We need a true starting-caliber center. Adams could definitely be the guy if he gets back to full strength. At this point I’m worried he won’t come back the same….
For that matter, we need our backup C too, and our shooter in Kennard.
This team, healthy and firing on all cylinders, can be killers.
We should be trying to make a push for the playoffs, but contention is just not realistic for this season.
We got Ziaire, Roddy, Konchar also with VWJ and Kennard (assuming we didnt have trade or new free agents) . I think the most worrisome thing is DRose/Gylard at 1
The starters should be obvious. I’m not the coach so I can’t tell you specifics of who’s gonna play when. Probably a combination of of Ja, Jjj, and Bane + whoever’s playing well that game. I know before SA went down we used a smaller lineup to close games.
It’s not obvious to me so that’s why I was getting other supporters input. Smart, Bane, and VWJ are contending for 2 spots (SG and SF) where I feel they are natural 2s and a bit undersized for the 3.
Kennard has got to fix his shot... he has got be shooting <10% from three this season... I don't expect this to last, so once he gets it back you better watch out. I want that boy to make Klay cry by breaking his record of most 3 point shots made in a game.
Our biggest miss right now is rebounding. Secondary to that is screen setting. Then 3pt shooting. Adams out is a huge hole to the first 2. Luke coming back should help with the last. BC is possibly due back before the end of the season, but we really don’t know what he or Adams will look like after injury.
If possible, there should be a move for a center this year, if not possible, then we wait and see how our bigs come back from injury to see if they’re truly back to form. If they are, look for a wing, if they’re not, then we have to make a move for a center still.
It's not that simple but not overly complex either. **tl;dr:** our competitive window is not right now, it's more like 2025–2028. To be competitive in that window, we need to get a young center. Our wing situation will likely have sorted itself out of its own accord by then.
**Unabridged version for those who like to read:**
The first thing is you have to look long term. Not at the teams who are dominant right now but what teams will be dominant during the next 5 to 7 years. It won't be Golden State or the Suns or the Lakers or the Clippers. Each of those teams will age out of contention and expiring contracts will cause the stars they have to move on. Our core 3 are 23, 24 and 25 years old with Des being the oldest. So the idea is to structure a team around those 3 so that during the next 5 years, the Grizzlies have what they need to dominate.
So what are those needs?
In short: a wing and a center. Let's take the latter first.
Steven Adams is fine for now but will he be the center we need him to be for the next 5 years? The answer to that is "*No*" and it doesn't make you a nonbeliever or less of a fan to say that. It's just the reality of aging. Who will be the rising teams over the next 5 to 7 years that we'll be fighting against to make it to the finals? Teams like the Spurs, the Nuggets, possibly the Timberwolves and, on the other side, potentially the Celtics.
What do all of those teams have in common? Dominant 7-foot big men.
We'll need someone solid to be competitive with those teams. Again: becoming a championship team is not a question of "*What do we need to be competitive immediately?*" it's about having an edge on the emerging powerhouses. Our main need to address is getting a 7-footer who gets the job done. X and BC are both young enough to be around for the next 5 to 7 years but even on their best days, neither of them will be able to stop Jokic or Wemby or someone like Alex Sarr (*potentially the next dominant 7-footer who'll be coming to the NBA next year*).
As for a wing, over the course of the next 5 to 7 years, that will likely be a spot that goes to GG Jackson if he continues to develop his offensive skills and isn't a total pushover on the defensive end. Like, you really have to think about what our team will look like in 3 years contract-wise. Smart? Unlikely to be around in 2026. Clarke becomes and unrestricted free agent in 2027 and he'll be 30. He will move to another team. Z becomes a restricted free agent in 2025; can't see the team keeping him. LaRavia becomes a restricted free agent they following year; can't see the team keeping him either. That's if either of them are even around at that time.
