SALT LAKE CITY – With three NBA seasons already on his résumé, Olivier-Maxence Prosper knows skepticism may come with a summer league assignment for some players at this stage of his career.
He simply refuses to buy into any of it.
“A lot of people may look at summer league like it’s punishment, like you’re just (barely) hanging on or still have so much to prove,” Prosper explained. “Not for me. It’s a great opportunity for me to take a bigger step and a leadership role for next season. I’m here because I want to be here. I see it as a glass-half-full opportunity. And that’s something I value.”
Prosper’s experience, contagious optimism and relentless work ethic are also characteristics the Grizzlies highly value in a month of July loaded with NBA Summer League development.
There’s a purpose for Prosper’s deployment.
The Grizzlies opened play in the Salt Lake City Summer League over the weekend with rookie third overall draft pick Cam Boozer surrounded by a lineup of returning players who combined to start 100 regular-season games for Memphis last season.
Consider it the continuity-plus-Cam approach.
As Memphis retools around a younger core group, these three weeks of summer league play in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas should position the franchise to take key early steps in that process.
The Grizzlies enter Monday’s game against the host Utah Jazz looking to build on a dominant debut summer effort from Saturday’s 111-74 victory over Oklahoma City. In that game, Prosper joined fellow third-year forward Taylor Hendricks and rising second-year guards Cedric Coward and Javon Small in the opening unit alongside Boozer.
The presence of Prosper, Coward, Hendricks and Small give the Grizzlies one of the more game-experienced rosters of any team competing in NBA summer league action. Much of that group’s exposure came when injuries to veterans pressed many of the Grizzlies’ younger players into extended duty over the final months of the season.
Many of those same players continued to work out over the summer in hopes of taking on larger roles going into next season. The Grizzlies are in the midst of a major roster makeover that has seen them trade Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant in the past 12 months.
No player on the current main roster has been with Memphis longer than three seasons. That essentially leaves Tuomas Iisalo with a fresh start to implement his system coming off his first complete season as the Grizzlies’ full-time coach.
Summer league provides the Grizzlies a space to build from the ground up, aided by a handful of players and prospects who can lean on the crash course they got last season.
“They’ve been in Memphis working, and so they’ve set the tone,” Grizzlies assistant and summer league coach Erik Schmidt shared. “So, when our rookies and new guys on the summer roster came in, our young summer vets showed them how to play. They know how we want to play. That sets the tone so that all the guys know what to expect.”
With some sense of chemistry already established, the Grizzlies will work to continue setting a tone similar to what they showed Saturday.
That continuity helped Memphis race to a double-digit lead four minutes into the game against OKC and never look back. The Grizzlies dished 33 assists, drilled 17 attempts from 3-point range and shot 57.1-percent overall from the field.
Prosper, Coward, Small and Hendricks combined for 54 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists while collectively shooting nearly 60-percent on 3-pointers.
“The mindset has been the same since we got here; play hard, play together and outwork our opponents,” added Small. “We’ve got most of the guys that have been here, so we know what the offense is about, where to be on the floor, so that helps set that tone. You can see it on the court, just by that first game. Nobody thinks they’re bigger than anybody else on the team. We all understand at the end of the day, if we all stay together and win, we’re all going to eat.”
There’s a persistent appetite for growth with these Grizzlies.
Schmidt detailed after Sunday’s practice that the main priority in Salt Lake City is to install the basics. There is less focus on adjusting to opponents, and more on internal schematic details.
“We’re trying to build up the guys’ base of knowledge right now,” Schmidt revealed, specifically of the team’s newcomers. “I think it would be unfair to give them a grade right now for where any of them are, but I give them all a ton of credit for their engagement. They’re learning every day. They’re asking a ton of questions every day. And we’re seeing some of that being applied.”
Count Boozer among the fastest learners.
After contributing 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in an encouraging 24-minute effort in the opener, Boozer is eager to get back to work in summer school. Although much of the NBA’s focus will be on Monday’s marquee rookie matchup between Boozer and No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson of the Jazz, the Grizzlies’ power forward will continue to look within.
Following Monday’s game, Memphis wraps up Salt Lake City summer league play on Tuesday against the Hawks. The Grizzlies then open NBA Summer League play Friday in Las Vegas.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of learning still to do,” Boozer pointed out. “With this group, they’re very easy to play with, just because they’re playing for each other, playing the right way. (Saturday) was a great foundation, but we’ve got to build off that foundation.”
That’s why it’s important to have some young summer vets to lean on.
Coming off a game-high 17 points on Saturday, Prosper is just one of several returning Grizzlies who embrace the leadership challenge and opportunity.
“It’s about focusing on development and helping my team win the best way we can right now,” Prosper assured. “For us, it’s a chance to stay connected with the coaches and be valuable. That’s how I see it. If you see it from that standpoint, it’s going to take us that much farther.”
Right now, summer contributions are already clear to see from these sage young vets.