Three big questions Grizzlies must answer in a transitional season

Three seasons ago, the Memphis Grizzlies had the second-best record in the Western Conference, a trove of draft picks and one of the NBA's brightest futures. After years of questionable trades, untimely injuries, playoff flameouts and suspensions to their superstar, the Grizzlies are at a crossroads.

Memphis finished eighth last season and gave the champion Oklahoma City Thunder a scare in the first round — before Ja Morant got hurt in Game 3. The Grizzlies blew a 29-point lead and went on to get swept, then blew up the core of their team by trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic.

Now, Bane is out and Ty Jerome and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are in, as is rookie Cedric Coward, the No. 11 pick in June's draft. The Grizzlies have reset their team, but is that team still a contender? Here are three big questions the Grizzlies have to answer this season.

1. Is Ja Morant still a franchise player?

In 2022, Morant won Most Improved Player and finished seventh in the MVP vote, averaging 27.4 points. During the 2022-23 season, Morant got suspended for brandishing firearms, then got suspended again for the first 25 games of 2023-24 — and ended up playing only nine games due to injury. Last season, he was down to 23.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, missing 32 contests.

Morant is only 26 but his accumulated injuries and poor shooting have dropped him from the ranks of elite players. He's been under 31% from three-point range for the last three seasons, while averaging a career-high 3.7 turnovers in 2024-25. Morant's fearless, attacking style can still get results, but at 175 pounds, he may be too slight to sustain that style for 82 games.

If Morant isn't an All-Star anymore, then the Grizzlies have a serious ceiling on their success. He's owed almost $127M over the next three seasons. If the team starts slowly, the Grizzlies' franchise player could be on the trade block.

2. Will Grizzlies' new coach maximize their offense?

The Grizzlies fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins in favor of former assistant Tuomas Iisalo, in part to reconfigure the team's offense. Last season, the Grizzlies installed a motion offense featuring far fewer ball screens. It led to the Grizzlies finishing second in the NBA in scoring, but also led to unhappiness from Morant and other Grizzlies.

With Iisalo in charge and Jenkins out, the team wants to put the ball in Morant's hands. They'll need to find a secondary creator with Bane gone. Could that mean a larger role for the re-signed Santi Aldama or a healthy GG Jackson? It certainly suggests they'll lean heavily on Jerome off the bench.

It makes sense to focus on Morant. The question is whether Iisalo can scheme up enough help for him.

3. Can Memphis survive early absences of its big men?

The Grizzlies announced they'd signed Jaren Jackson to a four-year extension worth $239.9M this summer, then almost immediately announced he was having surgery for a turf toe injury that had a recovery time of at least three months. Second-year center Zach Edey had ankle surgery in June that could keep him sidelined until late November. Backup big man Brandon Clarke will miss at least six weeks with knee surgery.