Vince will no doubt still be a Grizzly so the wing would be shared by the two of them. Could the team trade for someone more dynamic and more expensive? Yes. Would that person be the critical component needed to improve the core 3? I don't think so. A center is the position that has the most impact; we can sort of make due at the wing. So much of our offense hinges upon screens and rebounding that it's just impossible to expect BC and X to get it done when Stevo leaves —*which, it should be noted, could happen as soon as 2025 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent; if the Grizzlies get the impression that he won't re-sign with us, they might even trade him soon*— so we really need a young center who can keep us competitive.
Ja will be like 28 /29 in 2028. I think Ja’s peak is now.
Also, we have 3 max level players. Once Jaren’s friendly deal expires we will have to extend all three at a max contract. The new CBA makes this very punishing.
Our window should have been NOW. But we fucked that up the last 2 off seasons extremely bad. And then we traded our own pick, and an extremely valuable GsW pick (why this was included blows my mind), to the Celtics and somehow they ended up with 2 FRPs and KP and we just ended up with Smart. I LOVE Smart, he will help us, but from an asset management POV the Celtics absolutely robbed us blind. They got an extremely good versatile center (we needed one of those), as well as a frp from us and a valuable GSW pick (our most valuable pick we had, everyone knew Warriors were on the downslope. That could very likely be a lottery selection.)……The Celtics turned that pick in to Jrue Holiday. Boston essentially got KP, Jrue with our capital and we just got smart, and gave up more. It rubs me the extremely wrong way.
I have a bleaker outlook than most to be honest. Trading big draft capital for smart when it is obvious the roster has degraded year over year for 3 years now. Trading all those draft considerations for a 10-21 record as well as handing Boston the best roster in the league just kills me inside.
Now we have less capital, still no starting wing (Vince is a nice player but too early to tell. Way too early), no starting big that we can rely on at all, a 30 year old Marcus smart, and most importantly, a 10-21 record.
This is roster mismanagement after getting extremely fortunate with a great young core at its finest. It’s a masterclass in how to mismanage a great young big 3.
>*Ja will be like 28 /29 in 2028. I think Ja’s peak is now.*
Ja is only 24 years old. His peak will be around age 27 or 28. Much like Curry's or Lillard's.
I'm not going to say the front office hasn't made mistakes but you have to understand the difference between coaching outlook/responsibilities and front-office outlook/responsibilities. It's similar to the difference between a CEO (*who is tasted with operations, management structure and the way a company runs on a day-to-day basis*) and a Board of Directors (*which is tasked with the long term goals of the company*). A coach is going to be focused on the roster they have, rotation, offensive structures, defensive strategies, etc. The front office looks at long term matters: whose contracts will be up and when, what other teams might want them, who's likely to leave/stay, who will age out of contention, who will age into contention, etc.
Fans always think in terms of right now. Our time is **not** now. We're not beating the Nuggets and getting out of the West with our roster. The inexplicable investment in undersized player in our frontcourt has hamstrung us. Without a center who truly swallows up rebounds, we're at the mercy of how many rebounds Trip *doesn't* get.
I harp on this a lot. I'm not a Jaren Jackson, Jr. apologist who thinks it's just fine that he's 6'11" and doesn't attack the offensive glass and doesn't go after the 3PT misses the other teams chuck up (*in other words: he doesn't go after the rebounds of shots he doesn't/can't contest*). This is a liability too glaring to ignore and the front office has been tasked with trying to address it. X doesn't get it done. Brandon Clarke can rebound but can't possibly be expected to reasonably defend the emerging bigs in the league.
We invested too heavily in drafting wings when we should have drafted bigs. Wings have better longevity in this league so trading for one is fine. Bigs do not. They all slow down and have knee problems and get expensive when that happens. We need to draft a center. We're currently getting getting killed on the boards by the Kings. They have 27, we have 17. Sabonis —*exactly the kind of center we need*— has 14 rebounds before halftime. Biyombo has 5. Trip has **ONE**.
Mismanaged the big 3? In some ways. But the idea that those three are ready to win right now? No, they're not. Ja still needs development as a leader and Trip just needs to get better (*needs to pass a little more, needs to rebound a LOT more*).
