NBA Playoffs – 5 questions about From the Memphis Grizzlies: Is the superstar trade finally coming?

Despite the disappointment, the Grizzlies remain one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. Memphis has plenty of options for the coming summer as well.

Grizzlies: Why wasn’t it enough against the Lakers?

It was clear that Ja Morant’s quote from an interview in December would blow the Grizzlies up in the face of an early exit. “I don’t see any problems in the west,” the guard announced full-bodied before the Christmas game against the Warriors. Now, after another good regular season, the Grizzlies have already shipwrecked in round one.

Now, the Lakers, one of the hottest teams since the trade deadline, were no ordinary 7-seed, yet the Californians mercilessly exposed the Grizzlies’ weaknesses. Here, too, a small caveat: With Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke, half the Big Men rotation was missing, which was anything but ideal against Anthony Davis. Memphis seemed tiny compared to the Lakers at times, even backup Wenyen Gabriel had moments when he looked like Prime Dwight Howard.

Grizzlies vs. Lakers: The series at a glance

Adams and Clarke would have helped in some way, but they also didn’t solve the biggest problem. Memphis simply lacks shooting, even though they have the two best shooters in the NBA in terms of hit rate in Desmond Bane and Luke Kennard. The squad didn’t offer much more, so there were massive spacing problems when only one of the two was on the field. It’s no coincidence that Memphis had a plus-minus +45 in 68 minutes with the two, no duo was better in the series with the Grizzlies.

It was all the more bitter that Kennard had to pass Game 6 with a shoulder injury. Alongside Xavier Tillman (+0.9), the guard was the only Grizzlies player to have a positive net rating (+16.7), although defensive question marks always remain with him. Since the Grizzlies also have a Jaren Jackson Jr. as “Libero”, this could be gotten over.

Still, there are positives to be drawn from the whole thing. In this series, Memphis was clearly shown boundaries and the limitations were relentlessly exposed.

Grizzlies: What are the Grizzlies missing from Contender status?

As already mentioned, it is primarily shooting plus professional behavior on and off the field. Coach Taylor Jenkins made people sit up and take notice before Game 4 with the following words. “It’s obvious that we lack the maturity. (…) We’ve been through a lot in the past few months. We’ll discuss it and eventually learn our lessons from it.”

In terms of entertainment, the trash talk was refreshing, but at the same time there is probably no team hated by the rest of the world more than Memphis. The glee was correspondingly great that the Grizzlies again had big problems in the playoffs.

In terms of sport, the focus is primarily on the forward positions. This past offseason, the Grizzlies parted ways (unnecessarily) with Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton, hurting the depth of the team. Instead, the franchise trusted its own youngsters like Santi Aldama or David Roddy. Partly by necessity because Ziaire Williams was struggling with injuries after a solid rookie season and didn’t make the leap he was hoping for. This worked well in the regular season, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the postseason.

The Grizzlies were also aware of this and tried in vain to retrofit here in February. According to Tim MacMahon (ESPN) the Grizzlies allegedly offered four first rounders for Mikal Bridges, a similar package was probably also offered to Toronto for OG Anunoby. Both could have used Memphis.

It doesn’t even have to be an all-star forward, since there is enough playmaking with Morant, Bane or Tyus Jones. More importantly, they have a forward who can’t be ignored under any circumstances and who also has certain defensive merits – in short, an above-average two-way player that Memphis missed on three this season.

Grizzlies: What’s Happening to Dillon Brooks?

Dillon Brooks took over this role instead, but he had a series to forget and drew attention to himself above all with his comments off the field. Once again, a new secondary theater of war arose, and in the end the Canadian couldn’t handle the media pressure well either. Although many US journalists have criticized Brooks for avoiding interviews three times, it was better for everyone that he simply didn’t say anything more.

The damage has already been done, Brooks has shot himself offside with his antics on (the fight with Donovan Mitchell, the countless technicals) and off the field (the “beef” with Draymond Green, the comments to LeBron). There is hardly any serious discussion about his sporting achievements, instead the self-loaded ballast always resonates.

