Heading into the 2023 NBA postseason, the Memphis Grizzlies, led by young superstar point guard Ja Morant, seemed primed to make an extended postseason run. After all, the Grizzlies finished the 2022-23 regular season with one of the best records in the NBA. They ended up as the two-seed Western Conference at 51-31 — behind only the Denver Nuggets — and owned the best home record in basketball at 35-6. But fast forward to the current day, and it's evident that the Grizzlies fell brutally short of these postseason expectations.

The Memphis Grizzlies' postseason was extremely short-lived. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Grizzlies in six games in the first round of the playoffs. Memphis became just the second team in league history to be eliminated from the postseason by a play-in squad, joining the 2023 Milwaukee Bucks, who finished the 2022-23 regular season with the league's best record.

The way the Memphis Grizzlies' 2022-23 campaign came to an end was undeniably disappointing, but a solid offseason period could have helped fans forget about the postseason that was. And fortunately for Grizzlies fans, the team has had a productive offseason thus far.

The team has made two notable additions to their roster — Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose — and two notable subtractions in point guard Tyus Jones and shooting guard Dillon Brooks. The Memphis Grizzlies acquired Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics in the three-team deal that netted Boston star seven-footer Kristaps Porzingis. And Memphis acquired Derrick Rose via free agency, as they signed him to a two-year, $6.5 million deal.

But despite the rock-solid offseason the Memphis Grizzlies have had thus far, they are still light on players with one very important skill. With all of that said, let's look at the Memphis Grizzlies' biggest roster concern deep into the 2023 NBA free agency period:

Grizzlies' biggest roster concern deep into 2023 NBA free agency

Lack of great playmakers outside of Ja Morant

Now that Tyus Jones is a member of the Washington Wizards and no longer with the Grizzlies, Memphis is short on great playmakers outside of Ja Morant. Morant, of course, is one of the best facilitators in basketball. He dished out 8.1 assists per contest during the 2022-23 regular season and has the ability to make difficult passes look effortless. But the Grizzlies don't have any playmaker close to Morant's level now that Jones is gone.

The newly acquired Marcus Smart is a respectable playmaker. In fact, he's fresh off of the best playmaking season of his career with the Boston Celtics, as he averaged 6.3 assists per game. But Smart isn't quite as good of a playmaker as his assists per game average might indicate. He sometimes tries to do too much as a playmaker and can force passes through imaginary angles, especially in transition, which hurt Boston's transition offense as a whole this season. All in all, Smart is a solid yet very flawed facilitator, and he is certainly not on the level of Tyus Jones playmaking-wise.

At this juncture, only time will tell if the Memphis Grizzlies will stand pat with their current roster or decide to add more players to the team via trade or free agency. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Grizzlies should try to add another playmaking guard to their roster before the beginning of the 2023-24 NBA regular season.