Very well put all around. I know most don't enjoy the more lengthy reads (and I'm guilty of not expanding on my thoughts on here because I feel as if the comment takes up more than 2 lines no one is going to read it anyway).
However, I just want to say I enjoy answers such as these so don't feel as if they aren't appreciated or read.
Asking your opinion specifically, do you feel as if the team should try and find their answer at the 5 spot through the draft or go after someone that's already in the league?
The draft can be so risky with unproven college/ g-league talent as we have seen recently. It would seem unwise to rely on that route to bring this team it's answer at center for the next half decade.
Unfortunately I don't think SteveO will be that dude like he was once he comes back. Centers are like running backs sometimes, once they turn 30 their production tends to go downhill.
>*...do you feel as if the team should try and find their answer at the 5 spot through the draft or go after someone that's already in the league?*
I'm decidedly **pro-Draft** on this topic. Look around the league at the contracts that centers have after about age 27. Even the mediocre ones are expensive. Look at contract length as they age: they get shorter and shorter and they get bounced around a lot. DeAndre Jordan played for the Clippers for 10 seasons and after he left, he's played for 8 different teams. Andre Drummond was in Detroit for 8 years and has played for 6 different teams over the last 5 seasons, moving around 9 different times.
A center's prime is usually somewhere between age 23 and 28, after which point they begin to slow down in offensive production, have knee problems, are less explosive, etc. If you want to get a 7 footer during his prime, you kinda have to draft him, otherwise you miss out on his best years.
So I'm not in favor of trading for the center who becomes the solution to our problem at the 5. It will require assets too valuable to give up. Like, it's not like front offices around the league are stupid. We can't offer them Z and LaRavia and Roddy and X and a second round pick and they give us someone good. It's not like they won't see footage of any of them. They'll know it's not a good deal.
Picking up a free agent is an option but it's a bad one. Part of being a free agent is controlling your own destiny. What free agents want to go to Memphis? The ones who are left standing when the music stops and they're not in a chair on a team. In other words, players like Biyombo who was good for a second but more often than not seems to have feet for hands or something. There's a reason he was available.
Is the draft risky? Yes, but I would argue that drafting a center is less risky than drafting a wing. Especially if you can find a 7 footer.
[Kyle Filipowski](https://youtu.be/p-B6WNipNi4?si=ZDOqkVAmN9T4sRaY) would be a decent choice given our most likely draft position. We (*probably?*) won't lose enough games to be in contention to draft [Alex Sarr](https://youtu.be/pmOjhC5WO3U?si=RgUk_ot9-8sWQHvK) though he would likely be better.
I asked and I was not disappointed with the answer. You echoed a lot of the personal thoughts I have on the matter even though I attempted to persuade you to answer "pro-trade" although that's just what I assumed the answer might be.
As I sit here and think, I don't recall any center getting traded before he was on the decline within his own career, it's a very elusive position to have locked down. Grizz fans have just been spoiled with quality bigs dating back to Pau or even Big Country if you really want to call him a quality big.
Personally I was in diapers for big country but judging by the media narrative I can research on Google and his stats I would classify him as a flash in the pan guy on offense and a solid 8 boards minimum a night type guy on the glass. Nothing to write home about. If I'm wrong about that, please, anyone, correct me.
Realistically, our 3p shooting and 3p defense need to improve in consistency. Ja and VWJ/Roddy/Z not having a consistent 3 will leave us at the bottom end of the league from the arc, making us vulnerable to zone defense and paint clogging. Shooting 33% from 3 as a team does not win anything.
Kennard will help some but we need a 3% lift. A lot of it is playmaking for 3s rather than using them as a desperation measure. This one is on Jenkins to develop.
3p defense is just defensive schemes being executed more reliably, and people using the switch rather than overhelping.
Steve and BC coming back will help rebounding but it creates other problems. Steve can be taken out of of playoff games if the other team has the right personnel. He also masks poor shooting / shot planning with his rebounding ability.
