Grizzlies Announce Roster Move for Ex-Celtics Player

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Garret Schnitker | Last updated Feb 21, 2025 6:01 PM ET

The Memphis Grizzlies are having one of their best seasons of recent memory, despite injuries again playing a factor. As they sit as the third seed in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies are right in the mix to hold their home-court advantage come playoff time.

Memphis is just half-game behind the Denver Nuggets for the second seed in the West. That said, recent struggles have the Grizzlies just two games up on the Houston Rockets who are fourth. With 27 games remaining in the regular season, the Grizzlies will have to make a push to remain near the top of the Western Conference standings.

Going through one of their toughest stretches of the year, the Grizzlies are playing eight games straight against teams with playoff aspirations, including the top seed in both conferences, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers. After losing three of their last four games, Memphis decided it was time to make a roster move.

On Friday, the Grizzlies announced they had waived guard Johnny Davis in order to bring up forward Lamar Stevens from the Detroit Pistons G League affiliate team, the Motor City Cruise.

The @memgrizz signed Lamar Stevens to a 10-day contract as a Call-Up from the @nbagleague Motor City Cruise. In a related move, the Grizzlies waived Johnny Davis. pic.twitter.com/qxvngaupjl
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) February 21, 2025

Stevens began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing 165 games across three seasons before going to the Boston Celtics the following year, and then landing with the Grizzlies last season. The 6-foot-6 forward signed a 10-day contract after averaging 17.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game in 18 games with the Cruise.

With this opportunity, Stevens will get to learn under All-Star Forward Jaren Jackson Jr. who is having a stellar season. Jackson leads the Grizzlies in points, blocks, and steals per game with 22.9, 1.6 and 1.3 respectively. While former All-Star point guard Ja Morant has only played 33 of the 55 games due to injuries, he still is producing 20.4 points per game to go along with 7.4 assists, which leads the team.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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