Memphis Grizzlies: Jordan Adams Faces Uphill Battle For Rotation Spot

Jordan Adams needed a superb summer in order to break the Memphis Grizzlies‘ rotation. A few weeks after a reasonable NBA Summer League run, Adams suffered a blow to his bid to rise up the depth chart, incurring an undisclosed injury to his right knee and undergoing minor surgery on Friday, as The Commercial Appeal’s Ron Tillery reported.

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Adams will be re-evaluated in two weeks and will heal fine by training camp. But one hates seeing any delay in the ripening of a player who deposited only 3.1 points in 8.3 minutes per game while earning 30 appearances as a rookie.

For Grizzlies fans, it would be rough thinking Adams’ 19-point thriller against the Golden State Warriors on Apr. 13 would turn out to be his only big NBA performance.

The 21-year-old was fairly pleasing as a scorer, averaging 16 points per game in the Orlando Summer League. The fact that he shot 34 percent from the field seems inconsequential, as many rate stats are in Summer League, compared with his willingness to attack with the ball.

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Considering that the Grizzlies’ depth chart is aplomb with veterans, the 21-year-old faces a challenging path to crack the rotation. By opening day, the top two at each backcourt position will be 28 or older. Ahead of him at the 2-guard spot stand Courtney Lee and Vince Carter, both of whom hold clear roles as outside shooting specialists.

Lee and Carter boast career three-point clips better than 37.5 percent. Adams made four of 10 downtown attempts for the Grizzlies in 2014-15 and made 38.3 percent in 11 games for the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ NBA D-League affiliate. That’s a small sample size on which he must build in the next two months to show he deserves some of Carter’s minutes.

Granted, Carter shot a career-low 29.7 percent from long-range last season, partly due to lingering discomfort months after having bone spurs removed from his right ankle. Still, one would be cautiously optimistic for the 38-year-old to bounce back.

The best bet for Adams receiving meaningful playing time would be resulting from an injury. Indeed, Carter missed 16 games last year. Tony Allen, who started most of 2014-15 at the 3 spot, sat for 19. Adams has some stretch-3 potential due to his 6’10” wingspan.

By the way, Grizzlies’ use of Mike Conley and Beno Udrih as dual point guards also limits Adams’ chances of rising among the team’s guards.

After recovering, Adams must go hard in workouts as the offseason winds down before pushing veterans in training camp.

After all, Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger stated this as a requirement for young players like Adams, as Memphis TV reporter Bryan Fenley tweeted.

If Adams can avoid the fates of recent Grizzlies draft picks like Jamaal Franklin, Josh Selby and Tony Wroten, whom Memphis traded or waived before they could make an impact on Beale Street, he could make a niche for himself as someone who creates for himself offensively and wreaks havoc defensively.

Showing potential is tough in minimal playing time and summer league action. But Adams can continue his reputation as a ball thief, which he earned by setting the single-season steals record at UCLA, by pestering fellow Grizzlies throughout training camp drills.

Adams sits in a tough spot on a seasoned Grizzlies roster. A sound recovery and a heartened rally through training camp and preseason could not only grow his own future, but also shine a ray of hope that Memphis can develop its own talent.

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