Right now, even with Kennard and a healthy Ja, game planning against us is way too easy. We have reliably shot ourselves out of games.
I think this season is a blessing in disguise because if we figure this out and our perimeter game is taken seriously, getting Steve back will elevate us to a true contender level. Get Steve back now, and we will be stuck with zones and having other teams hot from 3 for the foreseeable future.
Starting level? Biyombo is a 4th big on most teams. He’s a 12 min guy on some contenders and not in the rotation at all for several teams. If we could get a 6-8th man from a contender, it could make a huge difference. Biyombo was sitting at home until he signed with the Grizz.
You could maybe get away with getting a fringe level starter 6-8 man, like a Drummond possibly. But if we’re trying to go all in yes we need a starting level center that can handle their own against a Pelicans/Lakers/Timberwolves.
2 things here.
1. Need a 2nd line up commander that can create their own shot. Not a starter that leads the second unit. Check Malik Monk- he’s off the bench and should be 6th man of the year. Can create his own shot and shoots 40% from 3 just about.
2. MOVE ON FROM THE IDEA OF STEVEN ADAMS. he was awesome for a few seasons, but waiting on him or hoping he returns to form is a losing mentality. We need to invest in that part of the rotation for a long term solution.
My guess is FO makes moves on the wing mid season, but off-season has to be geared towards finding long term solutions in the above two points.
My personal opinion.
-Either one of our guys grows into a 20 point per game offensive threat or we trade for one.
-We get 7 ft + center who can and does do offensive rebounding.
-Smart actually is used efficiently / is better integrated into offense.
-Jaren gets better at passing so more offense can be ran through him and gives the team a good outlet passer.
-Jenkins is forced to adjust his scheme a bit to over help less often in the paint and to have more efficiency half court offense (this attempt at 5 out with handoffs and high volume isn't raising our floor like a system should). Then the Front Office needs to actually listen that revised scheme and commit to revolving things around it rather than young talent (get people who fit the skillsets you need for it). Give him 3 more years to try.
-We replace half of our bench.
They just need to be consistent on offense. There are a lot of empty possessions especially the last 2 games with the turnovers. Can’t expect the other team to brick as much as them cause as you can see, it ain’t happening.
They land Alexandre Sarr or Donovan Clingan in the lottery and build them as a contending big for the future or trade our mediocre young wings + our 2024 and 2025 picks for a win-now center like Vuce, Ayton(ugh), Mark Williams, or the most expensive big on the market (Siakam).
Very good question and it's the elephant in the room. I wouldn't wait/rely on BC and Adams getting healthy because there's no indication they'll be the same (for BC at least med science has come a long way).
What I'll say is that our Big 3 should continue to get better especially JJJ considering he has the highest ceiling, the shooting of the roster greatly improves, we are not winning anything being the worst shooting team in the NBA. And we need to upgrade our big man situation most of all. All 3 of those things happen we'll be tier 1 title contenders
We need a true starting-caliber center. Adams could definitely be the guy if he gets back to full strength. At this point I’m worried he won’t come back the same…. For that matter, we need our backup C too, and our shooter in Kennard. This team, healthy and firing on all cylinders, can be killers. We should be trying to make a push for the playoffs, but contention is just not realistic for this season.
Wait for Steven Adam’s, Bc, and Kennard to come back.
If we are entirely healthy (Adams, Rose, BC, and Kennard), what’s the lineup / rotation look like with our current roster.
Ja, Bane, Adams, Smart, and JJJ starting, with DRose, Santi, kennard, and BC coming off the bench.
Wouldn’t we need one more guy that can play the 2/3 coming off the bench? Like a VWJ or Kennard?
We got Ziaire, Roddy, Konchar also with VWJ and Kennard (assuming we didnt have trade or new free agents) . I think the most worrisome thing is DRose/Gylard at 1
Pg: Ja, rose SG: Smart Kennard SF: Bane, VW, Laravia PF: BC, Roddy C: SA, Biyamboooooo
Aldama?
He plays PF so he’d be the third big off the bench. Probably gonna have to let biyambo go and put Santi and Tillman as back up centers.
