The Memphis Grizzlies have one more game in preseason. We’re starting to see all the flashes, trends, and plots that could hold weight throughout the entire season.
There’s a lot of intrigue to be had for this young Memphis Grizzlies team. A lot of it starts with Cam Boozer — whose versatility, processing, and production have already stood out in the early going. It doesn’t stop there, as it’s relevant throughout a good chunk of the roster.
In another annual exercise, here are the five most interesting players for the upcoming season. It’s an exercise popularized by Zach Lowe. I’m going to run the same rules he has: no stars and no rookies. So for this exercise, I will not include Boozer, Karim Lopez, or Richie Saunders.
Who are the five most interesting players of the season for the Grizzlies?
I was going to leave Edey off, because everyone knows the deal with him. If healthy, he’s going to have such a profound impact on this team. However, the “if healthy” looms like a large cloud over the Grizzlies’ season and foreseeable future.
While it’s known, Edey remains so interesting for several reasons.
For starters, the sample of 11 (but really, 10) games was absolutely mesmerizing. Edey’s impact was a shining feature. His two-way rim influence is undeniable. He keeps a lid on the basket defensively with his rim protection, presence in drop coverage, and his paint deterrence. Offensively, he creates space with his screening, finishes plays at an automatic clip (70 percent at the rim last season), and hauls in rebounds. He simply makes life easier on both sides on the floor.
If he plays, the Grizzlies are going to be good. That’s not a prediction, it’s a spoiler. From the moment of his return, the Grizzlies ranked the following in the NBA:
3rd in Defensive Rating (108.6)
6th in NET Rating (5.2)
5th in Offensive Rebounding Percentage (34.8)
1st in Rebounding Percentage (55.3)
Yes, the data is noisy with the sample. However, this profile is an outline for a good team. Even if the numbers stabilize towards the middle of the pack — mainly the NET rating — the Grizzlies are likely competing for a play-in spot if they have Edey for a considerable amount of games. The number of games is a big question, not just with his health but also the caution the Grizzlies use with his injury.
When Edey plays, he has an All-Defense level impact to his game. Obviously, the 65-game threshold may be his only roadblock to such honors.
One more element to the intrigue is that he’s eligible for a contract extension next summer. Let’s just get through the remainder of the season, though.
Edey’s preseason has been encouraging when assessing where he’s at with his health and game. Fingers crossed it parlays into a steady regular season.
Ty Jerome is going to be a floor-raiser for the Memphis Grizzlies, and it’s particularly going to show with the longstanding big weakness: half-court offense. When he was on the floor last season, the Grizzlies scored 1.08 points per possession in the half-court — which would’ve been a league-leading mark. He blends touch and craft — can pull from deep off the dribble, gets to his spots out of the pick-and-roll, has one of the best floaters in basketball, and can finish through contact.
Jerome has a transition to make from a sparkplug off the bench to a lead guard, so it’ll be fascinating to see how that blends. Particularly, how does he involve Cam Boozer and Cedric Coward? That’s a Tuomas Iisalo question as well. The interactions with Boozer should be sick. Within this comes a question of how the usage holds, as he held a 37.5 usage rate while averaging 19.7 points and 5.7 assists against 1.8 turnovers. How can his numbers look with consistent usage and a lead role? Becoming a Most Improved Player candidate is not off the table.
Like Edey, health is a big question with Jerome. If he plays, the Grizzlies will be good. If the Grizzlies have Jerome and Edey on the floor for a decent amount of games, then they have an outline for an awesome half-court offense — especially when accounting for Boozer’s versatility and prowess. Pairing one of the league’s better pick-and-roll scorers with a crushing screener is an excellent formula.
Jerome has his flaws, particularly as a defender, but his superb creation holds tremendous equity with this team.
Zooming out, while this team needs veterans that can help on and off the floor, this season will determine if the Grizzlies extend the bridge at the point guard position, or if Jerome becomes the most fascinating trade candidate this season. His contract with his player option next summer can be attractive to a contender, and the Grizzlies could likely net another first-round pick. At the same time, they can opt for a nice extension and keep him around longer — again, injuries.
I’m overall just enamored with this “combo guard” archetype. I dove into it deeper in separate posts last summer with a pitch for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and with a case on why Cole Anthony hasn’t panned out.
Within these, I make the argument that the “combo guard” is the most valuable role player archetype in the league, due to their versatility and two-way playmaking.
I put combo guards into these buckets with intersections being optimal: stoppers, turnover creators, primary actors, efficient passers, and knockdown shooters.
Pippen is a stopper and turnover creator with potential as a knockdown shooter from the combo guard spot. With that said, it makes him a fascinating fit next to Cam Boozer as a potential starting point guard. Yes, Isiah had mentioned Pippen to be more of a 2 than a 1. In this vision though, what if Boozer is the “1” where they unleash him as a hub? It’s something that can potentially unlock a gear with Pippen. It amplifies his strengths with point-of-attack defense, cutting, and running transition lanes. In addition, it may suppress his biggest weakness to a degree with the turnovers.
