Grizzlies Bench Battle: How the Rotation Could Shake Out

I wouldn't be surprised if we see No. 1 initiating the offense when preseason tips off.

Handed a starting role in 2024-25, Pippen Jr. averaged 14.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds on 46.1% shooting from three in 21 starts, then was even better in the playoffs against the eventual champion Thunder.

If that holds, Ty Jerome could slide into a super sixth man role for Memphis.

Jerome showed last year that if he's called on to start, he can handle the responsibility.

Here's how the rotation groups behind Memphis's starters could shake out.

Group One: Size and Scoring

Ty Jerome – Jaylen Wells/Jerami Grant – G.G. Jackson II – Taylor Hendricks – Isaiah Stewart

With Pippen Jr. up top, this is the unit Jerome could be running as the first man off the bench.

Whichever of Wells or Grant doesn't start slots in next to him.

Jackson, playing out a contract year, gives Memphis another scoring punch off the bench, while fans hope he can finally blossom into the player they saw he could be during his rookie season.

The Hendricks-Stewart frontcourt pairing adds real defensive versatility despite the unit lacking a true seven-footer.

Hendricks averaged 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds after arriving in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, while Stewart put up 10 points, five rebounds and 1.6 blocks a night for Detroit last season.

Group Two: Instant Offense and Energy

Javon Small (two-way) – Cam Spencer – Karim Lopez/Jahmai Mashack (two-way) – Olivier-Maxence Prosper – Quinten Post

A lower-usage group built around Spencer's shooting and Small's scoring punch, which he flashed in Summer League with a 26-point, seven-assist outburst against Golden State.

Lopez, the 21st pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, missed most of Summer League with a left hamstring strain and could possibly need more time to acclimate to the NBA during the preseason, but he should get an opportunity if fully healthy.

Prosper and Post round out the secondary bench unit, but I would not be surprised if any of the players in this group get an opportunity to run with the first few players off the bench.

Mashack showed that he can play any position and do any job for the Grizzlies as he averaged 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 31 games last season.

Carson Cooper, who recently signed a two-year two-way deal after joining Memphis in Summer League, joins Mashack as another body who can slide in and bring instant defensive pressure.

Group Three: On the Fringe

Clayton Jr., who came over in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, missed Summer League with a knee injury but is healthy now for his sophomore season after showing some promise in Utah, before struggling with efficiency in Memphis at the end of last season.

Hawkins and Peavy arrived from New Orleans in a September trade, and Peavy's chances took a hit when it was announced at media day that he turned his ankle.

Murray, part of the return in the Morant trade, still has to try and find his spot.

None of them is locked into a role yet, and not all of them make the final 15.

Memphis is still carrying more players than it has spots for. Some of them, Kleiman and his staff already know well, while others they had been paying attention to from a distance.

"Some of these guys we have been able to spend more time with closely here, some we have been scouting and evaluating from afar,” Kleiman said. “Excited to keep an open mind and we will make decisions when we need to make them.”