Memphis gets its first preseason look tonight in Atlanta, and the spotlight is already locked onto the roster’s newest centerpieces and the players fighting to stick around.
The headline attraction is Cam Boozer, the 6-foot-9 Duke product and No. 3 pick in the 2026 draft. He’s projected to start at power forward against the Hawks, and this will be his first preseason NBA action.
Tuomas Iisalo has already singled out Boozer’s post scoring, shooting range and passing as traits that can give defenses problems, and the Grizzlies are clearly expecting him to matter right away. At media day last Monday, Zach Kleiman didn’t sound interested in putting a ceiling on him.
"He is going to obviously play a significant role," Kleiman said. "We'll give him what he is ready for, and I suspect he will find a way to make even more of an impact than people expect of him."
Isaiah Stewart echoed that sentiment at the same press conference, calling Boozer "a very smart basketball player" who is "going to make an impact right away."
For Memphis, though, this is also the first real test of how its frontcourt will hold together without full certainty at center. Zach Edey may not suit up at all against Atlanta. Damichael Cole of the Commercial Appeal reported Sunday that the big man likely won’t play, with the regular-season opener still the priority.
Kleiman said at media day that Edey is "exactly where we hoped he would be," and added that he is cleared for full-speed, full-court work. Even so, he did not promise anything for the preseason opener, saying Edey "is not ruled out" with "possible" limited minutes, while the team intends to "be smart" with him through exhibition play.
If Edey sits, the load falls to Isaiah Stewart and Quinten Post, with newly signed two-way center Carson Cooper also likely to get a look after competing in Summer League with Memphis. How often Edey appears across the Grizzlies’ four preseason games - and how much he actually plays - may tell more than a cautious night off in Atlanta.
The other big question is the backcourt rotation. Memphis has a crowded group of guards and still needs to trim the roster, so the first sub off the bench behind Ty Jerome or Scotty Pippen Jr. will be worth watching. The 2025 No. 48 pick boosted his stock with a strong Summer League and averaged 9.7 points and 3.7 assists over 41 games last season in a score-first role, and he’s trying to play his way out of a two-way deal.
Cam Spencer is pushing for a larger slice of the offense too. He raised his scoring average by 6.9 points to 11.1 per game last season, and the question now is whether Memphis wants him creating more or leaning into what he already does well as a catch-and-shoot option.
Walter Clayton Jr. sits in a tougher spot. He struggled after arriving in Memphis at the trade deadline, missed Summer League and has been mentioned as a player on the chopping block in the roster squeeze. If he gets a chance tonight, he’ll need to make his case against the likes of Kris Murray, Micah Peavy and recently cut Jordan Hawkins.
The same roster math hangs over several others, too, with Walter Clayton Jr., D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Hawkins and Kris Murray listed as players who could be waived to get Memphis down to the required 15-man limit, per @JakeLFischer on @BleacherReport.
So while the scoreboard won’t matter, the rotations absolutely will. How Iisalo handles the minutes behind Memphis’ top two point guards should be one of the clearest early clues about who he trusts when the games start counting.
In Other News...
Grizzlies Already Have An Injury Concern They Really Didn't Need
The Grizzlies were hoping to use the preseason to get a cleaner look at their frontcourt mix, but the early returns have already brought a familiar kind of unease. Isaiah Stewarts first game in a Memphis uniform ended almost as soon as it began against Atlanta, and Zach Edey remained sidelined as he continues recovering from ankle and elbow surgeries, leaving the club short on the size it wants to evaluate before the games start to count.
For a team that has spent recent seasons navigating one injury hit after another, including a record number of man-games lost last year, any new setback carries extra weight. Stewarts status is still being sorted out, and his absence for the next home preseason game against Orlando only adds to the sense that Memphis is once again trying to build continuity while the roster is already being tested. [Read more 🡒]
Zach Edey Faces The Season That Could Shape Memphis Future
Zach Edey has already shown why Memphis views him as such an important part of its long-term plan. When he has been on the court, the young big man has been highly impactful, giving the Grizzlies a glimpse of the kind of interior presence that can matter in a rebuild. The challenge, as it has been throughout his early career, is getting enough uninterrupted time to make that promise real.
Memphis is planning for Edey to be ready when the regular season begins, with his availability and production carrying real weight beyond just this years rotation. The Grizzlies also have a bigger benchmark in mind, since his path to award eligibility depends on reaching 65 games, and another injury would only make the teams future contract decisions more complicated. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Get An Early Test Of The Style Theyre Trying To Build
The Grizzlies are still early in preseason, but Mondays showing offered a useful glimpse at the style they want to sharpen before games start to count. Memphis is set to host Orlando on Oct. 7 at FedExForum, and the recent tune-up against Atlanta gave the roster another chance to settle into the faster, more aggressive pace this staff is looking to build.
Ty Jerome said the group settled in after the opening minutes and began to look more like itself as the game moved along. He pointed to the need for cleaner possessions as the next step, noting there were still stretches when Memphis gave away too much with sloppy play, including a few miscues from him that the team will want to tighten up before the preseason winds down. [Read more 🡒]