In-Depth Look at the Grizzlies' Roster

MEMPHIS – With a new regime underway in Memphis, and more ping-pong balls being the only thing the Grizzlies are competing for, here’s a detailed look at how the present and future looks for each position.



2015 Picks: Raptors 1st, Grizzlies *1st Knicks 1st, Hawks 2nd, Jazz 2nd.
* Note: Grizzlies 2015 1st round pick was traded to the Raptors, but it is top 5 protected and will remain property of the Grizzlies if the pick ends up in the top 5 (as it is currently projected).

PG
Present: Easily one of the weakest positions on the team. Rodrigue Beaubois has started most of the season for the Grizzlies with little success. Beaubois has averaged a solid 6.4 Assists/gm, but he’s not very efficient with the basketball as his 1.7 A/TO ratio demonstrates. He also offers very little scoring ability with under 8 ppg while shooting 36% from the field, and his defense is only mediocre. It may not be completely his fault, as the team lacks talent around him, but regardless, Jordan Farmar appears to be next in line to see what he can do with the job. Farmar won’t put up gaudy numbers or play lock-down defense, but he does bring much needed range and shooting efficiency to the starting lineup (44% from 3). Shabazz Napier is a rookie that needs a lot of development if he wants to be anything more than an end of the bench player. He has solid shooting ability and his defense isn’t bad for a rookie, but he must improve his passing and handling.
Future: Next year’s starter isn’t likely on the roster at the moment, but if Farmar plays solidly or Napier shows steady improvement, either one could make a case to be the first guard off the bench. Look for this team to address this position in the offseason, perhaps with one of its top draft picks.

SG
Present: Marcus Thornton is having a great season for the Grizzlies, as he was named an all-star game starter for the West this year. After coming off the bench for most games the past few seasons, Thornton is now making the most of his starting spot. He leads the team in scoring with 22 ppg, and he rebounds very well for a guard with 5.5 rpg. The question is whether Thornton is actually a budding star or if he’s simply a decent player that gets all of the looks and minutes because he’s on a bad team. The answer to that question may not be known for a couple seasons yet. His defense and range are only average, but on a team bereft of much talent, Thornton appears to be relishing as the go-to-guy on the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have no depth at shooting guard though, as Thornton is the only one on the roster.
Future: Thornton is in the last year of his contract, and while the Grizzlies will make an attempt to keep him, it will inevitably be up to Thornton to decide whether he is willing to stick around and be a big part of the rebuilding project or whether he will bolt to become a role-player on a contending team. Either way, look for the Grizzlies to address the depth issue in the offseason.

SF
Present: Another weak position for the Grizzlies is small forward, but they mask this weakness by having the versatile power forward Thaddeus Young play a lot of minutes here. Moe Harkless is a young player with the most upside at this position. He has had very few chances to shine (averaging under 10 mins/gm), but the new regime loves his athleticism and defensive ability, so look for him to get an extended look the rest of the season. Gerald Wallace is a solid player off the bench, albeit way overpaid. At this stage in his career, he’s not much of a scorer anymore, but he still plays very good defense. Victor Claver and Travis Outlaw are nothing more than scrubs that only play a handful of minutes.
Future: If Harkless can develop his offense a bit, he has a good shot to be one of the first players off the bench on the rebuilt Grizzlies. Barring a trade, Wallace is guaranteed another more year on the Grizzlies due to his contract, so he’ll continue to contribute a few minutes off the bench. With Young playing well at the position, a huge upgrade isn’t needed, but depth is. The Grizzlies will probably turn to the draft and use one of their 5 draft picks to take a flyer on a cheap option.

PF
Present: This is the deepest position of strength for the rebuilding Grizzlies. Young is an athletic forward that can also score. Young gets most of his minutes at the small forward position due to its relative weakness, but it doesn’t appear to bother the versatile forward. He is second on the team at 17.5 ppg (while shooting an efficient 47% from the field), while bringing down 6.5 rpg. He’s also a very good defender with 1.1 stls/gm and 1.1 blocks/gm (and a drive stop percentage of 81%). Julius Randle is a prized rookie that is already a steady contributor on offense with 11 ppg. Randle still has a lot of developing to do though, such as his rebounding (a pedestrian 5.5 rpg) and defense (with an awful drive stop percentage of just 38%). Dwight Gooden isn’t a star, but he gives efficient minutes off the bench.
Future: Young is strong player that is just entering his prime at 25 years old. He has another year on his contract, and the Grizzlies will likely begin talks for an extension to stay with the team in the upcoming year. Randle appears to be a star-in-the-making that the Grizzlies would like to build their team around for years to come. If the Grizzlies can bring back Gooden, this may be the one position the team doesn’t need to address.

C
Present: The Grizzlies could do worse than starting 7-footer Aaron Gray. Gray is a hard-worker that puts up solid numbers (currently averaging 9 ppg and 8 rpg), but he’s best-suited to come off the bench, as opposed to logging huge minutes as the starter. He lacks much athleticism or defense (with just 0.4 blks/gm), and his free-throw shooting is downright awful (under 50%). Mouhammadou Jaiteh is a young Center lacking much upside, and is simply there to fill out the roster.
Future: This is the other position that the Grizzlies might use one of their top draft picks to upgrade. Starting a top 5 pick with Gray coming in off the bench would make this position very solid.

