The Memphis Grizzlies face a ton of uncertainty heading into the 2023-24 NBA season with Ja Morant serving a league-imposed 25-game suspension to open the campaign. The Grizzlies made some offseason moves to retool its roster after getting eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. The Grizzlies acquired former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart to pair him alongside the reigning DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis also signed former MVP Derrick Rose to serve as a veteran mentor for Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies' young core.

As currently constructed, especially without Morant for the first third of the season, the Grizzlies have some depth issues that they need to address. Memphis has a bunch of young guys who can potentially carve out solid bench roles. The preseason should be their time to show head coach Taylor Jenkins that they deserve a look for regular minutes.

Santi Aldama was one standout from the 2022-23 season who found himself in the good graces of Jenkins. But one youngster found himself lost in the shuffle despite putting together a solid rookie season and that is Ziaire Williams. Williams should get a chance in the preseason to prove to Coach Jenkins that he belongs in the regular rotation.

Memphis Grizzlies player who must have a good preseason to solidify rotation spot: Ziaire Williams

The Memphis Grizzlies selected Ziaire Williams out of Stanford with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. As a rookie, Williams was immediately thrust into a decent role. He appeared in 62 games, started in half of them, and averaged nearly 22 minutes per game. He finished his debut campaign with averages of 8.1 points and 2.1 rebounds on 45.0 percent field goal shooting. With his strong rookie year, many perceived Williams to be a strong breakout candidate for the Grizzlies in Year 2.

However, the 6-foot-8 wing missed the first 24 games of the 2022-23 season due to a knee injury and never truly regained found his form for his entire sophomore campaign. In his first 10 games back, Williams averaged just 4.6 points while shooting 37.0 percent from the field and a putrid 14.8 percent from beyond the arc. He wound up appearing in just 37 games and averaging 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting just 42.9 percent from the field.

Williams' injury to start the year likely forced Taylor Jenkins' hand to go in another direction. Spanish forward Santi Aldama took advantage established himself as a fixture in Taylor Jenkins' rotation and appeared in 77 games (20 starts) with averages of 9.0 points on a solid 59.1 percent true shooting percentage. Even David Roddy surpassed the former lottery pick in the rotation, appearing in 70 games while averaging over 18 minutes a night.

Now heading into his third NBA with a clean bill of health, Williams should get a fresh slate to re-establish his standing in Taylor Jenkins' good graces. The 22-year-old has played well in Memphis' two preseason games so far. The lengthy wing has impressed with his defensive efforts and this could be his ticket to getting his spot back in the rotation. He drew the start on Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, where he scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go along with two assists, a steal, and a block.

So far, the 22-year-old is pushing all the right buttons this preseason and is even reportedly a candidate to get the vacant fifth starting spot as a result of Morant's suspension.