The Grizzlies' depth was depleted during their second-half slide after trading Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia, followed by season-ending injuries to Brandon Clarke and Jaylen Wells. Meanwhile, Luke Kennard's minutes became inconsistent, including a DNP, which led to more minutes from John Konchar in the playoffs.
However, both players proved ineffective in their four-game first-round series sweep loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The sharpshooting Kennard shot 22.2% from three in 20 minutes per game in the series, while Konchar shot even worse at 16.7% from three in 17 minutes.
While the Grizzlies will return Jaylen Wells to the lineup next season, they need to upgrade behind him to compete at the highest level. Due to these reasons, the decision to move on from these players should be easy if given the opportunity.
1. Luke Kennard
The Grizzlies have desperately needed a sharpshooter to surround Ja Morant and made Luke Kennard the primary specialist off the bench when they acquired him at the 2023 NBA trade deadline. He made the investment look good when he shot 50% from three in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers that season.
However, he only averaged 3.2 attempts per game in the five games he played out of six in that series. This season, Kennard only averaged four three-point attempts per game and shot 43.3%. The problem occurred after his best game of the season.
He scored 30 points on 7-9 shooting from three in their March 12th win over the Utah Jazz and only attempted more than four threes twice in his final 18 games played this season, including the playoffs. The Grizzlies not only need accurate three-point specialists, but they need ones that aren't a liability on defense and are willing to let it fly.
Kennard will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and is unlikely to return as the team will look to acquire better two-way players to complement their core.
2. John Konchar
Along with Luke Kennard, the Grizzlies attempted to trade Konchar to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith in December before the Lakers made the trade for the 3-and-D forward. Konchar was firmly planted as the Grizzlies' 15th-man this season but was trusted to play at the end of the season over their young wing nucleus of GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr.
With a whole healthy offseason for Jackson and Williams Jr. to continue to develop and Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contract renegotiation looming, the team will likely look to trade Konchar's $6 million contract again. The Grizzlies can use his two-year remaining salary slot to secure Jackson Jr.'s future as the team's secondary star.