The Memphis Grizzlies Just SAVED Their Franchise

The Memphis Grizzlies Just SAVED Their Franchise

it feels like yesterday that the Memphis Grizzlies were the next best young team in the NBA but after a few years a lot of injuries and some other stuff the Memphis Grizzlies decided to move off a member of their big three being Desmond Bane the Grizzlies were in a weird spot they had a core that theoretically should be good enough to contend but due to a number of factors it hasn’t quite worked out over the past few seasons they were in a position where I thought they had the talent to be an elite team but something was evidently missing and I wasn’t exactly sure what the Grizzlies could do to make the team that much better obviously much of the recent struggles in Memphis have been due to John Morance’s injuries but even when he was playing something felt off it no longer felt like it did in 2022 and 23 that the Grizzlies were this super young team with limitless potential you look up and look down and all of a sudden Job Bane and Jiren have gone from 22 23 and 22 to 25 26 and 25 and while they are far from old the feeling around the situation obviously shifted this being said if you asked me prior to this move what I think Memphis should do I honestly wouldn’t be too sure bane is definitely the least impactful of him John and Jiren but I wasn’t exactly sure what you could get for him and if that could really make enough of a difference the Grizzlies just felt stuck to me now would a job Bane and Jiren core surrounded by a plethora of guys on cheap deals such as Jaylen Wells Zack Ed GG Jackson Vince Williams and Scotty Pippen Jr working be impossible i don’t think so but in the same breath I didn’t see a path for Memphis to elevate from good playoff team to true title contender while the instant return of KCP Cole Anthony and the 16th pick this year won’t do that either getting off Bane’s deal combined with the immense amount of draft capital acquired in this deal opens more pathways but this deal Memphis to me went from undoubtedly talented team who could put it together under the right circumstances to a team with two elite core pieces a plethora of playable young guys on insanely cheap deals as well as a war chest of draft capital to work with how exactly they take advantage of this is yet to be seen but the Grizzlies to me now feel like they’re in a position to be able to choose a number of directions rather than have their direction essentially chosen by the limitations of the flexibility and asset situation now where do you go from here i honestly don’t know some have suggested blowing it up completely and while I think you could start a pretty insane rebuild if you decided to do so I’m not fully behind this nor am I expecting it this being said should you continue to try and build around J and Jiren you’ll have Jiren’s salary jumping from less than 25 million this year to likely at least double that moving Bane obviously makes this easier to bear but at the same time with the new CBA this will obviously limit you in some respects this is why I’m pretty convinced the Grizzlies won’t be sitting on their assets and instead they will likely pivot to improving the team now with the newly acquired assets this is still a team that was near the top of the West for a good chunk of last season with a guy in Jarant who we all know can be that transcendent superstar at his best i feel like you have to give Jaw another year these past few seasons have been very wonky and I think above all if nothing else the Grizzlies could definitely build up his value from where it’s at in the two years prior to the situation in Memphis kind of falling apart Jawb was giving you all NBA production at age 22 and 23 while mostly retaining it in the postseason we all know how dynamic Jaw is at his best but his impact on the game goes well beyond his highlight dunks i feel like you would be doing yourself and the fans a disservice if you gave up this quickly especially for me value relative to the caliber player Jaw has been and could become again i am generally very pro blow it up and if things aren’t going well come the trade deadline I feel like you have to gauge interest on Jiren if you haven’t extended him but I feel like the Grizz have both the time and potential to give this core another go while they’re not 22 anymore Jon Jiren are still only 25 years old this isn’t a situation where your stars are nearing 30 and their value will plummet by the time you’d want to blow it up this being said Jiren’s value will inevitably go down when he signs that monstrous deal but at the same time anyone trading for him is well aware that they’ll have to give him that whether it has been done yet or not this is why I love the Bane trade so much you remain in a position to build around your 25-year-old star duo while at the same time having a great head start and a possible rebuild if that’s where you end up i think with their age and where Jaw’s value is as of right now compared to where it could be you got to give it another year at least and if you really felt like it probably too without totally diminishing a possible return as I alluded to earlier the Grizzlies have a plethora of young contributors on insanely cheap deals the Grizzlies have Zack Edy Scotty Pippen Jr GG Jackson Vince Williams Jaylen Wells and Jay Huff under contract for