The Memphis Grizzlies are now leaning fully into punting on the 2025-26 season, if recent injury developments following the trade deadline are any indication. Ja Morant's status is already up in the air amid his battle with a UCL sprain, and now, his backcourt mate, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, will be undergoing surgery to address a “misalignment of his right pinky finger”, according to ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel.
The Grizzlies are currently in 11th place in the West, which theoretically puts them in the running for a play-in tournament spot. But they seem to have no interest in vying for a postseason spot, especially after trading away Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz prior to the deadline.
This at least gives the Grizzlies' remaining veterans time and space to recover from any knocks, which is precisely what Caldwell-Pope is doing. The team is in the business of trying to compete for improved lottery odds, which means that they will be prioritizing the youth moving forward.
Caldwell-Pope was acquired by the Grizzlies this past offseason in the Desmond Bane trade. He's played in 51 of the Grizzlies' 53 games this season thus far, averaging 8.4 points per game on 41/32/91 shooting splits.
Grizzlies lean on youth amid Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's injury
Caldwell-Pope, on paper, could have been a solid stopgap addition for the Grizzlies as they tried to remain semi-competitive in the aftermath of the Bane trade. But disaster has struck from every direction for the Grizzlies, amid Morant's injuries and underperformance, as well as injuries to key players such as Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., and Zach Edey, that Memphis didn't stand much of a chance.
Caldwell-Pope, nonetheless, is guaranteed to stick in Memphis for next season. He has a player option worth $21.6 million for the 2026-27 season, and that is the kind of money that in no universe he'd be declining.
