The Memphis Grizzlies have a bright and exciting future ahead of them. Here are five roster moves they must make to keep the momentum going.
What a year it was for the Memphis Grizzlies. Not only did they remain in the playoff hunt until the final play-in game, but we also caught a glimpse of their future. This future is highlighted by the second pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Ja Morant.
Morant was the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year and for good reason. He averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game. He led the Grizzlies in both scoring and assists. He also almost took them back to the playoffs as a rookie.
He did not do this all by himself though. Jaren Jackson Jr. had a big season, Jonas Valanciunas was a handful in the middle and Brandon Clarke had a tremendous rookie season as well. To say the future is bright for the Grizzlies would be an understatement.
Every season in the NBA has its share of controversy and sagas. This season the Grizzlies had their share and it all had to do with the trade they made last season. When the Golden State Warriors needed to free up some money, they traded Andre Iguodala to Memphis.
Pick your favorite @jamorant moment from this season.#GrizzPlayerDaysJa pic.twitter.com/r8wK7X4ywD
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 8, 2020
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Iguodala did not want to play for a team he deemed not good enough to make the playoffs. He sat out and demanded that he be traded, which was going to be a tough ask due to his age and contract size.
The other problem was that the Grizzlies had was that half the NBA could not trade for Iguodala as he would not play for them. They were in the same position as the Grizzlies. Fortunately, the Grizzlies managed to find a contender who was interested and had the pieces to trade and they shipped him out.
The on-court performance did not suffer as a result of this distraction. Had Iguodala played, the Grizzlies may have made the playoffs. As it was, the front office, coaching staff and fans got a glimpse of an exciting future. With that in mind, here are five roster moves they need to make to make a further run at the postseason next year.