Memphis Grizzlies' Top 3 Priorities During 2026 NBA Offseason
After hitting the reset button no fewer than three times in less than one year, it's time for the Memphis Grizzlies to start over again.
For real, this time.
Between firing Taylor Jenkins near the end of last season, trading Desmond Bane over the summer and then moving Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline, the Grizzlies have been flirting with a full-on reset for a while. Though their direction seems clearer than ever now, there remains room for interpretation—and not just because Ja Morant is still on the roster.
Memphis' mission this offseason is simple in theory, but complicated in practice: chart its rebuilding direction beyond a shadow of a doubt. Let's run through the steps that'll go the longest way toward accomplishing just that.
3. Bring in a Durable Center
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Left ankle and left elbow issues limited Zach Edey to just 11 appearances this season. Despite playing in 66 games as a rookie, he missed time on multiple occasions with an ankle issue. Memphis needs to land more of a sure thing at the 5.
This is not to say the Grizzlies should be looking to replace Edey. He could be their center of the future. They just can't be certain. That's the entire point: They don't have the contingencies up front to work around the uncertainty.
Santi Aldama saw the share of his minutes at center plummet this season. Taylor Hendricks sponged up a ton of reps at the 5 after coming over from the Utah Jazz, but he entered the league as more of a 4 who can sometimes scale up to the 5. He also has his own checkered injury history.
Nobody else on the roster (including Brandon Clarke) looms as a long-term backup or alternate to Edey. With plenty of financial flexibility and placeholder contracts on the docket, Memphis has the tools to find one.
It could be someone they draft, sign or acquire via trade. It can be a placeholder (Goga Bitadze) or career backup (Day'Ron Sharpe). It could entail taking a medium-sized swing (Daniel Gafford) or even a bigger swing (Jarrett Allen). It could be any number of someones and archetypes—so long as any move raises the floor of a center rotation with a Zach Edey-sized question mark.
2. Trade Ja Morant
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Nothing materialized when the Grizzlies listened to offers for Ja Morant around the trade deadline. He has not done anything to boost his stock in the months since…because he hasn't played.
That can't stop Memphis from working the phones again this summer.
Desperation increases for certain squads coming out of the playoffs. Some front office, somewhere, will talk itself into Morant being good enough and remaining healthy enough to move the needle.
Granted, not even teams operating with the most reckless urgency are going to give the Grizzlies much for the 26-year-old. Forget about the recent decline in his quality of play. He has missed 167 games over the past three regular seasons. That's more than two-thirds of Memphis' entire schedule.
Combine this with all his other baggage, including the two years and $87.1 million left on his contract. The Grizzlies can't help but get much more than added flexibility and lower-level draft compensation. Under their current circumstances, as they look to begin anew, they need to view that as enough.
Keeping him into next year, while on a competitive timeline running in stark contrast to Morant's own, to see whether he can increase his trade value isn't worth the risk-reward profile. Even if he balls out, interested parties won't act like the past few years never happened. It's time for Memphis to rip off the Band-Aid.
1. Draft the Best Player Available
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In a world that caters to the Grizzlies, they'd jump up in the lottery and be able to select Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Caleb Wilson without having to think very hard. Regardless of where they draft, though, they need to take the best player available—no matter the position.
Memphis is beyond planning around the Ja Morant timeline. And after him, there isn't anyone who profiles as the primary building block of the future.
Cedric Coward, Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, Scotty Pippen Jr., Ty Jerome, Taylor Hendricks and Cam Spencer are all guys who should be complementing The Guy. They're not talents you plan around, either.
Guard, wing, forward, center—it doesn't matter. The Grizzlies have zero incentive to draft for fit or need. They need a tent-pole star. And with the lottery tracking toward flatter-odds reformation, this could be their best chance to select one.
They need to take the biggest possible swing accordingly.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
