How can the Grizzlies move around the board in 2026 NBA Draft

The Memphis Grizzlies have typically shifted up the board on draft night in the Zach Kleiman era. How can he do so in the 2026 NBA Draft?

If you’ve followed the Memphis Grizzlies or NBA Draft closely since 2019, you know Zach Kleiman hardly stays at his predetermined draft spots.

• 2019: traded up from 23 to 21 to draft Brandon Clarke, initially acquired 23rd pick in Mike Conley trade

• 2020: traded two future second round picks for the 30th pick for Desmond Bane. Traded up from 40 to 35 for Xavier Tillman

• 2021: traded up from 17 to 10 and drafted Ziaire Williams. Within the same trade, he moved up from 51 to 40, then up from 40 to 30 for Santi Aldama

• 2022: packaged the 22nd and 29th picks to jump to 19th for Jake LaRavia. Traded De’Anthony Melton for the 23rd pick to select David Roddy. Traded a future second round pick for Kennedy Chandler.

• 2023: traded out of 25th for Marcus Smart.

• 2024: traded up from 57th to 53rd to get Cam Spencer.

• 2025: traded up from 16th to 11th with a future first-round pick and two additional seconds to acquire Cedric Coward. Traded for the last pick to select Jahmai Mashack.

So a draft-centric trade every year, for you trade-thirsty fans.

The only players Kleiman has drafted at their original selection are Ja Morant, Vince Williams Jr., GG Jackson, Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, and Javon Small. It’s likely the third pick will join this list, contrary to aggregating click-baiting suggestions.

Now, the Grizzlies also have the 16th and 32nd pick. Both selections would likely entail spots on the main roster. The Grizzlies currently have 14 players on the main roster — not including Taj Gibson’s non-guaranteed contract, then team options for Olivier-Maxence Prosper and GG Jackson. The team options seem like a foregone conclusion to be accepted. Nonetheless, a roster crunch is inevitable, especially when you consider future trades that can bring back more players. Within this crunch, I’m curious about their appetite for having three rookies on the main roster next season — on top of having three first-round picks in the 2027 draft.

Given these assets and Kleiman’s trade history, how can the Grizzlies use the 16th and 32nd picks to move around the board?

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What could the Grizzlies do with the 16th pick?

The trade-up spot people are fixated on is the 16th pick. However, I’m unsure of the feasibility of this effort. I’d say there’s a bit of a chasm between the top 4, then 5-11, then the rest of the board for the first round.

It seems like a pipe dream to jump up into the top-7. While the Nets and Kings could be possible Ja Morant suitors, it seems more likely that those teams seek out one of the guards within the top-10 given the level of cost control and upside. The Nets’ framework is messier given their cap relief, but would they be willing to move down from 16 to 6 if the Grizzlies add a rotation player plus one of their 2027 first-round picks? Doubtful.

Then let’s move down the board. Why would Atlanta move down from 8 to 16 when they already have 23? They’re in prime position to get either Aday Mara or a big. This is the last time the Mavericks control their own first-round pick until 2031. Why would they move off a chance to add a core guy next to Cooper Flagg? Milwaukee is staring down a possible Giannis trade, and if that’s the road to take, it’s hard to envision them moving off a top-10 pick without a big price.

Okay, so the sweet spots lie with 11-13.

The Grizzlies could leverage their $28.8M traded player exception to absorb money from teams looking to clean up their books.

With the Warriors, would taking on Moses Moody’s contract — roughly two years and $25.7M left on his deal — after a knee injury be enough to move up to 11? Maybe they can even consolidate and go with 16 + 32 for Moody + 11?

OKC will be looking to dodge the second apron. Unpopular opinion, but Lu Dort would be a good young veteran with championship experience to add on an expiring contract. While the Grizzlies could look to extend him to a 2-3 year deal, they could also flip him at the trade deadline for more draft capital. Isaiah Joe could be another traded player exception target to move up.

The 13th pick could be a trade-up play for Ja Morant — whether it’s in Miami’s hands or not. If Miami is a play for Giannis, could the Grizzlies trade up from 16 to 13 with Morant to Milwaukee then the contracts of Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma coming back?

I don’t foresee any trade-up possibilities happening to 14 and 15. Matt Hrdlicka threw out a fascinating trade idea with the Bulls around 15, 16, Morant, and contracts, but I don’t see Chicago making that type of move.

Trade-down possibilities could be something, but it’s never been something Kleiman has done. Does Charlotte send over 18 and two of their trillion second-round picks to leapfrog OKC for someone they like? Ditto for Detroit with 21, as they can look to jump Toronto for a guard they like. Again, it’s not a move the Grizzlies have done in Kleiman’s tenure, but all possibilities are likely on the table.

