{"id":587791,"date":"2026-02-07T05:58:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T05:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/587791\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T05:58:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T05:58:16","slug":"why-grizzlies-have-conviction-quick-rebuild-leads-to-nba-playoffs-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/587791\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Grizzlies have \u2018conviction\u2019 quick rebuild leads to NBA Playoffs next season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Grizzlies have \u2018conviction\u2019 quick rebuild leads to NBA Playoffs next season<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> did not straddle the fence at the NBA trade deadline. They chose a direction, and EVP\/GM Zach Kleiman signaled a belief that a return to the NBA Playoffs can happen sooner than later. Still, trading away Jaren Jackson Jr. while keeping Ja Morant<\/a> marked a definitive pivot. For a front office often measured in tone, the move carried unusual clarity about intent.<\/p>\n

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Reset the timeline, accumulate assets, and empower the next wave, without drifting into an extended teardown. Follow the game plan<\/a>, and the Grizzlies should be fine long-term<\/a>. Straddling a fence was far more risky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of had a fork in the road,\u201d admitted Kleiman. \u201cWe had conviction that the pathway to building a team that can achieve higher-end outcomes involved making a move. We are pivoting to a younger build, we\u2019re not shying away from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane trades were bold, but they were far from reckless. Kleiman recognized that their current construction had limitations, and rather than continue pushing toward a ceiling they weren\u2019t confident they could break through, they chose to reimagine what a contender could look like.<\/p>\n

\"Troy<\/p>\n

Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

However, conviction alone doesn\u2019t guarantee success. What separates the Grizzlies from teams that languish in rebuilding purgatory is the infrastructure they\u2019ve built to support this pivot.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe good thing about where we are as we turn the page and embark on building with this group going forward, we\u2019re not starting from scratch,\u201d Kleiman believes. \u201cThere are a lot of teams that choose to embark on rebuilds that have no young players, maybe one young player that they think could fit the next build of their team, and have negative draft capital going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being in control of 12 future first-round picks available, including eight selections in the next four NBA Drafts, provides leverage. The Grizzlies own all of their own picks, providing the front office maximum flexibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already have a lot to work with. I don\u2019t think this is some 5-year, try to be terrible,\u201d Kleiman explained. \u201cI don\u2019t believe in that method of team-building. Between the assets that we have accumulated and the players that we have, we\u2019re very optimistic about what we have. This is not going to be some drawn-out five-year process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cedric Coward, Cam Spencer, GG Jackson, Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton Jr., and Jaylen Wells<\/a> should expect an uptick in minutes. Zach Edey<\/a>\u2019s return is up in the air for now, though getting some repetitions in for chemistry would not be surprising.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re certainly going to be focused on development,\u201d Kleiman shared. \u201cEverything that we\u2019re going to be pushing forward the rest of the season, into the next season, it\u2019s about our guys being able to continue to progress and become the players that hopefully can help us achieve those types of outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those results need to result in NBA Playoffs appearances sooner rather than later, or Kleiman will have to move aside for the next rebuild. The FedEx Forum\u2019s most loyal fans would be too loud in demanding a change.<\/p>\n

Related: Why Grizzlies expect Taylor Hendricks to thrive in reclamation project role<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Why Grizzlies must give Walter Clayton Jr. carte blanche to run bench unit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Why Grizzlies have \u2018conviction\u2019 quick rebuild leads to NBA Playoffs next season appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,8675,3522,497,1265,178,496,2597,177,6,11,2828,4884,181,2130,1083,4079],"class_list":{"0":"post-587791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cam-spencer","10":"tag-cedric-coward","11":"tag-desmond-bane","12":"tag-gg-jackson","13":"tag-ja-morant","14":"tag-jaren-jackson-jr","15":"tag-jaylen-wells","16":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nba-playoffs","19":"tag-nba-trade-deadline","20":"tag-taylor-hendricks","21":"tag-the-grizzlies","22":"tag-walter-clayton-jr","23":"tag-zach-edey","24":"tag-zach-kleiman"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116027819255853868","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}