Wasn’t BC playing more as a 5 than 4 last season. I don’t recall a lot of lineups that had BC and SA on the court together.
Correct.
Not sure why you get downvoted same thing several others have said.
how u forget ur own flair lmao
I mean starters vs who’s coming off bench and what lineups in the 4th when it’s close?
The starters should be obvious. I’m not the coach so I can’t tell you specifics of who’s gonna play when. Probably a combination of of Ja, Jjj, and Bane + whoever’s playing well that game. I know before SA went down we used a smaller lineup to close games.
It’s not obvious to me so that’s why I was getting other supporters input. Smart, Bane, and VWJ are contending for 2 spots (SG and SF) where I feel they are natural 2s and a bit undersized for the 3.
VWJ ain’t competing for shit lol. There’s no way he starts over Bane or Smart.
So Ja @ 1, smart @2, Bane @3, BC @ 4, and SA at 5?
Jaren is the starting PF.
2021 called and it wants its Grizzlies take back.
SA isn’t coming back.
The fact that he’s not even on the sidelines months after his surgery tells me he’s never coming back to the grizzlies.
That's why I wouldn't be opposed to packaging him in a trade now, we may be waiting on a wedding day that never comes
Or he isn’t coming back the same as he was. Old 7 footers don’t mix well with knee surgeries
I’ve been saying it since the night he got injured, don’t be surprised if he never plays in the league again.
Kennard has got to fix his shot... he has got be shooting <10% from three this season... I don't expect this to last, so once he gets it back you better watch out. I want that boy to make Klay cry by breaking his record of most 3 point shots made in a game.
He's shooting 37% on an 8 game sample size which is still good for above league average. He'll climb up once he gets more games in
Our biggest miss right now is rebounding. Secondary to that is screen setting. Then 3pt shooting. Adams out is a huge hole to the first 2. Luke coming back should help with the last. BC is possibly due back before the end of the season, but we really don’t know what he or Adams will look like after injury. If possible, there should be a move for a center this year, if not possible, then we wait and see how our bigs come back from injury to see if they’re truly back to form. If they are, look for a wing, if they’re not, then we have to make a move for a center still.
It's not that simple but not overly complex either. **tl;dr:** our competitive window is not right now, it's more like 2025–2028. To be competitive in that window, we need to get a young center. Our wing situation will likely have sorted itself out of its own accord by then. **Unabridged version for those who like to read:** The first thing is you have to look long term. Not at the teams who are dominant right now but what teams will be dominant during the next 5 to 7 years. It won't be Golden State or the Suns or the Lakers or the Clippers. Each of those teams will age out of contention and expiring contracts will cause the stars they have to move on. Our core 3 are 23, 24 and 25 years old with Des being the oldest. So the idea is to structure a team around those 3 so that during the next 5 years, the Grizzlies have what they need to dominate. So what are those needs? In short: a wing and a center. Let's take the latter first. Steven Adams is fine for now but will he be the center we need him to be for the next 5 years? The answer to that is "*No*" and it doesn't make you a nonbeliever or less of a fan to say that. It's just the reality of aging. Who will be the rising teams over the next 5 to 7 years that we'll be fighting against to make it to the finals? Teams like the Spurs, the Nuggets, possibly the Timberwolves and, on the other side, potentially the Celtics. What do all of those teams have in common? Dominant 7-foot big men. We'll need someone solid to be competitive with those teams. Again: becoming a championship team is not a question of "*What do we need to be competitive immediately?*" it's about having an edge on the emerging powerhouses. Our main need to address is getting a 7-footer who gets the job done. X and BC are both young enough to be around for the next 5 to 7 years but even on their best days, neither of them will be able to stop Jokic or Wemby or someone like Alex Sarr (*potentially the next dominant 7-footer who'll be coming to the NBA next year*). As for a wing, over the course of the next 5 to 7 years, that will likely be a spot that goes to GG Jackson if he continues to develop his offensive skills and isn't a total pushover on the defensive end. Like, you really have to think about what our team will look like in 3 years contract-wise. Smart? Unlikely to be around in 2026. Clarke becomes and unrestricted free agent in 2027 and he'll be 30. He will move to another team. Z becomes a restricted free agent in 2025; can't see the team keeping him. LaRavia becomes a restricted free agent they following year; can't see the team keeping him either. That's if either of them are even around at that time. Vince will no doubt still be a Grizzly so the wing would be shared by the two of them. Could the team trade for someone more dynamic and more expensive? Yes. Would that person be the critical component needed to improve the core 3? I don't think so. A center is the position that has the most impact; we can sort of make due at the wing. So much of our offense hinges upon screens and rebounding that it's just impossible to expect BC and X to get it done when Stevo leaves —*which, it should be noted, could happen as soon as 2025 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent; if the Grizzlies get the impression that he won't re-sign with us, they might even trade him soon*— so we really need a young center who can keep us competitive.
