The Memphis Grizzlies and their front office find themselves in one of the more peculiar positions in the NBA right now. Their direction as it stands is largely unclear, as they’ve aimed to get younger and move up in the lottery, but still possess stars that can dominate in the league on any given night. The Grizzlies are yet to go into full rebuild mode, as they are hanging onto Marc Gasol and Mike Conley — and their unfavorable contracts with all their might at the moment.
They did draft young stud Jaren Jackson Jr. with the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, who looks like he’s going to be a superb player for the future after showing out in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Jackson joins an indifferent roster, with a squad full of players who don’t exactly fit on paper but can hopefully fit the “grit and grind” system and mentality the franchise have been renowned for.
Recently, Conley spoke at the Team USA minicamp in Las Vegas, stating this season may be very different to what he’s used to, even labelling it as awkward.
“It’s different for me because for the last eight years, I came into every season thinking we have a chance to win at a high level.” “This season, expectations are still try to be that playoff team, that team that comes out and really makes it tough on everybody. But it is an awkward year with so many teams getting so much better [with] different acquisitions they made in the offseason.”
Very interesting comments from Conley, who was limited at the Team USA practices as he recovers from an achilles injury which cut his last campaign short. Despite his injury setback, the veteran guard is confident he’ll be ready to go training camp when training camp arrives.
“I feel ready to go, but obviously, you’ve just got to take your time and do the right thing,” Conley said. “There was no reason for us to rush, especially anything to do with the Achilles. Just making sure all my muscles have time to reboot, recharge, get stronger again and get ready to go.”
Follow Us
Subscribe