Fresh off their second-place finish in the Western Conference, the Memphis Grizzlies have a great foundation to build on heading into the 2022-23 season. But their plan during the 2022 NBA offseason was integral to keeping their core together, a core that won 56 games together.
Led by MVP candidate Ja Morant, the Grizzlies have become one of the young darlings of the NBA, built up by a star player, solid role players, and a young coach that has more than filled the role. Taylor Jenkins, who most recently was an assistant under Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks, has helped lead a renaissance down in Memphis, and they look to continue their success this upcoming season.
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Grizzlies Best 2022 NBA Offseason Move
Re-signing Tyus Jones
Having already played seven NBA seasons, Tyus Jones has cemented himself as a solid PG with a great sense of how to best run the offense for the Grizzlies. While not a substantial stat-sheet stuffer, Jones is exactly what Memphis needs, and his resigning this offseason is vital for their sustained success.
In his third season with the Grizzlies, Jones produced career-high marks in PPG (8.7), REB (2.4), 3-PT % (39.0), field goal attempts (7.6), and makes (3.4). Averaging almost 9/2/4 while shooting 45.1% from the field is not going to jump out a ton, but Jones is exactly what this team needs – a do-it-all backcourt option that runs the offense but can also get his own.
Jones never really found his footing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team he spent the first four years of his professional career with, but he was finally able to find a sustained role down with the Grizzlies.
After his original three-year, $26.4 contract from Memphis was not matched by the Timberwolves, Jones re-upped with the Grizzlies for another two years and $29 million, a solid deal for the career-long journeyman. Depth and sustained success can go undervalued in the NBA, but the Grizzlies understood just how important Jones is to their current timeline and knew they had to bring him back.
While the designated rookie extension that Morant signed (5/$192 million) certainly stole all the headlines this offseason and would have been an easy selection here, the honor goes to Jones, who has flown under the radar his entire career and has become to earn some much-needed recognition for the role he has on a nightly basis.
The Grizzlies did not build themselves up to be what they are today, a sustained Western Conference champion threat, just by sheer luck. Their strategy was to make sure to target the veteran options for important roles (Kyle Anderson, Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams) and swing for the fences on others (Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, John Konchar) and see how things play out.
It’s safe to say that many of their moves have worked just as well, if not better than, they could have dreamed.
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