Isiah should definitely test out lineups with Pippen as the “1” alongside Boozer. If anything, it can provide a template of what could work best when building around Boozer.
Regardless, Pippen can regain his momentum from the 2024-25 season after addressing the issues he’d been facing with his toes. In the process, he can cement himself into the Grizzlies’ future.
Multiple layers exist here with Stewart.
For one, he’s one of the few veterans Zach Kleiman has targeted in a trade where he’s giving up assets rather than receiving them or taking on bad money. The others are Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard. Maybe an argument can be made for Justise Winslow, but they still took on pretty bad money (Dion Waiters). The Grizzlies traded three second-round picks for Isaiah Stewart, ironically the ones they received from Detroit to move down from 17 to 21.
The second layer is that he’s going to have a big role. When healthy — already going to be reevaluated in two weeks due to an ankle sprain — he will be the starter in games when Edey isn’t available. He’ll likely be in the first substitution shift and play at least 20 minutes a night. The role also lies with his responsibilities. His rim protection will be leaned on, while also being a versatile big in ball-screen coverages. Offensively, his screening will be leaned on. Will he shoot too?
The third layer is his next deal. He has a team option for next season. It wouldn’t be shocking if he has an extension lined up next summer.
The final layer here is the culture setting. On numerous occasions, Kleiman has mentioned how Stewart embodies the DNA that he wants in this culture. They’ve talked about bringing in players that the city can resonate with. He’s not going to back down and let anyone punk him or his teammates. He hustles his ass off. He’s already giving back with the fans. Just from various spaces, he seems to understand the organizational ethos of grit and grind and is ready to spearhead it as a veteran leader. I’m just excited to see how the dynamic with Stewart, the team, and this city takes form this season.
Wells has been a starting wing for two seasons and is in pole position for this role once again. I do want to highlight this quote from The Daily Memphian’s Chris Herrington’s recent column that sums up the current state of that role and Wells’ outlook on it:
“Every year, I come in knowing that someone’s always going to come for my role, the same way I came for the players that were in front of me before,” Wells said on the eve of training camp. “But I enjoy the challenge. It should be a challenge. I don’t take lightly the role that I got to have my first two years.”
Let’s unpack. This season presents the strongest competition for his starting job since he won it. Last season, Cedric Coward won the job from the veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rather early in the season. GG Jackson and Jerami Grant could unseat Wells for his starting spot, if Iisalo makes a change.
Don’t fully dismiss Wells from the conversation though. He’s not just a solid stopper but grades out as one of the steadiest in the league.
It’s an important role to take on. How can he add to it? He needs to either rev up his steal and deflection rates (1.6 and 2.9, respectively, both sub-50 percentile per databallr), or rebounding ones (8.9 defensive rebounding rate, 34th percentile). The latter is tricky, because he shares the floor usually with three strong rebounders, which will suppress individual ones. Do the Grizzlies value his stops coming from chasing down the league’s elite in favor of stocks and rebounds?
The big thing is he has to be a more consistent shooter. The 40-percent threshold is thrown out too much for virtually every player not in the realm. Can Wells be close to that, or even at 38 percent? He’s a limited athlete and playmaker, which can hinder his driving and finish — relying on craft more so. It slims the margin of error a bit. Growing into a 40-percent three-point shooter instead of a 35-percent one may be the difference for two things within his NBA trajectory. It would make him a perhaps clear starter — a 40-percent bigger wing that can also defend the league’s elite is welcomed on virtually any team. In addition, it likely puts him near MLE territory for his next contract — as a frame of context, Julian Champagnie got an extension three years and $45M this past summer, and this was a reference point on a podcast from Zach Lowe.
Wells’ progression will be noteworthy for his starting prospects and his next contract.
Like I said, intrigue exists throughout the roster. Some quick-hitters on other players in consideration here.
Cedric Coward: Yes, he’s super interesting, but I just know he’s going to be awesome. To what degree is the question? Is it as a 3rd or 4th best player on the team long-term?
GG Jackson: How does he continue to find his role and what does it mean for his next contract?
Javon Small: Does he continue to make the point guard conversation more fascinating with his two-way play?
Cam Spencer: Does he continue finding his footing as a steady backup guard that can carry this stellar shooting and playmaking efficiency?
Olivier-Maxence Prosper: Is the shooting real, and if so what does it mean for his role and next contract?
If you choose to support my Substack, SubTsakalidis, follow this link to my Allie’s Allies St. Jude fundraiser page. You can also support through buying SubTsakalidis merch — t-shirt, coozie, glass, coffee mug, stickers — with proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. If you choose to become a paid subscriber, all proceeds will go towards St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Follow me on X and Bluesky. Follow more of my draft work at No Ceilings NBA.