Brooks will be a free agent this summer and the Grizzlies won’t be keeping the 27-year-old, multiple outlets have reported. It is quite remarkable that this was already clear in May and shows how much porcelain has broken in the past few weeks. Loud The Athletic wanted to extend the Grizzlies early during the season, but Brooks refused because his role in Memphis was too small for him. At this point, Brooks must have made a massive gamble.

While his defense is borderline all-defense, on the other side of the field, shot selection and rating remain an issue.

It also doesn’t help that it was Brooks’ weakest shooting season. While he’s never cracked 40 percent on jump shots, 32 percent was by far a career low in 2022/23. The fact that he still kept pulling the trigger became a problem for Memphis and should give food for thought for the future. What is his market actually? What other teams would want to try him?

According to media reports, the Miami Heat are said to be one of the interested teams, they could actually get Brooks back on track. But Brooks would have to cut back on salary (currently around $11 million). In general, it seems questionable that the forward will receive more than the midlevel exception (around 11.2 million). The mini-MLE of around 7 million seems more realistic.

Dillon Brooks: His regular-season stats for the Grizzlies

Grizzlies: Is Ja Morant a problem or the solution?

But Brooks did one thing with his comments – he took Morant a little out of the line of fire, who was viewed very critically after his suspension after the gun scandal (and other incidents in the weeks before). The Grizzlies fans have taken Morant back to their hearts, but the guard continues to play “on probation”, which he also sees himself.

“I have to make better decisions in my life. My activities off the field have obviously affected our team. I have to be more disciplined there,” Morant said throughout the series and has always said the right things since his return. Perhaps it was actually the shot across the bow that he needed, because it is undisputed that all doors are still open to him.

Despite his hand injury, Morant went on to put up 45 points in Game 3 and again hinted that at times he’s almost impossible to defend when there’s at least a bit of room for him. At the same time, the guard needs the right personnel around him, which means shooting and also a certain level of security in order to be able to cover his defensive limitations.

With JJJ and Steven Adams, the Grizzlies mainly have the latter, and Morant Bane has established itself as a second option. Now it’s up to the Guard to put his life in order and draw the right conclusions from it. The franchise will help Morant, they have been supporting the 23-year-old for months. Why not? Morant seems popular in the dressing room, is one of the league’s biggest US talents and a star, especially with younger fans. The last few months have not been easy, but Morant should have an environment in Memphis to bring order back in.

Grizzlies: What decisions are still pending in the summer?

The aforementioned Brooks is the only real free agent, and the Grizzlies have an option with Tillman. If they pull, Center becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2024. It is possible that an extension will be negotiated prematurely if there is an interest in keeping it. On the other hand, the talks with Bane, who is entering his last year of contract, are likely to be more interesting. The big question is: will the shooting guard possibly even get a maximum contract?

That cannot be ruled out, after all, Bane performed at All-Star level, especially in the first months of the season, before an injury slowed him down. The Grizzlies could even afford it. Although Morant’s new deal starts 23/24, Memphis is over $20 million under the luxury tax (caution: it’s about $7 million less if it makes All-NBA) and even with a Bane Maximum contract, you wouldn’t 24/25 go over if the squad stays together this iteration. The very team-friendly deal for Jackson Jr., which is getting cheaper every year, helps here.

Memphis Grizzlies: All contracts at a glance

* Player option, ** Team option, *** not guaranteed

At the same time, this summer is probably the last chance to attract free agents with Capspace or to raise more money via trades. Although the Grizzlies have never paid the luxury tax, owner Robert Pera is the richest owner in the NBA after Steve Ballmer and it can be assumed that he will pay more if Memphis actually has a big fish on the line. GM Zach Kleiman has already announced that they want to proceed aggressively in the summer and also did not rule out trades.

That is also part of the truth. There are quite a few teams who would love to swap places with Memphis. The Grizzlies have a young trio in Morant (23), Bane (24) and Jackson Jr. (23), all of whom play at All-Star level. Add to that a wealthy owner, financial flexibility, and a jam-packed shelf full of picks. The Grizzlies are holding each of their own picks and are also getting a first rounder from Golden State (top 4 protected) from the 2019 Iguodala trade next year.

The elimination against the Lakers was of course bitter, but little has changed in the outlook for the team. Memphis will continue to be one of the favorites in the coming years, and one or two trades could improve these prospects considerably.