Subscribe
Follow Us
The Memphis Grizzlies have been crashing and burning for the better part of the last two months, and their season finally came to a brutal end on Saturday. After just sneaking into the postseason with a win in the play-in tournament, the Grizzlies were quickly swept out of the first round by the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Grizzlies fired head coach Taylor Jenkins with just nine games left in the regular season, and now Memphis will begin the search for a new head coach. However, their roster is also in an interesting spot. Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane have all plateaued somewhat before reaching true superstardom or breaking into the conversation of a top 10 player in the league, leading to trade murmurs surrounding all three.
What the Grizzlies elect to do with all of them will be a big storyline throughout the offseason. As expected, there are some conflicting things flying around about both Morant and Jackson, according to Matt Moore.
Some people think that Morant will want out of Memphis, while others believe that he and the organization are committed to each other. Some say that the Grizzlies want to build around their three current stars and rookie big man Zach Edey. Rumors have also been flying about Jackson on both sides, potentially wanting to leave or wanting to stick around, per Moore.
Regardless of what route the Grizzlies decide to take, they will be a fascinating team to monitor this offseason. Jackson is eligible for an extension while Morant creeps up on the time where he could potentially get another max contract. Do the Grizzlies want to commit to the both of them for an extended period of time?
Morant has had problems staying on the court constantly, both for health reasons and for other reasons off the court. Jackson has developed into a great two-way player, but is there a ceiling for him higher than the borderline All-NBA level player that we saw this season? Bane had a poor season by his standards, so he seems to be the most likely trade candidate of the three on paper.
However, nobody seems to really know what the Grizzlies are going to do this offseason. With a coaching search in progress and questions about all of their top players, they will be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the next few months.
