Grizzlies’ Plans for No. 9 Pick, Revealed?

After what was considered a “gap year,” the Memphis Grizzlies “are expected to explore the potential return for the No. 9 pick,” per ESPN’s Zach Lowe.

Grizzlies Plan For No. 9 Pick, Revealed

The Grizzlies went 27-55 in 2023-24.

This largely due to star guard Ja Morant missing 73 games due to suspension and injury. However, four-year pro Desmond Bane missing 40 games in the midst of a career season didn’t help matters. With Marcus Smart also suffering a what turned out be a season-ending finger injury in January, Memphis never stood a chance.

A young but experienced playoff contender, it makes sense for the Grizzlies to sniff around for upgrades using the ninth overall pick. Whether they were to package the pick with a player like Smart given Vince Williams Jr.’s breakout season is up in the air. They could try to move a player like Brandon Clarke instead, if even only for salary-matching purposes.

With players like Brandon Ingram potentially available this offseason, they should try to strike while the iron’s hot though. In Ingram, the Grizzlies would be acquiring a go-to scorer with playmaking potential. Though Morant, Bane, and both Jacksons have demonstrated the ability to be featured scorers, the West is full of high-powered offenses. To that point, resting on their laurels might not be the best way to remain competitive.

What If They Keep the Pick?

The Grizzlies “will look at everything.”

With that said, head coach Taylor Jenkins and his staff have shown the ability to develop young talent. Morant and Bane have consistently improved as scorers since being drafted, along with Jaren Jackson Jr., the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, Williams and second-round pick GG Jackson II —the youngest player in the NBA last season —impressed. Making impacts on both ends, they were particularly effective after the All-Star Break.

If the Grizzlies keep the No. 9 pick, they could tab a prospect like UConn center Donovan Clingan.

Clingan would be an apt replacement for Steven Adams. Memphis traded the veteran center in February for three second-round picks and former lottery pick Victor Oladipo, who they then waived. A mountain of a man at 7-foot-2 and 280 pounds, his size is intriguing in and of itself. Especially in a league where 6-foot-11, 284-pound Nikola Jokic reigns supreme. Clingan’s rim-protection will also be of use, with the big man averaging 2.5 blocks per game last season.

At the other end, he’s the perfect player to free Morant and others up with screens. The Grizzlies found consistent success with that formula with Adams, with the big man top-three in screen assists in 2021-22 and 2022-23. To that point, it’s unlikely that they would go away from what’s worked.

Given that Jackson (Jr.) is more of a power forward than a center, Clingan also has the potential to start right away. Adams started in 122 of the 125 games he played with Memphis. Ultimately, Memphis would have a first of Morant, Bane, Williams, Jackson (Jr.), and Clingan. Smart would then lead a bench that features Clarke and Jackson (II).