MEMPHIS – When Mike Conley looks across the locker room as the Grizzlies resume practice following the All-Star break, it’ll feel like a flashback to preseason training camp.
Both hands are now required to count all the relatively new bodies.
Staring back at the Grizzlies’ veteran point guard will be four players acquired at the Feb. 7 NBA trade deadline, bringing the total to nine who have joined the team since December. Injuries and lackluster results amid initial playoff expectations this season have forced Memphis to overhaul half the roster.
Mike Conley #11 of the Memphis Grizzlies is seen in the locker room before a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA. Photo by Joe Murphy via Getty Images.
Sitting in next-to-last place in the Western Conference standings at 23-36, a postseason appearance is highly unlikely for the Grizzlies as they regroup for their final 23 regular-season games. Otherwise, there’s no shortage of incentive, development or evaluation in store for Memphis moving forward.
And that’s essentially Conley’s message to his team as he regains his bearings following the trade that sent fellow franchise cornerstone Marc Gasol to Toronto. The move not only leaves Conley as the lone player left from the franchise’s celebrated ‘Core Four’ era, it also places the 12-year playmaker as the sole senior voice of leadership on a team in transition.
“I told the guys that this is like a new season for all of us,” Conley said of the focus over the season’s remaining months. “And it’s not just including our new guys. For me, for everybody that’s been here throughout the season, we’re having to re-teach, relearn, refocus and kind of start that process all over again. So be ready for it mentally, and I think we are. Be ready for it physically as well, and hopefully we’ll get off to a good start coming off the break.”
The Grizzlies are simultaneously playing for now and for the opportunity to operate with maximum flexibility in the short-term future. Despite being firmly out of the playoff picture, Memphis is incentivized to win as many games as possible in an effort to convey the first-round pick it owes to Boston, and clear that debt in this summer’s NBA draft.
To maximize their chances of sending that pick to the Celtics this summer, the Grizzlies must finish better than the teams with the eight-worst records by the end of the regular season. Should Memphis finish among the first eight teams positioned in the draft lottery order, it would keep the pick and then owe Boston a top-five protected pick in the 2020 draft or an unprotected first-round pick in 2021.
…We’re having to re-teach, relearn, refocus and kind of start that process all over again. So be ready for it mentally, and I think we are. Be ready for it physically as well, and hopefully we’ll get off to a good start coming off the break.
Mike Conley
Resolving that issue as soon as possible with Boston is a priority for the Grizzlies, who return from the break with the NBA’s sixth-worst record and four games out of being positioned ninth from the bottom. In other words, short of a miraculous rally into the playoffs, the Grizzlies need to be competitively good enough to barely miss the postseason but not bad enough to finish among the NBA’s eight-worst teams.
“Although it’s early, this (upcoming) draft does not appear to be great – top to bottom,” Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said. “So if there’s a year to step out of the first round of the draft, this is probably the year to do it. We’d like to convey this pick to Boston this year and get that in our rearview mirror. Then move forward with a clean slate of picks.”
Improving the record down the stretch would help accomplish that mission. The Grizzlies have dropped two of the three games they’ve played since the trade deadline, but have seen some encouraging signs from newcomers along the way.
Avery Bradley #0 of the Memphis Grizzlies passes the ball against the San Antonio Spurs on February 12, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, TN. Photo by Joe Murphy via Getty Images.
Shooting guard Avery Bradley started all three games and scored a career-high 33 points, with six rebounds and six assists, in last week’s 108-107 home loss to San Antonio. Bradley, a first-team All NBA defender with the Celtics before he moved on to the Pistons and Clippers, has shot 58.1 percent from the field overall and 54.5 percent on threes since he was traded from Los Angeles to Memphis.
“I’ve tried to build over the last few years and show people I’m a two-way player, especially when I was in Boston,” said Bradley, 28. “My role was a little different in L.A., but here, I feel like I’m getting more opportunities. The coaches just told me when I got here to ‘go out there and play like you did in Boston. Play your game and let your defense get your game going.’ And that’s been my mindset going into every game.”
