Southwest Division Watch: Are Grizzlies Fine In The West Without Morant?

Dub Nation let’s keep cruising through the Western Conference, particularly the Southwest conference. Let’s take a trip down to Beale St and listen to some blues and eat some good BBQ. If you caught my piece back in February about Memphis eating itself alive from the inside, you already know the shape of this one. The once great Grizzlies that as recently as 2023 were considered a legitimate contender have become damn near unrecognizable. It all spiraled after Ja Morant’s injuries and off-court mess, Jaren Jackson Jr. getting dealt to Utah, and what suddenly devolved into what appeared to be a tank job. Last year’s Grizzlies finished 25-57 and the Warriors took all three meetings. They may have been named after a ferocious bear, but last season Memphis’ basketball team was looking more like circus dancing bears: getting tortured for entertainment. Sigh.

Remember how we even got here? This was supposed to be the team that knocked the Warriors off their throne! There was the 2021 play-in that the Dubs faltered in at the hands of the Grizz. Then there was that 2022 series with the trash talk and the flagrants and Dillon Brooks running his mouth that through sheer will and grit the Warriors emerged victoriously from. And then there was the play-in rematch game in 2024 where Golden State stuck a critical blow, eliminating Memphis.

Golden State outlasted every bit of it of the whooping of the tricks Memphis had intended. Now Ja’s in Portland, Jackson’s in Utah, Desmond Bane’s gone, Brooks has been gone, and even their former head coach Taylor Jenkins is gone. The Warriors had a lot to do with disintegrating that franchise’s dreams into the ash, scattered across the barren wasteland of past wannabe contenders.

As I referenced earlier, Memphis traded Ja Morant to Portland for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray. Compare that to what GM Zach Kleiman got moving the other two stars: four unprotected first-rounders for Desmond Bane, three more for Jackson.

What’s left? I feel like 21-year-old GG Jackson is the longest-tenured player on the roster. The plan seems to center aroun No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer out of Duke, a 19-year-old who certainly has the family pedigree working in his favor. The other name doing a lot of heavy lifting is Zach Edey. Here’s the skinny on the oft injured big man per ESPN:

Literally and figuratively, the 7-foot-3, 305-pound Edey plays a huge part in the Grizzlies’ long-term plans. He has shown flashes of being a dominant interior presence with a soft touch, profiling as a terrific complement to Boozer, a bruising 253-pounder with a point guard’s vision and feel. But Edey’s health looms like a dark cloud. He played only 11 games last season because of lingering issues with his left ankle, which he had surgery on after his rookie season and again last March. The Grizzlies have depth at center after trading for Stewart and signing Post in restricted free agency, but their plans for a relatively quick rebuild rely on Edey being healthy and productive.

Yes, Memphis is going big, adding Isaiah Stewart and former Golden State Warrior prospect Quinten Post at center for depth. That hints to me that maybe they’re not fully trusting Edey to just show up healthy. A rebuild built partly around a guy who can’t stay on the floor isn’t much of a foundation yet.

Pardon me if I don’t believe Golden State needs to worry about Memphis this season as much as they did in years past. Memphis needs to worry about Memphis. Icarus flew too close to the sun and ended up trading away his broken wings for Blazer players. The answer this offseason was to trade away the guy who symbolized all of it for pennies and start completely over. Memphis finally admitted it, and admitting it is always the first step to recovery.