3 players Grizzlies must target with $6.3 million Disabled Player Exception

This Memphis Grizzlies team has been plagued by key player absences throughout these early stages of the 2023-24 campaign.

From Ja Morant's 25-game suspension to Brandon Clarke's Achilles tear rehabilitation, Taylor Jenkins' squad has been far from full strength essentially right from the jump, and, as a result, they've struggled mightily to simply stay competitive, accumulating a miserable record of just 3-10 to kick things off.

Fortunately, however, the team was recently awarded somewhat of a silver lining for their bevy of misfortunes of late, as The Athletic's Shams Charania initially reported on November 16 that Memphis has received a $6.3 million Disabled Player Exception as a response to the season-ending knee surgery of primary pivot Steven Adams.

With this, the Grizzlies will now be able to add a new player to their roster via trade, free agency, or waivers should they chose to do so without having it negatively impact their salary cap situation.

Players the Grizzlies should target with $6.3 million cap exception

Considering just how poorly things have gone for the ball club thus far into the year, this new luxury could prove to be a true blessing, for perhaps adding on an outsourced talent could provide them with some much-needed extra firepower.

Assuming they are interested in using the DPE, there are a few players GM Zach Kleiman and company might want to pursue.

3. JaMychal Green

When it comes to roster additions, often the easiest and most simplistic course of action for a team to take is to hit the free agency market to snatch up players outright.

Should Memphis' front office wish to keep things simple when using their new exception, they could realistically look toward the league's bin of currently available players, and JaMychal Green could be a viable option worthy of consideration.

Already familiar with the Grind City mentality, as he was a member of the Grizzlies from 2015 through 2019, the veteran's rough-and-tough on-court tenacity is something that's known to mesh well with the organization's culture while his tweener-big capabilities could serve as a nice depth add within their depleted frontcourt rotation without the likes of Clarke and Adams available.

Coming off his ninth season in the association, Green wrapped up his 2022-23 season with the Golden State Warriors boasting solid averages of 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds through 57 games played while shooting a highly efficient 54.0 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from deep on 6.6 attempts per 100 possessions.

For his career, he has established himself as a tough-nosed defender and a trusty long-range shooter, both of which are attributes the Grizzlies could certainly use more of.

Should they look toward the free agency market with their DPE, Green should be high on their list of possible targets.