With Steven Adams out, Grizzlies sign G League Rookie of the Year

While Lofton impressed the Grizzlies with his play, the impetus for signing him came about due to the injury status of center Steven Adams. The NBA's best offensive rebounder went down with a PCL strain in January and his knee has not responded well to treatment.

With backup Brandon Clarke already out with an Achilles tear, Memphis moved to add Lofton to their front line ahead of the postseason.

Lofton is an unusually-sized player, officially listed at 6'6" and 275 pounds. That may have been why he went undrafted in 2022 after two excellent seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he won Freshman of the Year in Conference USA. He was also named to the all-conference first-team as a sophomore after averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds.

Lofton additionally helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in 2021. He led Team USA's comeback against Team France and presumptive 2023 No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama.

Memphis has had wild success in recent years by focusing on standout college players who were underrated for whatever reason.

To name a few, Desmond Bane was an incredible college three-point shooter, for instance, but fell to No. 30 in the draft because of his short wingspan. 

John Konchar dominated across the board in college, but went to a small school and has short arms with average athleticism -- he went undrafted. Xavier Tillman was the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year as a junior, but is only 6-foot-8. Memphis snagged him in the second round and he has started 29 games during the current campaign.

For his part, Lofton is now locked up for three more seasons as Memphis tries to develop another talented, under-heralded young player. For the immediate future, his job will be to help fill -- as best he can -- the rebounding void from Adams' absence. Those may be big shoes to fill, but Lofton's a big guy. And a big talent.