Memphis Grizzlies - Draft Day Needs

By Andrew Brand on Monday, May 12th 2014
Memphis Grizzlies - Draft Day Needs

The Memphis Grizzlies came within a game of beating the heavily favoured Oklahoma City Thunder during the first round of the playoffs this season. They made it all the way to the Conference finals last season before being swept in four games at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs. The Grizzlies have always been able to rely on their playoff defense to keep them in series, it has been their offensive struggles that has ultimately doomed them.

The last four years of drafting new players has not been kind to the Grizzlies. They have had six first round picks since 2009 and the best of that bunch has turned out to be Greivis Vasquez and his marginal success all came away from Memphis. Included in this bunch of picks is of course a colossal bust in Hasheem Thabeet who is one of the worst players taken in the lottery.

Prior to finding Thabeet in 2009 the Grizzlies strung together an impressive run of successful picks. Unfortunately Kevin Love was a draft day swap that turned out to be horrifically lopsided and Kyle Lowry was marginal for the Grizzlies despite much better success with Houston and Toronto. Mike Conley did turn out to be a solid pick from the 2007 draft as the Grizz grabbed him fourth overall.

Biggest Draft Day Need:

With their defense being a trademark of the club they will need to turn their attention to the offensive end. The Grizzlies could be losing Mike Miller and they will have a need for a consistent perimeter scorer who can compliment Mike Conley and take advantage of Marc Gasol’s passing and creative abilities. With this in mind the Grizzlies need to go shopping for a small forward who can shoot the ball from the wing and score consistently off mid-range jumpers.

It’s fortunate that the Grizzlies will probably go looking for a small-forward here as there should be five pretty decent prospects who all project to go around this draft slot. The most intriguing option here for the Grizzlies would be Kyle Anderson formerly from UCLA.

Anderson measures at 6’9” but has a ridiculous 7’3” wingspan. He has remarkable ball handling skills for a big man to compliment a smooth shooting stroke and a solid physical game. His length and motor fits right into the Grizzlies defensive style while still providing a dynamic offensive threat. The Grizzlies might be enamoured with Anderson’s length and versatility as they can’t help but foresee future matchups with Oklahoma’s Kevin Durant

Anderson could very well be off the board here by the time the Grizzlies are on the clock and if that is the case then they could turn their attention to Syracuse’s Jerami Grant. Grant is another very long player who measures 6’8” with a 7’3” wingspan. Grant has NBA bloodlines and the work ethic that both his dad Harvey Grant and his uncle Horace Grant displayed in the Association. Couple factors working against Grant here is that Syracuse played a lot of zone defense and he doesn’t have NBA three point range in his repertoire just yet.

Grant has awesome athleticism, work ethic and tenacity; however, his game is unpolished and he might not be an offensive contributor right from the start. Memphis might be looking for a more immediate impact player here who can score, but if they are willing to be patient they could potentially find a defensive matchup for their conference rival Oklahoma Thunder and that in itself might be enough of an incentive here.

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