The Grizzlies are walking into a season with plenty of skepticism attached, but the roster they’ve assembled looks a lot more interesting than a 27th-place ranking suggests.
That’s where Brad Botkin of CBS Sports landed Memphis in his latest power rankings, slotting the Grizzlies as the 27th-best team in the NBA. In the Western Conference, that put them second from the bottom, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings. The placement came despite Botkin acknowledging the upside in Memphis’ young group and the draft capital the franchise has collected.
“There are a lot of exciting developmental cases in there, and time to let the development happen with a lot of draft capital at Memphis' disposal. The Grizzlies won't be good this season, but they have turned a bleak situation into a pretty promising one, starting with the draft hauls they got for Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. and continuing with the drafting of Boozer.” - Brad Botkin, CBS Sports
The surprise isn’t that Memphis is being viewed as a work in progress. The surprise is how low the Grizzlies were placed even after a summer that gave them a clearer direction. The team has moved on from both Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant since the start of the new year, and it now enters a new era built around third overall pick Cam Boozer.
There’s also more young talent in the mix. Cedric Coward and Zach Edey give Memphis more developmental pieces to work with, and the front office added Isaiah Stewart and Jerami Grant to the roster as veteran support around that core.
Last season’s 25-57 finish also deserves a closer look. The Grizzlies were hit hard by injuries, with Ja Morant, Ty Jerome, and Scotty Pippen Jr. appearing in just a combined 45 games. Edey played only 11 games, and the season changed again when Jaren Jackson Jr. was dealt before the deadline.
That’s why the case for Memphis being buried near the bottom of the conference feels shaky. The Grizzlies don’t need to be projected as a contender to look better than this. Even with the rebuild still early, they have enough promising pieces to be competitive in a lot of games, and a healthy season could push them into the play-in conversation.
A playoff leap may be too much to ask right away, but a finish in the mid-30s in wins is hardly out of the question if things break right. For a team that just won 25 games under brutal circumstances, that would be a meaningful step.
So while the doubt is understandable, the number attached to Memphis feels a little too harsh. The Grizzlies are in a spot where they can make those rankings look foolish fast.
In Other News...
Grizzlies Face A Trade Exception Decision Fans Have Debated For Months
The Grizzlies have a useful problem on their hands as the calendar marches toward February: a $28.9 million trade exception that can still be put to work, and a front office weighing whether to use it on a younger upside swing or a cleaner fit. Denvers interest in shedding salary gives Memphis a real opening to explore the market, and the two names most tied to the discussion offer very different paths.
Peyton Watson would bring the kind of developmental appeal that can tempt a team looking to build beyond the moment, but he also figures to come with a steeper price in both assets and salary. Cam Johnson, by contrast, is the steadier option, the more established scorer whose lower acquisition cost could make the mechanics of a deal far easier to manage. For a Grizzlies team trying to balance present needs with future flexibility, the decision may come down to how aggressive it wants to be when the right conversation finally starts. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Linked To A Trade That Could Help Pelicans More
The Grizzlies are still sorting through their roster math as they look to get down to 15 players, and one name that has surfaced in those talks is Jordan Hawkins. Memphis has also been linked to AJ Johnson in discussions with New Orleans, which has created the kind of trade buzz that can turn into a quick depth move or a much bigger payroll decision for the other side.
For the Pelicans, the possible appeal is less about adding a piece right away and more about the flexibility a deal could create as they chase bigger options on the market, including Bennedict Mathurin. Memphis, meanwhile, is not locked into a direct Hawkins swap and has other avenues for Johnson, so this is one of those situations where the framework of the deal may matter as much as the players involved. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Fans Just Got Another Reason To Wonder About This Draft Pick
The first-round paperwork is finally finished around the league, and the last name on the list belongs to Karim Lopez, who officially signed his rookie scale contract with Memphis after being selected No. 21 in the 2026 NBA draft. For the Grizzlies, it closes the loop on a prospect they brought in with a premium pick and gives the front office one less offseason item to juggle as it sorts out the rest of the roster.
The broader second-round market is still moving slowly, with only 19 of 30 picks signed so far as teams work through injuries, roster limits and the possibility of draft-and-stash arrangements. For Memphis, the bigger picture is the same one facing plenty of clubs right now: deciding which young players are worth standard deals, which ones fit better on two-way contracts and how much flexibility to preserve while the rest of the board settles. [Read more 🡒]