however, one thing is absolutely clear. The Grizzlies should reward Javon Small with a standard contract this offseason.
This season has not gone to plan for the Grizzlies, and it is a major letdown for the franchise to reach this point since a promising 2021-22 season. But with the Grizzlies entering another rebuild, their ability to draft will be a huge decider of how fast the rebuild will progress. One area that can boost the Grizzlies' chances to win is having a strong hit rate in the second round.
The run of strong second-round picks continues with Javon Small
In the 2024 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies managed to get Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer in the second round, both who have been strong contributors. This year, it is very clear that they have struck gold again in the second round. Javon Small had recently cracked the top 10 of the NBA Rookie Ladder and has shown all the signs of sticking in the Grizzlies' rotation past this season.
For the season, Small is averaging 9.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in just 19.9 minutes per game. While he did not receive many opportunities early on in the season and suffered a turf toe injury, Small has been absolutely incredible since getting more opportunities. Since the All-Star game, Small has had a major uptick in minutes and has fully taken advantage of his opportunities.
During his last 17 games, Small is averaging 13.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 25.9 minutes per contest. His production is extremely encouraging to see given that he was the 48th overall pick in this year's draft. Small is a very comfortable scorer and has shown strong flashes as a playmaker. One of the deciding factors of how much he will climb is his defense, but he is showing upside there as well.
Small looks very likely to stick around in Memphis
Walter Clayton Jr., who was acquired in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, has had major struggles offensively since arriving in Memphis. Clayton Jr., just like Small, entered the league with plenty of experience in college basketball. Despite being a first-round pick in the same draft as Javon Small, Walter Clayton Jr. has been outplayed by him, and his future in Memphis past this season is looking uncertain.
The Grizzlies are going to have plenty of conversations this summer about the logjam of guards they currently have. Obviously, the biggest domino that will fall this offseason in Memphis is whether Ja Morant gets traded or not. Despite Morant being the focus, Walter Clayton Jr. and even someone like Ty Jerome could be traded depending on the offers the team gets.
Given the potential backcourt movement this offseason, Small has shown enough to stick around beyond this season and could end up being even better. Similar to Cam Spencer last offseason, it makes perfect sense to give Small a standard contract and to lock up his quality production on a team-friendly deal.
There are plenty of difficult decisions to make given that the Grizzlies are rebuilding. However, the Grizzlies have a very obvious decision to make by offering Javon Small a standard contract.