Memphis Grizzlies Rebuild Study Guide
As the Memphis Grizzlies embark on a younger build, here's a crash course on the various elements of a rebuild from draft picks, to young cores, to traded player exceptions and more.
The Memphis Grizzlies made a seismic trade when dealing away franchise cornerstone Jaren Jackson Jr., signaling it’s time for a younger build.
Over the coming months — or even years — a lot of buzz words will be at play with the Grizzlies. Draft picks and traded player exceptions will be at the forefront. The Grizzlies now have a league-high dozen first-round picks, and they generated the highest traded player exception in NBA history at $28.8M.
When assessing the roster, players will be thought of through the lenses of their fit on the next Grizzlies team that’s back in the playoffs. In addition, veterans will be thought of carefully when identifying their fit within the system and the locker room.
As the Grizzlies embark on this rebuild, I provide a guide of how the team is looking now, and where it could go in the future. Finally, I outline value of the assets it built up over the trade deadline through the prism of recent trends of teams in similar positions.
State of the Roster
The Memphis Grizzlies no longer resemble the team they’ve built over the last several seasons. Dating back to the 2022-23 season, Ja Morant, Santi Aldama, and Brandon Clarke remain on the roster. It’s been a lot of turnover in such a short period of time.
So after the trade deadline, the main question is about what’s next.
The Grizzlies will ride out the season testing out their young guys in different roles. Veterans will play, but the Grizzlies will steer clear, being cautious. For example, I would expect the Grizzlies to alternate Ty Jerome and Scotty Pippen Jr. on back-to-backs, similar to what they did in Portland — or they just won’t play, and Javon Small and Walter Clayton Jr. will run the offense.
Another big elephant in the room is Ja Morant. Many components exist. Will he play at all the remainder of the season? He’s approaching his three-week reevaluation period on his UCL sprain. From there, we’ll see how everything goes. Then, the Grizzlies will have to decide their threshold for trading Morant in the offseason. Essentially, what would suffice to execute a trade?
Obviously, it will create questions about the rest of the roster, and who would be on the move next.
Nonetheless, the Grizzlies have a fascinating roster for 2026 picks to walk into. They possess an assortment of young players and veterans. Positionally, they have a plethora of guards that offer different dynamics, wings with good size and interchangeability, and a massive big man that makes life easier on both sides of the floor.
Young Core
When discussing a young core, Zach Kleiman mentioned Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, and Walter Clayton Jr. — while also saying he doesn’t want to anoint anyone too early.
Edey is the crown jewel of the young core at the moment — and for good reason. He’s missed all but 11 games with ankle issues, enduring a stress reaction after an offseason surgery to re-stabilize his ankle. Obviously, there’s reason to pause and have concern when assessing the long-term viability of a 7’4” big man with an early history of ankle injuries. The Grizzlies have experience navigating significant lower body injuries with a cornerstone big man with Jaren Jackson Jr., and he turned a corner. The hope is Edey can do the same — knocking on every single piece of wood near me.
Nonetheless, when Edey was on the floor, everything just made sense. He leveled up as an anchor of the defense with his deterrence and coverage defense. Offensively, he creates so many advantages with his screening, rolling, play-finishing, and rebounding. When Edey was on the floor, the Grizzlies had a 7-4 record, and they obliterated their opponents when he’s in the game.
Cedric Coward has emerged as a main core piece alongside Edey. He checks so many boxes as a wing. He has real upside as a three-level scorer with his play-finishing, ability to get to his spots, and the balance he possesses on his dribble jumpers. His handle and playmaking are more advanced than anticipated at this age — 2.9 assists per game with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s an awesome rebounder for his position, which helps ignite transition offense. He can also defend multiple archetypes and assume different defensive roles.
The beauty with his game is hiss malleability with any direction the Grizzlies take. If the Grizzlies opt for a big wing to feature as the guy, Coward can slide to the 2 as an elite connector. He offers just enough creation upside where he can grow as a number two option, similar to Milwaukee Bucks Khris Middleton. He can play up to the 4 in smaller lineups, down to the 2 in larger lineups, and can handle creation responsibilities at an early stage.
With Jaylen Wells, the offense has struggled, as he needs to solidify himself as more of a threat as an outside shooter and finisher. However, he has a legitimate argument as a premier defensive stopper — and takes on the toughest assignments each night. That’s a valuable role to nail down at this juncture of the rebuild.
It will be “wait and see” with Walter Clayton Jr. He has major shot creation pedigree from Florida. He can maybe level up his defense with lighter offensive load. He’s also a quick processor and decision-maker that should benefit him as a combo guard.
GG Jackson has stacked together translatable skills this season and is the youngest player on this roster. Cam Spencer has emerged as an elite shooter this season. Scotty Pippen Jr. is back from injury and provides pressure on both sides of the ball — and he has a strong playoff series on his résumé.
Obviously, the Grizzlies can’t keep everyone. However, they aren’t starting from ground zero. They have a good group of young guys to grow with, and they should bolster its young core with the 2026 draft class.