Bradley is a prime example of the type of players on the roster who are motivated to make good on their current opportunities. Basically, all four players acquired in the trades with the Clippers and Raptors are performing for their next contracts.
Bradley has a $12.9 million team option next season, but only $2 million of that is guaranteed should the Grizzlies decide to release him after this season. Delon Wright, who came over from Toronto and is auditioning as Conley’s backup at point guard, is a restricted free agent after this season. Veteran swingman C.J. Miles, who has scored in double figures all three games since arriving from the Raptors, has a $8.7 million player option next season.
The incoming centerpiece of the trade with Toronto is 7-footer Jonas Valanciunas, who has averaged 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 60.0 percent shooting from the field in two games with the Grizzlies. Although Valanciunas came off the bench those two games, he could soon become a fixture in the starting lineup. Valanciunas, 26, can opt out of the $17.6 million left on his contract next season and test free agency this summer.
The coaches just told me when I got here to ‘go out there and play like you did in Boston. Play your game and let your defense get your game going.’ And that’s been my mindset going into every game.
Avery Bradley
Also, forwards Justin Holiday and Bruno Caboclo have become regulars in the rotation since they were acquired in January to help bolster perimeter defense and three-point shooting. It gives the Grizzlies an intriguing mix of prospects who could play their way into sticking around or could become additional assets to use as bargaining chips in future deals.
“With the changes we made and the amount of bodies that came in and moved out, this is a new team,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Stylistically, it will look different on both sides of the ball. We’re looking at it as a blank slate with this group, and an opportunity to build something positive. We’ll have some practice days coming out of the break, which is always helpful. So we’ve put the focus there to create a comfort zone and let them play through that.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. #13 of the Memphis Grizzlies reacts to a play during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on February 12, 2019 at FedExForum in Memphis, TN. Photo by Joe Murphy via Getty Images.
At the same time, another major priority is the continued development of dynamic rookie Jaren Jackson Jr., whose role increases significantly in the franchise’s post-Gasol era. Jackson scored in double figures in five of the past six games heading into the break. He is averaging nearly 17 points while shooting 52.4 percent on threes in February, both by far his best marks of any month this season.
Perhaps the biggest sign of growth for Jackson is his foul rate. Having led the NBA in total fouls for much of the season, Jackson has been whistled for an average of just 3.5 hacks a game in February, which is a season low. Meanwhile, he’s playing a season-high 29.2 minutes per contest this month.
“We believe in our standard for Jaren – it’s extremely high,” Bickerstaff said. “Our goal for Jaren is to be a top-five, two-way player in this league. Just because he’s scoring, there’s not a reason he can take a night off on the defensive end of the floor. He’s got to maintain that intensity, he’s got to help us protect the rim, he’s got to take steps on the defensive glass. In some cases, guys get a break because they’re high-level scorers. If we do that for Jaren, I think we’re doing him a disservice.”
We’re not too worried about who we’re playing … It’s more about trying to get our guys up to speed and worrying about ourselves.
Mike Conley
With 23 opportunity games remaining, it would also be a disservice to render the rest of the Grizzlies’ season moot. Starting Friday, 12 of the final 23 games are at home and 14 are against teams firmly in playoff position or competing for one of the final postseason spots.
There are also numerous wildcards on a Grizzlies’ roster with as many as 12 players on contracts that either expire after these final two dozen games or by the end of next season.
“It’ll be difficult regardless who you’re playing,” Conley points out. “For the most part, teams probably wouldn’t want to play us because they have no idea what to expect. It’s hard to game plan for a team that’s gotten a whole facelift. So we’re not too worried about who we’re playing, and game plans and schemes. It’s more about trying to get our guys up to speed and worrying about ourselves.”
Almost like a reset to training camp.
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