Tuesday, the Memphis Grizzlies made the decision to release recently acquired big man Mamadi Diakite, ridding themselves of the remanences (at least, the relevant ones) of the Ziaire Williams trade to the Brooklyn Nets executed earlier this summer.
Though the move further cuts back on the ball club's rather lofty payroll heading into 2024-25, simultaneously, it leaves Memphis in a bit of an odd position, as they now employ just 13 full-scale players which, per league requirements, is one shy of a minimum roster amount.
With training camp roughly a month away, Zach Kleiman and company may wish to pick up the pace and get a move on when it comes to scouring the markets for talents to sign to reach the aforementioned quota and, while pickings may be slim at this point in the offseason, there are a few names the Grizzlies may be interested in bringing on at a full-time rate.
Players Memphis Grizzlies could target to fill-out roster
Tristan Thompson
As noted, pickings are certainly slim when it comes to trying to fill out the rest of this Grizzlies roster but there are far worse ideas out there than snatching up the likes of veteran big, Tristan Thompson on a low-cost contract.
At 33 years old and with 12 years of mileage under his belt, no one should be expecting Thompson to serve as a major difference-maker within a rotation or log serious minutes on a regular basis.
Luckily, with the likes of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. all presumed to be healthy and back in the fold, Memphis doesn't need such a player.
What they could use for, however, is someone who can help get these stars open looks on offense, pull down second-chance opportunities, and has experience serving as a consistent contributor on winning teams.
While he may have lost a step in the athletic department, Thompson is someone who can provide all of these attributes.
The 2016 NBA Champion has seen deep postseason action on five separate occasions and has made it to the playoffs in all but three seasons during his career. Throughout this time, he has posted solid averages of 8.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and just shy of a block per game on 52.1 percent shooting while registering an impressive rebounding percentage of 17.6.
Bringing on someone of his skill set and expertise, no matter how low his stock has become over the last few years, could prove to be a solid way of not only filling out the remainder of the roster but adding skillsets that could seriously benefit coach Taylor Jenkins' scheme all at an affordable rate.