the next two to three seasons and they’re making just shy of 17 million combined this upcoming season in the era of the aprons having six possible rotation pieces under contract for the cost of one average starter is one of the best scenarios imaginable this adds to the flexibility as the Grizzlies could make a major move without sacrificing any of these guys however they could also potentially use some of these deals to sweeten a package for someone they are targeting these guys are valuable players already and when you consider their aging cost for the two to three years this can either benefit Memphis’s cap situation directly or get them assets for teams lining up for a young contributor making less than a vet minimum with the salaries of KCP Cole Anthony Brandon Clark and John Contar combined with the immense amount of picks they find themselves with they could easily enter next season with a new big three while keeping all of these young pieces they literally have a whole bench unit worth of guys where four or five guys are 24 and under and all making under 3 million a year for years to come the Grizzlies moved off one of their three core pieces and in return received two guys who should they remain could be rotation pieces a war chest of draft assets and above all else control of their own destiny they went from a talented team with limited upward mobility to a still talented team with just about any path they’d like to take at their fingertips what direction to pick is far from a simple answer but with the Desmond Bay move the Grizzlies put themselves back in the driver’s seat they’re now in a position to make a genuinely competitive offer for a guy like Giannis should he become available and any other star in between i don’t think the ideal target for a star trade exists at the moment but should there be another unexpected player becoming available the Grizzlies will definitely be able to throw their hat in the ring i feel like you maybe make a few moves on the edge and really give Jaw a chance to show if he can still be that guy we all thought he could become just a few years ago i think this is smarter than just throwing all these assets back out there for a star this instant because if Jaw is as unreliable as he’s been lately you’d essentially just be back in the same situation you were in pre-bain trade but if J has a disappointing year you’ve now put yourself in a position to lean into a rebuild that could be insane if you play your cards right if this is what you could get from Bane you’ll definitely be able to get comparable packages at least for Jon and Jiren pretty much no matter how things go Jiren are still young enough for the Grizz to be able to take a year here to really determine if they can build a true contender around them and at the same time not miss the boat on a potential trade should it be the direction they choose i say all this to say if you’re a Memphis Grizzlies fan you should have most of the hope you had for this team a few years ago back you have Jon and Jiren about to enter their primes and a plethora of young talent on outstanding contracts as well as a war chest of picks to work with the West is a bloodbath but the Grizzlies have the talent to be right there with just about anybody in that second tier below OKC john is an electrifying talent and I’m hoping it can be worked out but now you’re in a situation where even if it doesn’t you’ll have the option to put yourself in a position similar to the OKC Thunder after trading PG and Russ now will you stumble into an all-time great randomly in one of those packages odds are probably not but you could still find yourself in a spot with an ungodly amount of draft capital to close the Grizzlies took back the reigns of their franchise and basically no matter how it goes they can put themselves in a great position it’s going to wrap this one up if y’all did enjoy please do like and episode the channel comment down below you know for one how do you feel about the Bay trade uh you know I I actually I I don’t think it’s you know I I think the Grizzlies won i think it was a great trade for Memphis as I’ve explained but I don’t think it was that bad for Orlando and I put a video out on that if you want to go check it out i I think it you know I genuinely do think it’s a decent move for both sides again you know again as I said if I had to pick a winner I’d pick Memphis i think Orlando inevitably overpaid a little bit but to get a guy like that who you know if y’all want to hear the whole rational for that go check out that video i’m not about to you know recite that whole video but uh you know for one what do you think about the bane trade and two what do you think they should do you know obviously you know the first thing that popped up right away was oh they’re going to go get KD and I don’t think that’s going to happen but uh you know do you think they should do that do you think they should make a move now do you think they should just sit on their cards again as I said I think the move is you know maybe you make a couple moves on the edges and you give John Jiren the floor to really show you what you could have with them but as I said that’s going to wrap this one up if y’all did enjoy please do like it up and sub the channel and I will catch you on the next one peace

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