The Memphis Grizzlies are headed to the lottery once the NBA Draft rolls around, but by no choice of their own. The team was behind the eight-ball from the get-go with All-Star point guard Ja Morant beginning the season serving his 25-game suspension. Then a wave of injuries hit forcing the Grizzlies to focus on developing young players such as GG Jackson and Ziaire Williams.
With the season essentially lost, the focus now shifts to which of those young players should the Grizzlies key in on in terms of being potential contributors to a winning team.
The Grizzlies figure to have a healthy lineup next season which means they expect to contend in the Western Conference. A potential starting lineup that features Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., can be among the best in the West. It's about finding other pieces to fit around them.
With 19 games left in the season, here's a pair of young players whose development is crucial to the Grizzlies success in the future.
GG Jackson can be a starter for the Grizzlies by next season
Perhaps the biggest storyline for the Grizzlies during this trying season is the emergence of GG Jackson. Jackson was a lottery talent who ended up falling to the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. If the team would have been healthy, Jackson likely would not have gotten much of a chance this season.
But this is sort of been a blessing in disguise as Jackson has proved he's more than just an NBA rotation player. Recently, Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins spoke about Jackson taking on more of a primary shot creator role.
Jackson's offensive numbers have dropped just a bit since he first cracked the rotation, but he's shown enough to the point where he should be under consideration for a starting role next season. In 30 games, he's averaged 11.1 points per game and 3.5 rebounds with splits of 42.1 percent shooting from the field, 36.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 70.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Ideally, his shooting efficiency would be slightly higher, but playing alongside an elite playmaker like Morant next season will help in that regard.
Ziaire Williams is worth keeping around for the Grizzlies
It's possible that Ziaire Williams has played his last game for the Grizzlies. He was just added to the ever-growing injury list potentially ending his 2023-24 season. And while the former lottery pick still has another year left on his contract, he could be potential trade bait in the offseason.
But when given a chance during the second half of the season, Williams was finally starting to put it all together. Injuries and inconsistency have marred his first two seasons, but this year he was proving he can be a legit NBA player.
He had appeared in 51 games at a little over 20 minutes per game. He was averaging 8.2 points per game, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. His overall shooting efficiency for the season may not have been that great, but he was looking better during a small sample size right before and after the All-Star break.
This final stretch of the regular season would have been crucial for Williams to prove that he deserves a spot on the roster next season. In any case, he's shown enough that it would be wise for the Grizzlies to hold on to their former lottery pick just a little while longer, at least to see his production alongside a playoff roster.
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