Grade the Trade: Grizzlies correct 2022 NBA Draft Day mistake with wild new idea
By Mark Nilon
Heading into the 2024 NBA Offseason, easily the biggest area of concern on this Memphis Grizzlies roster resided in their frontcourt, particularly their center position.
Following the mid-season departures of both Steven Adams and Xavier Tillman, it was evident that Zach Kleiman and company had to go out and find some suitable replacement options down at the five to help complement the club's returning core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. for next year's presumed comeback campaign.
Ultimately, they seemed to have done exactly that, as they opted to use their ninth overall selection in June's illustrious NBA Draft to select Purdue standout, Zach Edey, who, following his second-straight AP Player of the Year award and after posting sensational senior season averages of 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks, comes into the association attached to a remarkable resume.
What makes his addition to Memphis' talent pool all the more exciting is that he's already shown flashes of his potential during this year's Summer League, where, in his debut outing alone, he went on to drop 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 63.6 percent shooting from the floor.
Of course, despite these encouraging early signs, considering just how barren the center depth is for the Grizzlies, there's an argument to be made that the front office should still be interested in adding more players to the position before regular season's tip-off.
Grizzlies should consider adding another center to their depth chart
Around the league, there are a number of players who could serve as a highly serviceable third big within coach Taylor Jenkins' rotation. From sifting through the crop of ballers still available in free agency to scouring the trade market for a talent upgrade, there are quite a number of different avenues the front office could go down to round out their frontcourt depth.
Recently, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed a hypothetical scenario that not only adds on a quality new center option via the latter route, but also rights a wrong from their 2022 NBA Draft.