Grizzlies prospect profile and fits: Tristan Da Silva

Tristan Da Silva is one of the best bets in this class to be an early contributor to winning basketball. If the Memphis Grizzlies trade down, will the 6'8" forward out of Colorado be a good pick?

Tristan Da Silva, Wing/Forward, Colorado

• Measurements: 6’8.25” (without shoes), 216.8 pounds, 6’10.25” wingspan

• Age: 23 years old (May 15, 2001)

• Per-36 (via Tankathon): 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks

• Mock Draft placement: 14 - Trail Blazers (No Ceilings), 16 - 76ers (The Ringer), 18 - Magic (ESPN, The Athletic, Tankathon), 20 - Cavaliers (Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report) 27 - Timberwolves (CBS Sports)

• Big Board placement: 17 (ESPN), 19 (Tankathon), 19 (The Ringer), 17 (No Ceilings), Outside 1st Round (NBA Big Board), 19 (The Athletic), 22 (Yahoo Sports), 30 (CBS Sports), 22 (Bleacher Report)

Colorado has 2 forward prospects that embody the “upside vs. surefire” conversation people debate about with the draft. The younger prospect that could grow into something more, or the older player that’s more of a known commodity.

Cody Williams and Tristan Da Silva.

Cody Williams gets more of the draft attention for his size, offensive flashes, and defensive tools as a teenager — and also getting more buzz because of the success of his brother, Jalen Williams of the OKC Thunder. He’s built up good equity to be a lottery pick, and possesses the upside to be one of the best players in this class.

However, I wanted to focus on Tristan Da Silva here. The Grizzlies have benefitted from drafting the older, more defined prospect — Brandon Clarke, Desmond Bane, Xavier Tillman, Vince Williams Jr., and even John Konchar on a two-way contract.

Especially if the Grizzlies trade down, they could go down this path once again and find a rotation player in Tristan Da Silva, the 23 year-old prospect out of Colorado.

Scouting Report

Looking at the film

Tristan Da Silva’s fluidity at his size serves as the catalyst for his intriguing 2-way skillset as a 6’8” forward. He can put the ball on the deck — evident in grab-and-go rebounding, face up’s, attacking closeouts, or initiating the offense. He’s superb moving within the flow of the offense, whether it’s off handoffs or when relocating for 3. It’s a trait that makes him a seamless fit in a NBA system predicated around having as much size and dribble-pass-shoot ability as possible.

Da Silva made significant strides towards becoming a knockdown 3-point shooter. He squares and loads up his shot quickly off the catch, even in motion.

Tristan Da Silva processes the game at a sensational level.

Intersecting with his fluidity, he’s an instinctive cutter that identifies cracks within the defense to get to the basket. He’s always in motion — which bodes well for cutting and spot-up opportunities. He also has good synergy with his big men, seeking out give-and-go chances out of the post. This skill will make him an asset in motion-based offense, but will also amplify to improvise if he sees a play breaking down.

Da Silva is a wicked passer. He loves slinging bounce passes to cutters or to teammates in the dunker’s spot. In grab-and-go situations, he has good floor vision with his hit-ahead’s. It should be enhanced in the league with more spacing, as he can be a big forward that finds his teammates in next actions or when driving.

With Da Silva’s passing creativity comes risk. He tries to thread the needle a bit too much. He gets himself into no-man’s land as well and forces himself into a pass. He’s sped up at times and presses the issue as well. He won’t have nearly as high of a usage rate on his next team, but it’s something to definitely monitor.

Along the same lines, Da Silva’s shot portfolio has to — and should — adjust. He’s a bit reliant on his size mismatches inside the arc and resorts to tough post jumpers, especially after pulling his dribble. He’ll likely be of more “3’s and layups” player, but he has the fluidity and elevation to attack in the in-between.

Da Silva’s processing also shines defensively. He’s good with his rotations for the most part. Off the ball, he blows up DHO’s as well. Those things don’t pop up in the box score, but it applies pressure on the opposition and forces them into new actions or more contested shots.

Da Silva’s event creation comes more with deflections and steals. Back to processing, he times passes and drives well to help create cycles. Combining this skill with his ball-handling and finishing in the open floor lay the foundation for him to be a good transition weapon.

Da Silva is a solid drive defender, but definitely has question marks. To start on his strengths, he leverages his size well and avoids fouling. He stays at the driver’s hip well and forces them into suboptimal finishing windows.

Da Silva isn’t great moving laterally. He can’t react to counters super quickly and doesn’t recover all that well. In addition, he’s not a much of a shot deterrent either.

Alluding to it earlier, Da Silva doesn’t offer much resistance inside. While his size bodes well on the perimeter, he’s relatively light and short as a rim deterrent. When rotating over to 5’s or bigger 4’s, they shoot over him.

His drive and rim defense hinders his positional versatility. He can’t defend down (1-2) or up (5) positions. It limits him to matchup-specific 3’s and 4’s, which could hurt his playoff viability.

Da Silva could gamble a little bit. He can dig a bit too hard on drives and give up 3’s to his man. He surrenders advantages to his opponents with closing out too hard, or going for steals, to a point he can’t recover. To stress, a little bit … not all the time. Nonetheless, it’ll be important for him to be more sharp defensively to start his career, even if it means being more conservative.

While Tristan Da Silva has some flaws defensively, he’s a smart basketball forward that can process things quickly, shoot off the catch and off movement, and put the ball on the deck — while possessing the size teams covet on the perimeter. It’s very likely he’s one of the most productive rookies from Day 1.

Fit with Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have frequently targeted these bigger combo forwards the past several years — Santi Aldama, Jake LaRavia, David Roddy, GG Jackson. Tristan Da Silva would fit that mold and give the Grizzlies more lineup flexibility.

One thing I ultimately pivot to with Da Silva — or frankly any combo forward — is Santi Aldama’s extension. The Grizzlies extending Aldama isn’t totally shocking, but the notion of not extending him wouldn’t really surprise me either. He’s a skilled 7-footer that can put the ball on the floor and make plays for himself and others, and with creativity more often than not. However, he didn’t emerge as a starter this past season, and committing over $20M to the backup 4 and 5 is hard when the team is in the tax.

So insert Tristan Da Silva. If Aldama is used as a sweetener in a trade — let’s hypothetically say a trade-down for a center where the Grizzlies swap the 9th pick for a selection deep in the teen’s, and turn Aldama and one other player into a starting-caliber center. Da Silva could be a Moneyball replacement. Immediately, in this hypothetical, he’d compete with Jake LaRavia for the backup 4 spot, which would probably the final spot of the rotation.

Da Silva’s stylistic fit is quite clear. You can never have too many 6’8” forwards that can dribble, pass, and shoot. He’s a smart cutter that’d pair well next to a playmaker like Ja Morant. He quickly ignites transition offense with rebounds and event creation.

For consistent minutes, he has to improve as a committee rebounder and with his interior defense to be more of a NBA 4, especially in lineups where Jaren Jackson Jr. or Brandon Clarke are at the 5.

Da Silva wouldn’t be the flashiest pick on draft night, but he has the best chance to return the most value on their rookie-scale contract of any player outside the lottery.

Final judgement: Tristan Da Silva likely won’t be someone to pick with the 9th pick. However, if the Grizzlies use the 9th pick to trade down to acquire a starting center, then Da Silva should be near the top of the board. He’s a smart forward that can impact winning basketball from Day 1.

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