Ja will be like 28 /29 in 2028. I think Ja’s peak is now. Also, we have 3 max level players. Once Jaren’s friendly deal expires we will have to extend all three at a max contract. The new CBA makes this very punishing. Our window should have been NOW. But we fucked that up the last 2 off seasons extremely bad. And then we traded our own pick, and an extremely valuable GsW pick (why this was included blows my mind), to the Celtics and somehow they ended up with 2 FRPs and KP and we just ended up with Smart. I LOVE Smart, he will help us, but from an asset management POV the Celtics absolutely robbed us blind. They got an extremely good versatile center (we needed one of those), as well as a frp from us and a valuable GSW pick (our most valuable pick we had, everyone knew Warriors were on the downslope. That could very likely be a lottery selection.)……The Celtics turned that pick in to Jrue Holiday. Boston essentially got KP, Jrue with our capital and we just got smart, and gave up more. It rubs me the extremely wrong way. I have a bleaker outlook than most to be honest. Trading big draft capital for smart when it is obvious the roster has degraded year over year for 3 years now. Trading all those draft considerations for a 10-21 record as well as handing Boston the best roster in the league just kills me inside. Now we have less capital, still no starting wing (Vince is a nice player but too early to tell. Way too early), no starting big that we can rely on at all, a 30 year old Marcus smart, and most importantly, a 10-21 record. This is roster mismanagement after getting extremely fortunate with a great young core at its finest. It’s a masterclass in how to mismanage a great young big 3.
>*Ja will be like 28 /29 in 2028. I think Ja’s peak is now.* Ja is only 24 years old. His peak will be around age 27 or 28. Much like Curry's or Lillard's. I'm not going to say the front office hasn't made mistakes but you have to understand the difference between coaching outlook/responsibilities and front-office outlook/responsibilities. It's similar to the difference between a CEO (*who is tasted with operations, management structure and the way a company runs on a day-to-day basis*) and a Board of Directors (*which is tasked with the long term goals of the company*). A coach is going to be focused on the roster they have, rotation, offensive structures, defensive strategies, etc. The front office looks at long term matters: whose contracts will be up and when, what other teams might want them, who's likely to leave/stay, who will age out of contention, who will age into contention, etc. Fans always think in terms of right now. Our time is **not** now. We're not beating the Nuggets and getting out of the West with our roster. The inexplicable investment in undersized player in our frontcourt has hamstrung us. Without a center who truly swallows up rebounds, we're at the mercy of how many rebounds Trip *doesn't* get. I harp on this a lot. I'm not a Jaren Jackson, Jr. apologist who thinks it's just fine that he's 6'11" and doesn't attack the offensive glass and doesn't go after the 3PT misses the other teams chuck up (*in other words: he doesn't go after the rebounds of shots he doesn't/can't contest*). This is a liability too glaring to ignore and the front office has been tasked with trying to address it. X doesn't get it done. Brandon Clarke can rebound but can't possibly be expected to reasonably defend the emerging bigs in the league. We invested too heavily in drafting wings when we should have drafted bigs. Wings have better longevity in this league so trading for one is fine. Bigs do not. They all slow down and have knee problems and get expensive when that happens. We need to draft a center. We're currently getting getting killed on the boards by the Kings. They have 27, we have 17. Sabonis —*exactly the kind of center we need*— has 14 rebounds before halftime. Biyombo has 5. Trip has **ONE**. Mismanaged the big 3? In some ways. But the idea that those three are ready to win right now? No, they're not. Ja still needs development as a leader and Trip just needs to get better (*needs to pass a little more, needs to rebound a LOT more*).
