The Grizzlies are winners of four of their last five games after defeating the Los Angeles Clippers on Black Friday. That road win in Los Angeles was their first in the state of California since January 5th, 2024, snapping a 12-game losing streak in that state against its four NBA teams.
Specifically pertaining to the Clippers, the Grizzlies lost three straight in their arena before that victory Friday night. Their next opponent will remain in California against the Sacramento Kings on the last day of November. The Grizzlies currently have a four-game losing streak in Sacramento, so they will look to continue to snap their streak.
While in the process of snapping streaks, the Kings appear to be in turmoil, as evidenced by their 41-point loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis on November 20th. With a 5-15 record, NBA teams are expecting a fire sale in the trade market from the Kings, with the Grizzlies appearing to eye one of their veteran forwards.
Memphis was listed as a team to keep an eye on for DeMar DeRozan
The Grizzlies' early-season struggles, following the drama that unfolded between Ja Morant and head coach Tuomas Iisalo, made them the talk of the league in trade circles. However, Memphis has remained steady with the vision of building the team around Ja Morant, as injuries played a major part in their early woes.
The return of Zach Edey has provided a huge boost to the team, and more will follow as Morant, Ty Jerome, and Brandon Clarke are expected back in different timelines over the next month. Now, as they climb the standings to 10th in the West (0.5 game behind 9th), the Grizzlies believe they can still compete in the Western Conference.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints named the Grizzlies as a team to watch as a suitable destination for Kings' forward DeMar DeRozan, if the Kings decide to trade him as expected. DeRozan has been one of the best scorers in the NBA throughout his career and would provide a boost to a Grizzlies team that can afford to have a veteran scorer on the wing.
He has even improved his weakness, shooting a career-high 35.9% from three this season. Memphis has a trio of young wings who are providing defensive versatility in Vince Williams Jr., Jaylen Wells, and Cedric Coward, but could use a more consistent offensive threat at that spot.
Looking into adding DeRozan would signal that the Grizzlies are staying true to competing with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. Their recent improvement shows that they just needed time to grasp the new system and get a little healthier. Whether they throw their name in the hat for DeRozan or not, expect Memphis to look to make these types of moves