The Memphis Grizzlies have had a very interesting offseason. Coming off a disappointing 2024-25 season in which they fell off towards the end of the season and, as a result, had to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs (in which they were promptly swept), the Grizzlies decided to change their roster-building course, trading Desmond Bane away to the Orlando Magic in the process.
In trading Bane, the Grizzlies acquired Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in return. Caldwell-Pope's contract has turned into quite the albatross considering how poorly he played for the offense-starved Magic last season. But there is at least a semblance of some roster-building vision with this move, as Caldwell-Pope is a better defender and does not command the ball nearly as much as Bane does — allowing Ja Morant to be the undisputed number one ballhandling option for the squad.
The Grizzlies are also adopting the roster-building strategy that worked wonders for both the Thunder and the Indiana Pacers this past season — assembling as much depth as possible around their star players. And at least for Memphis, they have peace of mind now that both Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. will be together for at least three more seasons.
However, there could very well be another move that the Grizzlies pull off prior to the start of the season to make this a truly complete offseason.
Grizzlies must clear out forward/wing logjam
There is a difference between having a deep roster and having a logjam across multiple positions. And for the Grizzlies, it's not quite clear what must be used to describe their roster as presently constructed. Their wing rotation, in particular, is going to be a mess for head coach Tuomas Iisalo to sort through, and a trade or two might be in order to open up minutes for the players who truly deserve them.
At present, the Grizzlies can have as many 14 rotation players. For the uninitiated, NBA teams don't typically play more than 10 or 11 on a given night, and 11 is pushing it already.
On the wing alone, the Grizzlies have seven viable candidates for a rotation spot — with the likes of Caldwell-Pope, GG Jackson, Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams Jr., Cedric Coward, John Konchar, and Cam Spencer all looking to duke it out come training camp. Even Scotty Pippen Jr. and Ty Jerome play the two, so that only serves to crowd the battle for minutes at the two and three, respectively.
At the very least, Jackson, Wells, and Williams can also play the four, so the Grizzlies have plenty of matchup versatility. Even Konchar can be a valuable rotation piece, if only for his rebounding contributions.
But the Grizzlies' frontcourt is already stacked as it is. Jackson and Santi Aldama will get the bulk of the minutes at the four, while Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke, and perhaps even Jock Landale will get minutes at the five.
Simply put, Iisalo will be hard-pressed to divide the 240 minutes at his disposal towards all of those guys. Of course, injuries crop up here and there, so having insurance is always important. But the Grizzlies can end up stunting the development of some of their players if they keep the roster as crowded as it is.
If anyone, the priority for the Grizzlies should be the development of Jackson, Wells, and Coward. Those three should be safe moving forward.
Wells, in particular, should be the early favorite to start for the Grizzlies at the three next season, especially after he started 74 games in his rookie campaign. Jackson, meanwhile, struggled with injuries last year and played just 29 games. Only 20 years of age, Jackson has shown so much promise as a scorer that the Grizzlies must give him as much burn as possible next season.
And then there's Coward, the Grizzlies' 2025 first-round pick. Coward, if he's as good as advertised, could even be the starter at the two for Memphis. His shooting should translate to the NBA-level, and if his defense from college carries over, then he might as well displace Caldwell-Pope from the jump.
But beyond those three, there's just too much uncertainty for the Grizzlies. Now, this is not to say that they should pull off a move this instant. However, trading someone like Konchar or Williams could free up a roster spot, free up some minutes on the wing, and give Iisalo one less thing to figure out.
Keeping the team intact as it is might be the move heading into the season, especially with Jackson set to miss time to start the new campaign. But it may not be the worst idea in the world to clear out the logjam in the wing to show their intention to prioritize certain players.
