It's odd, really. Roll back to June 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Memphis Grizzlies — a surprise No. 8 seed in the 2021 Western Conference playoffs after stunning the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors in the quickly-popularized play-in tournament — could only watch the top-seeded Jazz score 47 (!) points in the opening quarter on the way to a 126-110 Game 5 closeout at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Just like he'd done all throughout the playoffs, former Murray State Racer and 2019 NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant had been spectacular, finishing with 27 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and five 3-pointers in the loss. He'd averaged 30.2 points, 8.2 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 48.7% shooting from the floor — scoring 47 points in just his second-ever postseason appearance.
Around him, stars shined. Veteran center Jonas Valanciunas bullied. Dillon “The Villain” Brooks defined himself as a two-way terror. Grayson Allen made a handful of clutch 3-pointers. Desmond Bane didn't look like a rookie. Kyle Anderson continued to create his case as one of the league's most improved players. Jaren Jackson Jr. rounded himself back into form, after missing more than 50 games in the regular season. Tyus Jones and De'Anthony Melton had moments as stabilizers.
It looked as if the Memphis front office was going to run it all back again for 2021-22, as “Year 3” Morant and his men looked poised to push once again.
But it's August 30, and the Memphis Grizzlies look…well, different. Not massively different. But changed. Nuanced. Tweaked.
Letting Justise Winslow walk wasn't even the craziest concoction, and a flurry of moves have led to a retooling of sorts in what still doesn't look like the Grizzlies' final form.
Memphis Grizzlies 2021 NBA Free Agency Grades
Move 1: C Jonas Valanciunas, 2021 No. 17 pick, 2021 No. 51 pick to New Orleans for C Steven Adams, PG Eric Bledsoe, 2021 No. 10 pick, 2021 No. 40 pick, 2022 Top 10 Protected (From Lakers)
In what started this little mini “Big Bang,” Zach Kleiman and the front office shipped its star center and lumbering Lithuanian — along with its No. 17 overall pick this summer — for an intriguing package from the rival New Orleans Pelicans than included Adams, Bledsoe and two first-rounders.
Valanciunas is a vastly-underrated center who, at times, proved to be the Grizzlies' best offensive option in 2020-21. In a career-high 28.3 minutes per game, he shot a career-best 59% from the field and averaged 17.1 ppg/12.5 rpg as a ridiculous pick-and-roll option for virtually everyone on the Memphis roster.
Adams' arrival on Beale Street brings as much intrigue as it does question — but not in the worst way. He's defensively better than Valanciunas in most every way, but is at the very least half of what Valanciunas was offensively. Is he part of the big picture for Memphis? He's only 28 and is a career 9.6 ppg/7.7 rpg/59.1% guy. Worth noting.
The Memphis Grizzlies turned the No. 10 pick in Stanford's elite 6-8 wing Ziaire Williams (10.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, 37.4% shooting), and not long after flipped Bledsoe back to the Los Angeles Clippers for PG Patrick Beverley, PG Rajon Rondo and C Daniel Oturu.
Had that would've been the end of the musical chairs, it would've been interesting to see guys like Beverley and Rondo in rotation with guys like Morant and Jones. Beverley and/or Rondo next to Brooks had the potential to force opponents into mad frenzies by halftime.
Alas, it didn't stick. Beverley was flipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves for guard Jarrett Culver, the former Texas Tech star and No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft (the same draft Morant was taken second overall), and Juancho Hernangomez (who hasn't been asked to report).
Rondo, meanwhile, was bought out of his Clippers contract and is expected to sign a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers retirement community in hopes of making a championship run similar to the 2019-20 bubble beauty.
It's a wild series of maneuvers and gambles that essentially netted the Grizzlies eight players in exchange for three, while eventually shedding cap space for future free-agent chases, due paydays to guys like Jackson Jr. and Morant, and still left them with some wiggle room in the 2022 lottery.
It also landed them the rookie signing of Williams, who probably isn't going to shoot 37.4% in his rookie year with the Grizzlies.
