Memphis Grizzlies 2023 Summer League Preview
We get at least 7 games of Memphis Grizzlies basketball to hold us over for a few months. What should we watch for?
The Memphis Grizzlies kick off Summer League today, as they square off against the Philadelpha 76ers at 5PM CST as part of Salt Lake City Summer League. The rest of the schedule follows:
The Grizzlies roster will feature
Sophomores David Roddy, Jake LaRavia, and Kenneth Lofton Jr.
Two-way players Vince Williams Jr., Jacob Gilyard, and GG Jackson
Full roster:
As the Grizzlies play at least 7 games over the next 2 weeks, what can we watch for?
Sophomore empowerment
Over the past two years, the Grizzlies coaching staff have used Summer League to empower its “veteran” players to foster development en route to larger roles the following regular season.
The best case was Desmond Bane, who saw a meteoric rise in his game after taking on primary facilitation responsibilities in Summer League. Ziaire Williams handled the ball a ton in his “sophomore” Summer League, and though we didn’t see a leap materialize afterwards, he showed flashes of more playmaking juice when healthy. However, Santi Aldama built confidence with more touches in Summer League on his way to a sizable leap, a temporary starting role, and a pivotal rotation spot in the ensuing season.
Two players to watch here are David Roddy and Jake LaRavia.
Roddy falls more in the camp of Bane and Williams — a rookie that showed promise even in a smaller role, looking to shoulder primary creation responsibilities to set up a sophomore jump. Roddy didn’t have a ton of creation opportunities this past season, generating 1.7 assists per 36 minutes — while 75% of his shots were assisted on, per Cleaning the Glass.
With Summer League reps, Roddy could showcase more of his live-dribble juice and advantage creation he flashed at Colorado State. He won’t be asked to handle creation responsibilities on the main roster. However, it could give him the confidence to create more in the halfcourt, while making the appropriate reads in advantage creation scenarios.
LaRavia follows more of Santi Aldama’s path — an oft-used rookie that mainly played with the Memphis Hustle, then builds confidence in the Summer League for a larger role. He saw his minutes disappear, as he was in and out of the lineup with injuries and illness when Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ziaire Williams made their returns. In the process, LaRavia had the chance to work on one of his biggest areas of improvement: actually letting it fly.
With the Hustle, he attempted 7.6 three’s per game, while connecting on 36.4% of them. These next 2 weeks will be big for LaRavia to show that he’s not only willing to let it fly, but that he’s an efficient offensive piece as well. If pops off with his sharp shooting stroke, while serving as a key cog in the system with his live-dribble connectivity, he could be a factor in the rotation next season.
There’s a rotation spot for grabs between Roddy and LaRavia, as well as Ziaire Williams. With Ja Morant’s suspension, there could be a starting spot up for grabs. For Roddy and LaRavia, it’s an opportunity to gain momentum towards locking up a rotation spot — maybe even the (temporary) starting small forward — for opening night in a few months.
Let Junior Cook
Everyone is ready to see Kenneth Lofton Jr. in action. The reigning G League Rookie of the Year is receiving his first substantial amount of minutes since officially joining the main roster.
It’s no question he’ll be a factor in the gameplan. Summer League is meant for bucket-getters like Lofton. If a play design falls apart, just get the ball to players like him and let him cook.
Obviously, you want to build good habits, and with Junior, his defense and playmaking will be areas of growth to monitor. However, he should see Lofton find his groove offensively wherever it is — in the post, the mid-range, around the rim, or from beyond the arc. He’ll dazzle with his brute force and stellar footwork.
First impressions: GG Jackson
It’s going to be a process with GG Jackson to start his NBA career, but he has the tools to bet on.
Summer League will be our first chance to see GG Jackson in action. Like Lofton, his skillset is fit for Summer League, a time where sometimes you’ll just need a bucket. However, it’s going to be interesting to see how his game scales with a clear pecking order — one where he’s not the go-to option.
It may not be pretty at times, as the case with 18 year-old rookies. Nonetheless, we’ll see several moments where GG Jackson flashes the upside that made him such a tantalizing prospect through the grassroots the past several years.
Other Notes
The other two-ways. Most Grizzlies followers haven’t seen much of Vince Williams Jr. and Jacob Gillyard, but their skillsets are the ideal connective pieces necessary for a quickly-organized Summer League team. Williams has the fascinating skillset to grow as an energy defensive ace, with remarkable offensive efficiency in several areas — tons of “Mr. Do Something” vibes. Gilyard is a great floor general with an uncanny ability to find his teammates while taking care of the ball — 4.6 assist-to-turnover ratio (9.8 assists vs. 2.1 turnovers in G League regular season).
Do we see Josh Christopher? As we await the details of the Dillon Brooks sign-and-trade, the Grizzlies wouldn’t be able to bring (soon-to-be) newly-acquired Josh Christopher until July 6th — when free agency deals are made official. It could be longer debating on the state of the deal. So he will likely not join the Grizzlies for their Salt Lake City stint. If he’s not rerouted in another deal, the rising 3rd-year guard could be a potential prospect in the Grizzlies’ Vegas Summer League showcase.
Tarik Biberovic update. The Grizzlies 56th pick is waiting on clearance from FIBA before playing in this month’s festivities.
Hustle mainstay. Matthew Hurt averaged 15.8 on nearly 59.8% shooting from the field, solidifying their big man depth.
Intriguing G League name. Joel Ayayi played a key role on the Gonzaga team that made it to the national championship in 2021. In 2 G League seasons, he’s averaged 9.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists on 49.8/33.1/64.6 shooting splits. Possible name to keep an eye on for future 2-way conversions.
Hometown hero. Former Arlington High standout Nathan Hoover is on the roster, after playing his collegiate ball at Wofford and professional ball in Spain. Plenty of people back home will be psyched to see the movement sharpshooter in a (Summer League) Grizzlies uniform.
Rest of the roster
Timmy Allen averaged 10.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 0.9 steals on 48.6 shooting at Texas last year.
Manny Bates averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 61.9% shooting at Butler last year.
Coolest name in Summer League, Frankie Ferrari averaged 14.7 points, 5.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals on 42.6/40.1/85.9 shooting splits at San Francisco last year.
Aminu Mohammed only played 5.5 minutes per game in 19 regular season games with the Delaware Blue Coats, but he averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 steals on 37.9% shooting from the field and 31% at his lone collegiate season at Georgetown.
In Italy, Tariq Owens averaged 9.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks on 58.7% shooting from the field in 30 games.
I won’t have game-by-game recaps, but I’ll be sure to have some breakdowns on any trends I’ve liked from the Memphis Grizzlies this Summer League.
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