6 things from 2024 Grizzlies Summer League

With Summer League wrapped up, I break down 1 thing that stood out from the 6 Grizzlies roster players this month.

The Memphis Grizzlies fell to the Miami Heat in the Summer League championship, after a crushing Elam-ending finish. While they didn’t win the Summer League championship, and even though they were hit with the injury bug, it was still a successful summer for the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies finished 6-3 through their 9 Summer League outings in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. They ripped through the Vegas stretch before the championship.

Unfortunately, the Zach Edey experience was limited to a game and a half due to two different ankle sprains. Cam Spencer and Jake LaRavia also dealt with injuries. On a more positive note, Scotty Pippen Jr. and GG Jackson received 1st team NBA Summer League honors.

Each player on the current 18-man roster — Zach Edey, GG Jackson, Scotty Pippen Jr., Jake LaRavia, Jaylen Wells, and Cam Spencer — flashed a sustainable skill that drew my attention.

Scotty Pippen Jr.: Two-way pressure

Starting with the most impressive Summer League player — perhaps in the whole NBA — Scotty Pippen Jr. gained the most of any Grizzly this month.

Fred VanVleet once said: “If you are 6’1” and under, unless you’re Trae Young, you need to be picking up full-court. You got to be a problem on defense, causing problems. Whether you know how to guard or not, just fight.”

Pippen did just that.

Pippen was an absolute ball hawk. He picked up his man all 94 feet, applying relentless pressure to disrupt the rhythm of the opposing initiator. He leveraged the increased foul limit (6→10) to his advantage by ramping up his aggression. It paid off not just in pure disruption, but with turnovers that cycled into transition offense as either a finisher or a playmaker — finishing with 26 steals (3.2 per game).

Pippen managed the game quite well, especially for Summer League. He sought opportunities to get two feet in the paint — whether it was turning on the jets in transition, or changing gears in the halfcourt. His aggressiveness parlayed into scoring opportunities or trips to the free throw line.

With his Summer League performance, Pippen bolstered his case to have his two-way contract converted to a standard one. When does that happen? I’m not sure. His outlook to crack the top-10 in the rotation is murky. The Grizzlies do have 50 games with Pippen for his two-way contract — which would put them around the trade deadline before his contract is up, if he played every single night. The two-way conversion seems like a matter of when not if — we’ve seen this script before with GG Jackson, Vince Williams, John Konchar, Kenneth Lofton Jr., and Killian Tillie.

You don’t want to make too many definitive statements on a player’s future based off Summer League performance, but everything with Scotty Pippen Jr. feels translatable. He proved he can be a backup point guard in the NBA. His stellar outing could be a runway for him to remain in the Grizzlies’ plans for quite a bit, and secure the backup point guard role down the road.

GG Jackson: rebounding

Everyone knows GG Jackson can score the ball. He reminded everyone of his riveting scoring ability this summer — deep 3’s, wicked pullup’s, smooth footwork on gather and euro steps.

With Jackson playing his first minutes with the Big 3 in a few months, it’s about how the talented teenager can complement the core. While the outside shooting and driving attack stand out, the skill that popped out to me when thinking about Jackson’s fit with the core is his rebounding. Jackson averaged 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 offensive rebounds per game in 8 Summer League games.

Jackson flew into the paint for offensive rebounds. If the first try didn’t go, his second jump allowed him to stay with the play and convert. I love some of these plays where he soars in out of nowhere for put-back dunks.

Crashing the defensive glass gives Jackson opportunity to ignite transition offense and to pressure the defense with his downhill attack.

Jackson’s rebounding has two trickling effects worth monitoring. For starters, while getting in the mix isn’t all that easy, crashing the glass can be a rewarding way to get your offense going.

More importantly, it enhances Jackson’s versatility. After the first round, Zach Kleiman mentioned the idea of optionality around Jaren Jackson Jr. — specifying the different looks with their All-Star big man with either Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke, or Santi Aldama. GG Jackson fits in that category too, as he should be playing minutes at the 4. And in lineups with Jaren at the 5, he needs to be surrounded with strong positional rebounders. If GG Jackson’s rebounding holds, he could see minutes in these lineups at either the 3 and the 4 — and this positional versatility could increase his minutes next to the core, even if he’s not starting.

Zach Edey: screening

It’s such a bummer that Zach Edey only got to play a game and a half of Summer League after spraining his ankles — 1 in the 1st game against Utah, and the other last week against New Orleans. Even in limited action, Edey flashed exactly what’s expected out of him as a rebounder, rim-protector, and screener.

I want to emphasize the screening. He immediately highlighted his impact as a screener, as fans dreamed of pick-and-rolls with Ja Morant — don’t sleep on what Edey can open up for Bane, either.

Let’s run through some of these actions:

In his first pick-and-roll action as a Grizzly, Edey completely erases Keyonte George from the action. Because Walker Kessler is in drop coverage, Pippen can walk into an easy mid-range jumper.

Because Edey is an automatic play finisher, he’s going to draw defenses’ attention — forcing them to tag him on the roll. Because the low man tags Edey here, Cam Spencer is left wide-open for a (foot-on-the-line) jumper.

Edey’s screening should be a handy space creator in out-of-bounds plays, as he frees up the elbow jumper for Pippen.

More subtly, but Edey’s screening creates advantages. With his screen, Pippen can dictate the offense, and baits the defender into a hostage dribble. Once Edey seals Kessler, Pippen gets a leaning jumper with little resistance.

Edey screened for LaRavia and took his man with him. It forces a rotation, and LaRavia got the ball moving around the horn before Jaylen Wells hit the corner 3.