What could the Grizzlies do with the 32nd pick?

The 32nd pick is a fascinating one because there are compelling cases to move up or down the board.

Let’s start with down the board. Since the CBA implemented a second-round exception — essentially a mechanism to get a second-round pick on the main roster without it counting towards the cap the first year — teams have leveraged the 31-33 range to initiate trades that bring back more trades.

• 2025: Minnesota Timberwolves acquired the 36th pick and two future second-round picks from the Phoenix Suns for the 31st pick. They then moved the 36th pick for the 45th pick and cash considerations to nab one of the first two-way players off the board, Rocco Zikarsky.

• 2025: Boston Celtics acquired the 46th, 57th, and two future second-round picks from the Orlando Magic for the 32nd pick. So, the Celtics received two priority two-ways plus future second-round picks out of the trade.

• 2024: Portland Trail Blazers received three future second-round picks plus the rights to an international player from the New York Picks for the 34th pick.

• 2023: San Antonio Spurs traded the 33rd pick to Minnesota for two future second-round picks.

The Grizzlies could have a chance to increase their pool of second-round picks from 6 to roughly 9-10. While some fans get tongue-in-cheek about the utilization of second-round picks — particularly with making the selection — it’s netted them value outside the second round. They’ve used second-round picks to trade up for Brandon Clarke, Desmond Bane, Santi Aldama, and Cedric Coward. They also traded three second-round picks for Luke Kennard — and this 32nd pick actually came from a swap the Grizzlies received in this deal.

Pretty good value!

Now what if the 32nd pick is a trade-up spot?

The 32nd pick can be a way the Grizzlies get back into the first round — or to possibly leverage another trade up from 16. Towards the end of the first round, there are teams looking to escape tax penalties.

Two teams come to mind: the Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Grizzlies could help their team’s cap situation given their massive traded player exception, while moving up the board.

Reports have suggested that the Nuggets could look to trade either Cam Johnson or Christian Braun in order to save money to re-sign Peyton Watson while reducing their tax penalties. Johnson is likely easier to deal than Braun due to his expiring contract, as the latter is starting a five-year extension.

A trade idea between these two teams could be the 32nd pick with Scotty Pippen Jr. or Walter Clayton Jr. for Johnson and the 26th pick. It gives the Nuggets a steady backup for Jamal Murray and saves them about $20M — and more when factoring in luxury tax penalties.

With Cleveland, they’re projected to be in the second apron going into next year. The player they could look to deal is Max Strus, who could potentially get them out of the aprons entirely.

The same sort of trade could work as above but with Cleveland’s 29th pick. The Grizzlies could just absorb Strus’ contract outright without sending anything back to save Cleveland more money. This would grant Cleveland access to a taxpayer mid-level exception and to the ability to aggregate salaries in a trade.

The 32nd pick may just have more value than the 26th and 29th picks due to the salary cap mechanisms behind it. However, what if it’s used to move up the board one more time?

Going to use Golden State as the example here. Could the Grizzlies use the 16th and either the 26th or 29th picks to move up to the 11th pick? Technically, the Grizzlies could also make all this easier and do 16/32 for 11 as well.

Nonetheless, the Grizzlies have options with their valuable second-round pick to couple with their asset pool.

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The Grizzlies have flexibility to move around the board to find how they want to build their team around the 3rd pick, Zach Edey, and Cedric Coward.

It’s tantalizing to think about the idea of moving up from 16th, but I wonder about the appetite for these teams to actually come off their lottery pick. Nonetheless, there’s the play where they can utilize the traded player exception to take on money with moving up being the compensation for the cap favor. The Grizzlies may not also have the desire to add three rookies on the main roster, so consolidation with 16th and 32nd could be at play.

Then, with trading down for the Grizzlies has just not been a situation at play in Zach Kleiman’s tenure.

Let’s offer a few trades here to close it out:

• 3-team trade: Memphis receives 11th pick and Max Strus, Golden State receives 16th and 29th pick, Cleveland receives the 32nd pick.

• Memphis acquires the 11th pick from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the 16th and 32nd picks.

• Memphis acquires the 13th and 41st picks from the Miami Heat for the 16th and 32nd picks. The 41st pick would essentially give the Grizzlies their first choice in priority two-way discussions.

• Memphis receives the 18th pick and two future second-round picks from the Charlotte Hornets for the 16th pick.

Players to targets

• A guard faller — Kingston Flemings, Brayden Burries, or Mikel Brown Jr.

• Morez Johnson

• Yaxel Lendeborg

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