Veterans in the building
It’s going to be important to surround the team with veterans that can keep things organized on the floor and show them NBA ropes. After the trade deadline, Zach Kleiman said it’s important to surround this team with the right kind of veterans.
Ty Jerome provides a high level of playmaking and shot creation with a strong basketball IQ. A rebuilding team can use a veteran point guard that can raise the floor of the offense and not turn the ball over. Santi Aldama is a skillful big that takes care of the ball turnover while also not stopping it either. Those two players would be good pieces to organize the offense, as it can get chaotic when there’s a ton of inexperience on the floor.
Injuries have slowed him down, but Brandon Clarke has always been known as a guy that attacks his rehab process, a sign of a player being the ultimate pro and a “lead by example guy.” As now one of the longest tenured members on the team, he provides organizational knowledge he can pass onto the young guys over the next year.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a two-time NBA champion, and that wealth of experience is valuable in the locker room. This season, he’s taken his role in stride and brings it on both sides of the floor.
Kyle Anderson is back, and he’s been around different locker rooms and winning cultures. He will keep the team organized on both sides of the floor and will elevate a team’s defense.
These veterans may or may not be involved in the next iteration of a Memphis Grizzlies playoff team. Organizations in this younger rebuild process tend to flip veterans to winning situations in exchange for draft capital. The Grizzlies may not be different here, especially with guys like Jerome and Aldama.
Even if this cast of veterans aren’t here for the long haul, the Grizzlies have a good group of players for the young guys to learn from — on and off the floor. Zach Kleiman will have to balance keeping veterans in the building, extracting value at the right time1, and shuffling in more veterans.
THE Traded Player Exception
The Memphis Grizzlies generated a $28.8M traded player exception, the difference between outgoing and incoming salaries in the trade with Utah last week.
How do teams use it? It can be leveraged in multiple capacities.
The Grizzlies generated a $25M traded player exception when they dealt Mike Conley away in 2019. They used a chunk of it to allow the Warriors to salary-dump Andre Iguodala with a future protected first-round pick. They used part of it to take on Josh Jackson’s contract in a trade with Phoenix, and the Suns incentivized them with De’Anthony Melton. So asset accumulation is a way teams leverage traded player exceptions.
Another example of asset accumulation, the Pistons generated a $20M TPE when they traded Jerami Grant to Portland. The Pistons traded a future first-round pick and acquired Kemba Walker’s salary from the Knicks with a first-round pick attached to it — which became Jalen Duren.
Teams have used large traded player exceptions to acquire a free agent via sign-and-trade. The Hawks created a $25M TPE when they traded Dejounte Murray to New Orleans, then leveraged it to facilitate a sign-and-trade to pick up Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Prior to the Jackson trade, the Celtics had the highest TPE with a Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade with the Hornets. They used it to build out more depth with the trades for Evan Fournier and Josh Richardson.
Teams can technically use TPEs to create new ones and keep flexibility. For example, the Timberwolves traded Rob Dillingham for Ayo Dosunmu, who was also sent over. However, they generated a $6.6M TPE (Dillingham’s salary) because they absorbed Dosunmu’s contract into their traded player exception they created with the Alexander-Walker sign-and-trade last summer.
So there’s asset accumulation, sign-and-trade’s, depth, and flexibility.
How can this look like for Memphis?
With asset accumulation, they can target teams in the tax to shed salary and serve as a dumping ground with a pick or young player as a sweetener. The Nuggets will have a free agency conundrum with Peyton Watson. Could the Memphis Grizzlies get a pick swap for taking on Cam Johnson’s contract to allow them to pay Watson? Or could they do this with the Cavs with Max Strus? Matt Hrdlicka merged the idea to use this as a mechanism to move the Magic/Suns pick up the board by taking salary from a team with a higher pick — for example, taking on Patrick Williams’ contract from the Bulls to move up from 17 to 10.
Like the Hawks, can the Grizzlies use it as a way to acquire a free agent? I’m keeping an eye on Tari Eason, who the Grizzlies can offer a four-year declining contract starting around $24M into a sign-and-trade for a second. The Rockets may have issues paying him due to the luxury tax this summer. Peyton Watson and Quentin Grimes are two other players to watch here.
I’d be shocked if the Grizzlies do not utilize this traded player exception over the next year. It’s a chance to add another asset to their deep collection.
This Draft
This draft is absolutely loaded.
Top-4 is a real jewel. The whole situation at Kansas has been weird, but Darryn Peterson is the best shooting guard prospect since Brandon Roy. AJ Dybantsa (BYU) has a mesmerizing toolset as a 6’9” creator. Cameron Boozer (Duke) produces and processes at a supercomputer level. Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) is a wrecking ball with his finishing, defense, and motor.