Signing: Ziaire Williams, 2021 rookie lottery contract, $4.37 million in Year 1
Grade: B+
Move 2: 2021 No. 40 pick and two future second rounders to Utah Jazz for 2021 No. 30 pick
Memphis made a 2021 draft-night move with its newly-acquired No. 40 overall pick from the Pelicans, when it worked with — of all teams — the Utah Jazz for the No. 30 pick.
The Memphis Grizzlies turned this into Loyola Maryland's star Spaniard Santi Aldama (21.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 51.3% FG, 36.8% 3PT), who at 6-11 easily dominated the mid-major Patriot League for two seasons.
Aldama's shot betrayed him in 2021 NBA Summer League action, when he averaged north of six points and six boards in four games and three starts, but shot a woeful 8-for-43 from the field and 2-for-20 from the arc in more than 80 minutes of action.
But he didn't turn the ball over and mostly stayed out of foul trouble, in what could be a unique project for the Grizzlies front office. Rebounding is going to be a critical focus for Memphis after trading one of the league's best at it in Valanciunas, and that's a spot where Aldama can clearly help right away.
Aldama is just the fourth-ever Patriot League player to get drafted, meaning his acquisition likely comes from a deep, deep scout on his ability to space the floor and close out on the glass.
Sports Illustrated's Jeremy Woo reported that the Grizzlies had full belief that the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to snag Aldama early in the second round, so they moved up to No. 30 for his rights.
Signing: Santi Aldama, 2021 rookie lottery contract, $1.99 million in Year 1
Grade: B-
Move 3: Grayson Allen to the Milwaukee Bucks for Sam Merrill, two future second rounders
So, why on Earth would the Memphis Grizzlies move the quickly-improving Grayson Allen — who averaged career bests in minutes, points and 3-point shooting — to the defending NBA champions for a spiffy project guard in Sam Merrill and two future second rounders?
No. 1, those two future second rounders — if they aren't going to be used to move up in a future draft — will help plug depth that was lost when the front office opted to move two future second rounders for the Aldama pick this past summer. The Grizzlies have had pretty solid luck (or skill?) in the past couple of late first and second rounds, selecting forwards Brandon Clarke and Xavier Tillman, as well as Bane, in those later slots.
No. 2, there's just this ridiculous log-jam of minutes at guard for the Grizzlies. Morant and Brooks deservedly get minutes, but Jones, Melton, Williams, Culver, John “Magic Konch” Konchar — and maybe even Merrill — are all going to get looks at times in this offense. Allen was simply unfortunate attrition and a savvy business decision for Memphis, who particularly got his best season as a young professional. And after a stellar 2021 Summer League, former Tennessee Volunteers star forward Yves Pons singed an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning he's got the chance to get the call up if needed.
This move is the only one Memphis has made this offseason that, as of now, hasn't led to a signing.
So, what's next?
Either by trade or by release, Memphis still needs to get its roster to 15 players before the start of the 2021-22 NBA campaign. With Hernangomez likely to be gone before preseason, this means the Memphis Grizzlies need to find a way to move one player for compliance.
Currently the youngest team in the league and coming off of its first playoff appearance in the Morant/Jackson Jr./Brooks era, does the front office move a piece for another draft pick or young face? Do they simply release a fledgling rotation player? Or do they package some combination of players/picks for a medium-to-toasty move?
Without a frenzy of releases, Memphis likely won't be chasing any of the quality remaining free agents — guys like power forward Paul Millsap, guard J.J. Redick, guard Garrison Mathews and countless other free agents. Sensible targets like Charlotte's Malik Monk (Lakers), Detroit's Hamidou Diallo (Pistons) and New Orleans' Josh Hart (Pelicans) — all of which would've likely been effective for Memphis — have either moved elsewhere or resigned with their squads.
One thing's for certain: Memphis has had an exciting, albeit quieter, off-season. There's no way they're finished painting what can be a contending club sooner rather than later.
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