In retrospect, 2023 was truly the beginning of the end for the Ja Morant-led Memphis Grizzlies. Their first-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers and the eventual departure of Dillon Brooks in free agency has led all the way to where the Grizzlies are today: in the middle of a rebuild, with many first-round picks at their disposal following the blockbuster trades of Desmond Bane (back in June) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (prior to the 2026 trade deadline).
Now, the Grizzlies only trail the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets in first-round picks over the next seven years, and they are at least set up to start a rebuild around recent first-round picks Cedric Coward and Zach Edey, both of whom have showed a ton of potential.
It's quite a shame that the Grizzlies weren't able to reach their full potential while the Morant-Jackson duo were firing on all cylinders, but at the very least, Memphis did not fall prey to denial and hit the reset button before the value of their players depreciated, leaving them with fewer future assets (looking at you, Chicago Bulls).
With that said, this is how the Grizzlies did prior to the trade deadline and the grade they deserve for how they maneuvered.
Ja Morant somehow outlasted Jaren Jackson Jr. on the Grizzlies
Leading up to the trade deadline, the likeliest Grizzlies star to get dealt was Morant, as his relationship with the team has clearly soured and his play on the court hasn't helped matters whatsoever. His three-point shot has deserted him, his athleticism has waned, and he hasn't looked like a game-changer for much of the season, in which he's only played 20 games.
This complicated matters for the Grizzlies. Morant was a star they wanted to build around, but he's been so unreliable for Memphis due to a combination of off-court troubles and on-court decline that the Grizzlies certainly had to listen to whatever offers were available for their floor general on the trade market.
But the Grizzlies found those offers very much inadequate, and Morant remains with the team as a result. He has two more years left on his contract, and there weren't many teams that wanted to take the risk on the highflying guard, and Memphis found it best to simply keep their mercurial point guard even though he's clearly been unhappy with the team for the entirety of the season, if not for longer.
However, the Grizzlies, instead of trying to compete for a play-in spot, simply decided to blow it up after getting a grandfather offer from the Utah Jazz for Jackson. They received the most favorable of the Minnesota Timberwolves/Cleveland Cavaliers/Utah Jazz's 2027 first-round pick, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns' unprotected picks in 2027 and 2031, respectively.
There is a chance that two of those picks become incredible assets for the Grizzlies. That 2027 first-round pick may not amount to much, but given that the Jazz included theirs in the trade, and that they aren't guaranteed to make it to the playoffs anyway due to how stacked the Western Conference is, Memphis could end up winning big.
The Lakers' pick won't be too valuable since Luka Doncic is on the roster, but there is so much uncertainty from here until next year that it's hard to say anything for sure in that regard. And then there's the Suns' unprotected pick in 2031; they might be a good team now, but Devin Booker will be 34 years of age by the time the 2031 NBA Draft comes along, and Phoenix might end up being a bad team by then.
In addition to those picks, the Grizzlies also got valuable young players such as Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks, adding even further to the team's youth movement.
The Grizzlies have done well in deciding when to trade their star players away. Bane netted them four first-round picks and a pick swap. Jackson got them three firsts and two recent first-round picks. JJJ's supermax contract extension is also set to kick in, so that's no longer Memphis' problem.
To that end, the Grizzlies have earned the benefit of the doubt on the Morant front. He has two years remaining on his deal after this season, so Memphis isn't exactly in a rush to trade him away. Perhaps they are still holding out hope that he can revive his trade value in Beale Street, which could then net them a more suitable return than the offers that were available prior to the deadline would have brought them.
(The Grizzlies also acquired Eric Gordon and a 2032 second-round pick swap from the Philadelphia 76ers to facilitate a salary dump, and later waived him — an inconsequential move.)
The tank is on in Memphis
As mentioned earlier, the Jackson trade at least indicates that the Grizzlies front office was sensing the direction the team was heading and instead of waiting for the worst to come true, they got out ahead of it and got plenty of assets in return.
Now, Memphis has plenty of ground to make up in the tanking wars. They still might have too good of a roster, especially with Ty Jerome playing out of his mind since returning from injury. At present, Memphis has the eighth-worst record in the NBA, and at 20 wins, there's a chance that they don't improve their lottery odds even further.
But if their performance on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors was any indication, the Grizzlies are about to pull off some egregious tanking maneuvers — because what else would explain Cam Spencer not even getting a shot up towards the basket after Tuomas Iisalo decided not to call a timeout to advance the ball to get a better shot?
The tank is on, and the Jackson trade proves that they can tank without much guilt, unlike the Jazz and Washington Wizards, two teams that pulled off win-now trades but are obviously trying to lose a few games since they will be forking over their respective first-round picks if those selections land outside the top-eight.
The worst place to be in in the NBA is the middle, and the Grizzlies have stayed away from that dreaded area.
