Grizzlies 'definitely could' consider trade after falling to No. 9 in NBA Draft: Reporter

Despite the fact that they held the seventh-best odds of landing the top overall selection and that recent history suggested a move up into the top five could be rather realistic, Sunday afternoon it was revealed that the Memphis Grizzlies are officially the owners of the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

To say fans and pundits associated with the franchise were underwhelmed by the lottery's outcome would be an understatement, as many have gone to social media to voice their frustrations about the club's misfortunes throughout the 2023-24 campaign.

However, one saving grace for how things played out for the Grizzlies is that the odds of them partaking in some sort of splashy trade this coming offseason could now wind up being a bit higher.

At least, that's what Drew Hill of the Daily Memphian seemingly suggested during an interview with Grind City Media's Michael Wallace, as the reporter noted that he believes the front office "definitely could" end up sending it outbound in exchange for a more desirable haul.

Grizzlies reporter says team 'definitely could' consider trading No. 9 pick

"You do wonder if it increases the odds that this pick could get traded. I think that definitely could happen if their guy is not there at that point in the draft. I'm sure they've done the homework. They've figured out who they like but, without moving up, it's hard to know in a draft like this where there's not a clear consensus top tier. "

- Drew Hill

After the kind of season the Grizzlies had in 2023-24, where they finished dead-last in points-per-game averages (105.8) and field goal percentage (43.5), fifth-worst in net rating (-6.9), and seventh-worst in rebounding (42.6), it goes without saying that they could use for help in essentially any and all aspects of the game and the NBA Draft could provide them with a simple and cost-efficient way to address some of these weaknesses.

Of course, with guys like Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all slated to return to full strength for next year's campaign, Memphis will once again be in a win-now mode and, in turn, adding an unproven rookie to the equation may not be all that ideal of a scenario for them, especially one that teeters on being in the teens when it comes to class rank.

With this, it should come as no surprise that Hill suggests Kleiman and co. may now be more inclined to trade the selection knowing they've fallen as low as they have, though, with the 2024 NBA Draft anticipated to boast a rather lackluster talent pool when it comes overall upside, it's hard to tell what kind of value they could get in return for the rights to the ninth overall selection.