Nice review of your roster.

If you're lucky enough, you might come out of the draft with some combination of Embiid / Adams and Exum / Dallo, which would be huge for your future. Currently with projected 1st and 3rd picks you could land two of them easily, and any of those 4 can fit well with Randle to begin your rebuilding process.

Then you have to be aware that you don't need to speed your rebuilding process a lot, just stay patient and build around your future stars, and you'll be a great team sooner than expected.

Like what Marcos said. You and your team have a very bright future. You're going to probably have 2 top 5 picks in the draft. If you can come out with Embiid and Exum.. you will have a solid core of those 2 plus Randle. Harkless can be a great role player and solid 5th man option for your starting line up.

RobIII(CLE) wrote:Like what Marcos said. You and your team have a very bright future. You're going to probably have 2 top 5 picks in the draft. If you can come out with Embiid and Exum.. you will have a solid core of those 2 plus Randle. Harkless can be a great role player and solid 5th man option for your starting line up.

Also don't only go by real NBA's hype.. I mean, Embiid and Exum are projected as franchise cornerstone type of players in the NBA, or really close to that. I don't know if they have the capacity to change the fate of a franchise by themselves here but they are two great young guys with lots of upside and will be both great players going forward (at least my scouting reports says that, though I believe Embiid has the potential to be a franchise player). But what I want to say is that, even though they don't have the same "glamour" around themselves in the real world, both Adams and Dallo are also very good options in CSL, maybe not in Embiid / Exum's level but they're great young guys to go forward and would be huge additions too. I predict those 4 to go first in the draft (Embiid, Exum, Adams, Dallo, in that order), so you gotta be lucky to snatch both Exum and Embiid, though any combination of a G and a C will make your team much much better in the long run!

The problem with Harkless is that he lacks shooting touch and a lineup with Exum / Dallo, Randle and Embiid / Adams would need two great shooters to complement them.. But he's a solid option going forward, good defensive forward!

I wouldn't necessarily look at stop drive % for big men as much because they tend to face fewer drives. Points allowed vs. shot faced (PA/SF) is usually a better tool because you want bigs who can contest shots and stop players from scoring. The lower that number is, the better.

As for the players you have, I think only Randle, Harkless, Young, and Thornton have any real value. Randle has a bright future, Harkless could become a PJ Tucker type player and just play great defense, and Young/Thornton could always be used as trade chips for contending teams. Young could actually fit on your roster moving forward as a full time SF and give you a big front court.

Yeah from your roster, Thornton,Thaddeus,Randle,Harkless are the only guys I think are any good. The rest are expendable and nothing special. Good luck in the draft !

Try to extend Marcus Thornton and renounce everyone else once free agency begins so you have some cap space to work with to sign some good players.

Good review
We traded Harkless to Mem last season partly because we lost faith in his potential. Looks like he is still pretty much the same player he was last season. Still young though at 21 and has time to develop but also needs a lot of development to become anything more than a roster filler.

I’d give Randle as much PT as possible. He is going to be a stud PF and needs the PT to develop. Maybe also add a strategy to get him to post up more or something

Go and draft Embiid/Adams and Dallo. Its hard find quality big men and PG. I wouldnt draft Exum as he's not that Special as everybody believes (just my opinion).

Didnt scout Adams, but if he is that high intelligent Defensive stud take him first Overall. Even if embiid could maybe become the better one.
Adams as Defensive anchor + randle who will be a really great scoring big + Dallo a stud defensive pass first point and you have a really great Core! Add a young 3&D SG. (For example offer tanner thornton for Franklin) and add another SF able to hit 3pts and you got a really great Core. Something like I have. With the exception we have two Defensive minded bigs with a scoring 7footer coming of the bench.

Everyone is making great points, I appreciate the feedback! I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with all of my draft picks yet, as a lot depends on what picks they end up being. If I get 2 top-4 picks, I could draft a combo of Embiid/Adams and Dallo/Exum, or I could trade one of the picks if a good enough trade package is offered. I could use some future assets since I will likely not have my first rounder next year.

I'm also unsure of how the contract situation with Thornton will play out. I've read the CSL CBA, but since it's Thornton's last year and it's past the date that I can try to extend him, I haven't quite figured out how I can try to re-sign him before he hits free agency.

As above, all good points.

Once we've scouted some more, we may have a chat about sending your pick back for next season so you can rebuild and still draft.

Nice write up. At the end of the day, it's all up to you as to what you do with your team...Would be terrible if you ended up with picks 3 and 4 and the other two teams took both centers/point guards...

Anyways, you've got a team that'll take some time, Randle looks like a bust and I can offer you just Cody Zeller in return. Great offer, it'll be your best.

J/K

bestnamezRtaken (DAL) wrote:Nice write up. At the end of the day, it's all up to you as to what you do with your team...Would be terrible if you ended up with picks 3 and 4 and the other two teams took both centers/point guards...

Anyways, you've got a team that'll take some time, Randle looks like a bust and I can offer you just Cody Zeller in return. Great offer, it'll be your best.

J/K

SOLD!  

Depends on the draft and how good these players are a point guard should be your first option