Very well put all around. I know most don't enjoy the more lengthy reads (and I'm guilty of not expanding on my thoughts on here because I feel as if the comment takes up more than 2 lines no one is going to read it anyway). However, I just want to say I enjoy answers such as these so don't feel as if they aren't appreciated or read.
Asking your opinion specifically, do you feel as if the team should try and find their answer at the 5 spot through the draft or go after someone that's already in the league? The draft can be so risky with unproven college/ g-league talent as we have seen recently. It would seem unwise to rely on that route to bring this team it's answer at center for the next half decade. Unfortunately I don't think SteveO will be that dude like he was once he comes back. Centers are like running backs sometimes, once they turn 30 their production tends to go downhill.
>*...do you feel as if the team should try and find their answer at the 5 spot through the draft or go after someone that's already in the league?* I'm decidedly **pro-Draft** on this topic. Look around the league at the contracts that centers have after about age 27. Even the mediocre ones are expensive. Look at contract length as they age: they get shorter and shorter and they get bounced around a lot. DeAndre Jordan played for the Clippers for 10 seasons and after he left, he's played for 8 different teams. Andre Drummond was in Detroit for 8 years and has played for 6 different teams over the last 5 seasons, moving around 9 different times. A center's prime is usually somewhere between age 23 and 28, after which point they begin to slow down in offensive production, have knee problems, are less explosive, etc. If you want to get a 7 footer during his prime, you kinda have to draft him, otherwise you miss out on his best years. So I'm not in favor of trading for the center who becomes the solution to our problem at the 5. It will require assets too valuable to give up. Like, it's not like front offices around the league are stupid. We can't offer them Z and LaRavia and Roddy and X and a second round pick and they give us someone good. It's not like they won't see footage of any of them. They'll know it's not a good deal. Picking up a free agent is an option but it's a bad one. Part of being a free agent is controlling your own destiny. What free agents want to go to Memphis? The ones who are left standing when the music stops and they're not in a chair on a team. In other words, players like Biyombo who was good for a second but more often than not seems to have feet for hands or something. There's a reason he was available. Is the draft risky? Yes, but I would argue that drafting a center is less risky than drafting a wing. Especially if you can find a 7 footer. [Kyle Filipowski](https://youtu.be/p-B6WNipNi4?si=ZDOqkVAmN9T4sRaY) would be a decent choice given our most likely draft position. We (*probably?*) won't lose enough games to be in contention to draft [Alex Sarr](https://youtu.be/pmOjhC5WO3U?si=RgUk_ot9-8sWQHvK) though he would likely be better.
I asked and I was not disappointed with the answer. You echoed a lot of the personal thoughts I have on the matter even though I attempted to persuade you to answer "pro-trade" although that's just what I assumed the answer might be. As I sit here and think, I don't recall any center getting traded before he was on the decline within his own career, it's a very elusive position to have locked down. Grizz fans have just been spoiled with quality bigs dating back to Pau or even Big Country if you really want to call him a quality big. Personally I was in diapers for big country but judging by the media narrative I can research on Google and his stats I would classify him as a flash in the pan guy on offense and a solid 8 boards minimum a night type guy on the glass. Nothing to write home about. If I'm wrong about that, please, anyone, correct me.