Zach Edey may never be a floor spacer as a shooter, but his space creation as a screener could be elite. It’s going to open driving opportunities for ball-handlers. Because he’s a surefire finisher in the paint, teams will collapse onto him in the pick-and-roll — generating drive-and-kick looks for shooters.

While injuries hindered him from capturing the full Zach Edey experience, the Grizzlies’ newest big man showcased how he impacts this team.

Jake LaRavia: two-way playmaking

Jake LaRavia took the opportunity to build upon his strong close to his sophomore campaign by playing in Summer League. He missed several games due to knee soreness. However, his assertiveness shined as the team’s most experienced player — continuing to let it fly from 3, attacking the basket, and drawing trips to the free throw line.

LaRavia’s two-way playmaking was intriguing — as he averaged 3.2 assists and 2.8 steals in his 5 Summer League games.

Defensively, he aggressively sought chances to get his hands in the cookie jar and cause turnovers. In addition, his processing off the ball was impressive — utilizing quick hands to either swipe the ball-handler’s downhill action, or jump passing lanes.

While most of his assists were within the flow of the offense, LaRavia made good reads off the dribble to find open shooters.

LaRavia could be in line for more minutes this season. To earn them and hold onto them, the outside shooting will remain a key. In addition, he has to show he can be a connector on both sides of the floor.

Offensively, when he run off the line, he can leverage his floor game to either get to the basket to draw free throw line or to find open shooters. Defensively, he may never be a stifling defensive stopper at the point of attack. However, can he be an impactful defender with his size, help defense, and quick hands?

Jake LaRavia should be the team’s main “next man up” in the rotation, as his size and perimeter game give the Grizzlies good lineup flexibility and upside.

Jaylen Wells: versatile 3-point shooting

Jaylen Wells shot 36.6% from 3 on 41 attempts in 8 Summer League games. His shooting performance in the Summer League semifinal was a thrill — connecting on 6 of his 7 three pointers.

Throughout Summer League, he showed upside as a versatile shooter. His 3’s mainly came in the catch-and-shoot variety. He can shoot in standstill. He can let it fly off movement in either “lift” actions or off screens. His form is picture perfect — squaring his body while maintaining a quick release on his jumper.

Wells will likely spend the majority of the season in the G League to develop into a 3-and-D NBA wing. With a more amplified role, he can adjust to letting it fly in the flow of NBA motion — pin-down’s, flare’s, stack actions, handoff’s, etc. His defense was encouraging with his pressure and physicality — I was lower on his defense at Washington State, but it could’ve been because of energy exerted from his large offensive role.

Outside shooting will be Jaylen Wells’ ticket to playing time. Once he grows more comfortable in a NBA setting, he could emerge as a rotation player for this team down the road — and be the Grizzlies’ next shining example of its 4-year value contracts.

Cam Spencer: Pace

Although in limited action, Cam Spencer was impressive in his Summer League minutes. His 3-point accuracy (52.6% on 19 attempts — could’ve had more if he didn’t have his foot on the line for a few of them), playmaking (15:4 assist-to-turnover ratio), and nose for the ball (9 offensive rebounds) all popped off the page.

In the midst of his performance, he demonstrated excellent pace. He knows when to shift gears — methodically pinpointing gaps to exploit within the defense.

It’s most evident in the halfcourt. He has to offset his lack of ideal athleticism and size with his craft. His pace within the half-court is phenomenal — leveraging a good two-man game with his bigs, hostage dribbles, and his lethal jumper to create looks in the paint. He plays off two feet at such a high level, which allows him to dissect the defense as either a scorer or a playmaker.

Spencer’s pace was also evident in transition, as he hunted early opportunities to strike from downtown.

Cam Spencer will likely spend most of his time in Southaven — while there’s already clamor within the fanbase for him to have his two-way contract converted, there’s simply not room.

(Note: It’s okay to have good players on two-way contracts. And if we keep doing this same song and dance for a team that’s good at identifying talent for their two-way contracts, you’ll run out of players to justify waiving or prioritizing over the other. Just let roster stuff work itself out. It always does. It’s a good advantage in today’s NBA where all the margins matter. Anyways, tangent over.)

Spencer will benefit from a G League season. Like Wells, he can adjust to letting it fly in a variety of ways within NBA motion — though playing in Dan Hurley’s system is one heck of a head start. In addition, having a player of Spencer’s basketball IQ and fiery competitiveness is such a boost for the Hustle, an environment meant to foster player growth and confidence.

Those specific traits coupled with lights-out shooting can make Cam Spencer a good NBA role player for a long time.

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The Memphis Grizzlies’ roster players played at an encouraging level. It’s not about the volume though — they won’t command the touches, shots, and usage Summer Leauge provided. However, they showcased specific skills that feel translatable on the main roster — leaving optimism for growth into excelling in their role within this team’s construction.

For Scotty Pippen Jr., it’s eventually becoming Ja Morant’s backup point guard.

For GG Jackson, it’s growing to be a potential option as the starting small forward next to Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

For Zach Edey, it’s proving he’s a bonafide NBA starting center and evolving an awesome pick-and-roll partner.

For Jake LaRavia, it’s breaking through as a NBA rotation player as an interchangeable forward that’s more than a shooter.

For Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer, it’s sustaining their pedigree as elite shooters and developing into well-rounded complementary perimeter players ready to shine when their numbers are called.

While all these players won’t receive the same opportunities once the season begins, their flashes of skills stood out as potential entry points for larger roles — whether it’s next year, or down the road.

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