The Grizzlies may be in the business for a new point guard. This class is the one to find the point guard of the future. Kingston Flemings (Houston), Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Keaton Wagler (Illinois), and Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville) are great bets to be lead guards. If they opt for a guard platoon between Jerome, Pippen, and Clayton, this draft has good guards for that with Bennett Stirtz (Iowa), Labaron Philon (Alabama), and Christian Anderson (Texas Tech) as options.
If the Grizzlies need power forward replacements, Grizzlies fans may be familiar with Nate Ament (Tennessee), who’s shown out in SEC play. Koa Peat (Arizona) and Hannes Steinbach (Washington) are more traditional power forwards, but both are bets to impact winning basketball. Morez Johnson and Yaxel Lendeborg at Michigan will be good pros. If the Grizzlies trend older, Thomas Haugh (Florida) and Joshua Jefferson (Iowa) are productive players to watch.
Step out of these positions, and there are more intriguing freshmen with Brayden Burries (Arizona), Braylon Mullins (Connecticut), Amari Allen (Alabama) Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor), and Cameron Carr (Baylor) at the 2 and the 3.
With three picks projected for their top-35, the Grizzlies have a golden opportunity to load up with more talent to this young core.
Value of Draft picks
The Memphis Grizzlies have a dozen first-round picks and up to seven second-round picks.
Draft picks are a form of currency that enable a team to leverage them in various capacities.
First off, it gives teams bites at the apple. Look at Oklahoma City, Houston, and San Antonio. Oklahoma City is obviously the best example of this fact. With the historic amount of draft capital they possessed, they have extracted value all the way across the board — from Chet Holmgren (2), Jalen Williams (12), Ajay Mitchell (38), to Aaron Wiggins (55). Houston accumulated Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard from the James Harden trade, then had extra picks to trade into the 2021 NBA Draft for Alperen Sengun. You’ll see this with the Brooklyn Nets, San Antonio Spurs, and Charlotte Hornets who have an excess of picks through the remainder of the decade.
The Boston Celtics are a strong example of using draft picks for currency. The infamous trade with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce netted them Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They had accumulated the assets necessary to trade for Kyrie Irving. When that iteration didn’t work, they acquired a pick via the Marcus Smart trade to flip it for Jrue Holiday.
Teams have also used a surplus of draft picks to acquire future or more valuable draft picks. The Thunder traded a 2023 first-round pick to Denver for one in 2027. The Utah Jazz traded three lesser draft assets to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for their 2031 first-round selection — as the latter made the deal to increase their utility with trades with more picks.
Most importantly, it enables teams to go get their guys. Zach Kleiman is known for trading up to get their guy — Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman, Santi Aldama, Jake LaRavia, and Cedric Coward.2
Sam Presti has done this too. He absorbed Davis Bertans’ salary to trade up for Cason Wallace in 2023. He had the draft capital to flip three first-round picks for the 11th pick for Ousmane Dieng.3
In another capacity, it allows teams to go get their guys when it comes to trading for their guys. After building up serious draft capital by trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz had the ammo to trade for Jaren Jackson Jr. to expedite their rebuild process — and the only pick of the three that belongs to them is the most valuable pick next season between themselves, Cleveland, and Minnesota. The Knicks had an excess of draft capital to pursue Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. This luxury prevents a big trade from being an all-in move that limits future flexibility.
The Grizzlies currently have a dozen first-round picks. It wouldn’t be surprising if they acquire more draft assets via salary dumps or from trading other players. It can be a valuable currency to allow the Grizzlies to reach high-level outcomes.
The Grizzlies have more assets at their disposal than they started this era with, although Jaren Jackson Jr. then jumping up to the 2nd pick with Ja Morant gave them a better player foundation. Other than that, when assessing the players, Dillon Brooks was the only pre-regime young player holdover besides Jackson. On draft assets front, they had a protected first-round pick to Boston from the Jeff Green trade that hovering over the franchise, as it conveyed in 2020 but had the threat of being unprotected in 2021. Via the Mike Conley trade, they held two extra first-round picks from the Conley trade (became Clarke and Jake LaRavia), then picked up another one from the Iguodala dump (used to get Marcus Smart). It’s not remotely the same they have now.
With this rebuild, the Grizzlies have a ton of ammo in terms of draft capital, financial flexibility, and young players. Now comes the fun part of how the team ultimately forms together in its quest to return to postseason basketball — hopefully soon.
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I do hold the belief that sometimes a player holds more value as a member of the team rather than on the trade market. For example, in the last era, Kyle Anderson and Dillon Brooks were two veterans that walked in free agency. Could they have gotten something on the trade market? Sure, but their presence helped the Grizzlies take meaningful steps as a playoff team and contender.
Desmond Bane wasn’t technically a trade-up, as the Grizzlies traded future second-round picks to acquire him in a salary dump. Ziaire Williams at 10 in 2021 came as a part of a draft week not necessarily a draft night trade-up.
Jalen Williams was the next pick. Are we sure the Thunder didn’t make this trade to block somebody from trading up for Jalen Williams?
Looking forward to see what we will get in this loaded drafter