Grade the trade: Memphis lands big man of the future in league-changing trade pitch
By Will Eudy
The Memphis Grizzlies are in the midst of an offseason where their primary goal will be to get healthy. After a 2023-24 season where the Grizzlies rostered a record number of players, their biggest objective is to get their reeling players rest, treatment and recovery time. After all, Memphis was a 56 and 51-win team before being decimated by injuries this past season.
But outside of internal improvement, the Grizzlies will also want to make certain tweaks to their roster. Specifically, the team is in big need of a starting center with Steven Adams now out of the picture. They could always slide Brandon Clarke into the starting lineup if they absolutely needed to, but it seems the team will continue to prefer having him come off the bench and will assess options for a new center in the starting five.
Should Memphis secure a rock-solid option at center who can produce at a similar level to what Adams was giving them or if they can even upgrade at that position, there is plenty of reason to believe in the Grizzlies going forward. They are loaded at every other position with Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. being an absolutely loaded four-man rotation when healthy.
With that in mind, there are a few options Memphis may pursue at center this summer.