Grizzlies coach reveals final words to David Roddy after Suns trade

This trade season, the Memphis Grizzlies made it abundantly clear that their focus was on trimming down their salary commitments for next season and clearing out roster space to lock up some of their more promising young talents like GG Jackson.

In the process, the front office opted to make several tough decisions, which kicked off with the Steven Adams trade to the Houston Rockets and followed up by the Xavier Tillman deal to the Boston Celtics.

However, the 2023-24 trade season concluded with perhaps the most surprising move of all, as sophomore David Roddy was sent outbound in a multi-team exchange that saw them net a future pick swap along with the cost-efficient deals of Yuta Watanabe and Chimezie Metu.

Later that night, following Memphis' 118-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls, head coach Taylor Jenkins started off his press conference with words of admiration for the players who were seen departing ahead of Thursday's trade cutoff, and, especially, for Roddy, as he even revealed the final words he spoke to the forward.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins talks David Roddy trade to Suns

"I just want to publicly say thank you to [David Roddy]. Obviously, we made a move today and, as I said earlier, especially with [Xavier Tillman] and D-Rod they're difficult decisions. Both those guys made tremendous impacts and, obviously, D-Rod in just one-plus year, another guy that really early on in his career established a lot of really great pro habits, ultra-competitive. I told him that today, I said: 'We're going to miss that. Keep staying true to that, keep staying true to the work ethic that you've already established in just your second year.' He made a great mark here. Obviously, he's got an opportunity somewhere else. It's a tough part of this business but I definitely wish him well."

Taylor Jenkins

Though his tenure in the 38103 was short-lived, Roddy established himself as a reliable contributor within coach Jenkins' rotation which ultimately, wound up making him a hot commodity for the title-contending Suns to pursue.

A high-energy and strong combo forward, in just his second season with the Grizzlies the 22-year-old was finding himself posting impressive per-game averages of 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists through 48 games played.

Sporting an impressive shooting stroke and an under-the-radar brand of bounce, Roddy is a player who can serve as a quality inside-out scoring weapon, which is something that Phoenix is likely hoping will help improve their fifth-worst offensive bench unit.