1. Scotty Pippen Jr.
Outside of Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson, the most impressive surprise contributor from this year's inspiring collection has easily been Scotty Pippen Jr., and this statement really shouldn't be all that controversial.
With every passing day since signing on with the team in mid-January, the sophomore has continuously impressed with his play and, in many ways, has reminded both fans and the team as a whole what they've been missing from their backcourt rotation since the departure of Tyus Jones.
A true floor general who puts running the offense and making the right reads above anything else, Pippen has been a much-needed steady presence amid such a shaky season.
Scottie Pippen was loving Scotty Jr.'s dunk 🙌 pic.twitter.com/CvDmyWyXsc
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 14, 2024
The 23-year-old has gone on to post impressive averages of 12.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 50.6 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from distance since initially coming across substantial playing time on January 24.
Though on the surface, some may believe that the concept of re-upping with Pippen might be something the Grizzlies may not wish to prioritize considering they already have three key backcourt commodities in Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Marcus Smart locked in for next season, when considering all but Morant are best served off the ball the concept of adding a more traditional one-guard prototype as an insurance policy (as previously mention, a Tyus Jones-esque talent) may actually be quite valuable.
Still attached to his two-way deal, Memphis holds his rights through next season or, simply, until his 50-game limit is reached, thus suggesting that a new contract is not necessarily a necessity at this point in time.
However, once his pact inches closer to its end, Zach Kleiman must seriously consider shelling out a standard offer in Pippen's direction.