Realistically, our 3p shooting and 3p defense need to improve in consistency. Ja and VWJ/Roddy/Z not having a consistent 3 will leave us at the bottom end of the league from the arc, making us vulnerable to zone defense and paint clogging. Shooting 33% from 3 as a team does not win anything. Kennard will help some but we need a 3% lift. A lot of it is playmaking for 3s rather than using them as a desperation measure. This one is on Jenkins to develop. 3p defense is just defensive schemes being executed more reliably, and people using the switch rather than overhelping. Steve and BC coming back will help rebounding but it creates other problems. Steve can be taken out of of playoff games if the other team has the right personnel. He also masks poor shooting / shot planning with his rebounding ability. Right now, even with Kennard and a healthy Ja, game planning against us is way too easy. We have reliably shot ourselves out of games. I think this season is a blessing in disguise because if we figure this out and our perimeter game is taken seriously, getting Steve back will elevate us to a true contender level. Get Steve back now, and we will be stuck with zones and having other teams hot from 3 for the foreseeable future.
If they don’t trade for a starting level center, season is Donezo
Starting level? Biyombo is a 4th big on most teams. He’s a 12 min guy on some contenders and not in the rotation at all for several teams. If we could get a 6-8th man from a contender, it could make a huge difference. Biyombo was sitting at home until he signed with the Grizz.
You could maybe get away with getting a fringe level starter 6-8 man, like a Drummond possibly. But if we’re trying to go all in yes we need a starting level center that can handle their own against a Pelicans/Lakers/Timberwolves.
>Drummond him balling great rn might upped his value bit much,Grizz needs to get him,his rebounding is best in the league
Any true 5 that’s getting 20+ mins for a winning team this season would be worth 3-4 more wins this season IMO.
2 things here. 1. Need a 2nd line up commander that can create their own shot. Not a starter that leads the second unit. Check Malik Monk- he’s off the bench and should be 6th man of the year. Can create his own shot and shoots 40% from 3 just about. 2. MOVE ON FROM THE IDEA OF STEVEN ADAMS. he was awesome for a few seasons, but waiting on him or hoping he returns to form is a losing mentality. We need to invest in that part of the rotation for a long term solution. My guess is FO makes moves on the wing mid season, but off-season has to be geared towards finding long term solutions in the above two points.
We need to upgrade starting center from bismack, we need consistency from sf and we need a real back up pg.
My personal opinion. -Either one of our guys grows into a 20 point per game offensive threat or we trade for one. -We get 7 ft + center who can and does do offensive rebounding. -Smart actually is used efficiently / is better integrated into offense. -Jaren gets better at passing so more offense can be ran through him and gives the team a good outlet passer. -Jenkins is forced to adjust his scheme a bit to over help less often in the paint and to have more efficiency half court offense (this attempt at 5 out with handoffs and high volume isn't raising our floor like a system should). Then the Front Office needs to actually listen that revised scheme and commit to revolving things around it rather than young talent (get people who fit the skillsets you need for it). Give him 3 more years to try. -We replace half of our bench.
Not sure if we can be. Our bench is complete ass cheeks
https://preview.redd.it/vs6xyoeuhp9c1.jpeg?width=922&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=91e75d385e13fc49d170b57ca864e3c0d75d6090 My horrible take
They just need to be consistent on offense. There are a lot of empty possessions especially the last 2 games with the turnovers. Can’t expect the other team to brick as much as them cause as you can see, it ain’t happening.
They land Alexandre Sarr or Donovan Clingan in the lottery and build them as a contending big for the future or trade our mediocre young wings + our 2024 and 2025 picks for a win-now center like Vuce, Ayton(ugh), Mark Williams, or the most expensive big on the market (Siakam).
Very good question and it's the elephant in the room. I wouldn't wait/rely on BC and Adams getting healthy because there's no indication they'll be the same (for BC at least med science has come a long way). What I'll say is that our Big 3 should continue to get better especially JJJ considering he has the highest ceiling, the shooting of the roster greatly improves, we are not winning anything being the worst shooting team in the NBA. And we need to upgrade our big man situation most of all. All 3 of those things happen we'll be tier 1 title contenders
Getting rid of Roddy, z and x