The Memphis Grizzlies may have their deepest upside at forward, where the group mixes a high-end rookie, a promising second-year player and several young pieces still trying to claim real roles.
Cameron Boozer sits at the center of it all. The No. 3 pick and the 2025-26 National Player of the Year in college basketball is projected to make an immediate impact, and he enters the league as a Rookie of the Year favorite alongside Washington Wizards No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, Utah Jazz No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson and Chicago Bulls No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson.
Cam Boozer may not be the most vertically explosive, but his first step, balance, strength, & movement efficiency are excellent.Can shoot, has elite feel, touch, & decision making, a winner at every level, and all-time great advanced metrics. Superstar. pic.twitter.com/lDsZboHWTc
What makes Boozer especially interesting for Memphis is how well his game should fit with Zach Edey. That pairing could give the Grizzlies one of the league’s best rebounding frontcourts, and head coach Tuomas Iisalo also has every reason to be excited about Boozer’s passing. As the season unfolds, the expectation is that Memphis will lean more and more on the 6-9 forward as an offensive hub.
Cedric Coward is another forward with serious intrigue after a strong rookie year that landed him First Team All-Rookie honors. At 6-5 with a 7-2 wingspan, he brings rare defensive length for a wing, and he’s already proven he can rebound at a high level for his position. That combination gives him a chance to become Memphis’ best two-way player.
Excited for year 2 Cedric Coward...7'2.5 Wingspan, efficient rim finisher, pretty shooting form that is liable to produce a leap in accuracy next year. positional rebounder. Weak side rim pro. Imagining Coward x Boozer x Edey frontcourt and going numb.pic.twitter.com/oAzfRrLkGz
The shot is the swing skill for Coward. He hit only 33.8 percent from three as a rookie, but the form is there and his track record of efficiency stretches back to college.
The bigger question now is how much he can do with the ball in his hands. If he’s going to reach the level Memphis believes he can, he’ll need to grow as an on-ball creator.
Jaylen Wells has already shown enough to look like one of the more undervalued pieces on the roster. Across two seasons, he has put up 11.4 points per game and shot 35.3 percent from deep, while also handling difficult defensive matchups most nights. He may not have elite athleticism, and he doesn’t always pop in the way flashier players do, but a steady two-way wing is still a valuable thing to have.
Wells will compete with Jerami Grant for the starting small forward job in training camp. Even if he doesn’t win that spot, Memphis expects him to play a major role off the bench.
Grant arrived in June as part of the Ja Morant trade and is projected to be a fixture in the rotation. At 32, he is the oldest player on the roster by a wide margin, and the Grizzlies are counting on him to be one of their main scorers.
He averaged 18.6 points per game in Portland last season, and he has reached roughly that level in five different seasons. The contract, which carries $34 million in 2026-27, is not ideal, but Grant brings veteran stability to a team that is back in a full rebuild.
GG Jackson is still only 21 heading into his fourth NBA season, and the appeal is obvious. He has flashed uncommon scoring talent and carries a long 6-9 frame, but Memphis is still waiting for that ability to translate in a meaningful setting.
Most of his production has come in the 2023-24 and 2025-26 seasons, when the team was dealing with injuries and, presumably, tanking. With the final year of his contract ahead, this is the time for Jackson to show he can help in a winning environment.
The Grizzlies also used draft night to add Karim Lopez, trading back twice from No. 16 before taking him at No. 21.
The 19-year-old is viewed as a versatile swingman who can play both the three and the four. His role is still a work in progress, but his motor and toughness stand out immediately.
He plays hard, uses his size and strength well, and while he is not locked into the rotation yet, he has a real path to earning minutes by season’s end.
There are a few more names in the mix, too. TyTy Hendricks came from Utah in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade and was a nice surprise in 26 games for Memphis, averaging 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds. Still just 22, he profiles as a young depth option at power forward.
Scotty Prosper had his team option picked up this summer, and last season made that decision look justified. He plays with uncommon energy, and if his 40.5 percent three-point shooting holds up, he could grow into a legitimate three-and-D piece.
The rest of the group has more work to do. Javon Murray came from Portland with Grant in the Morant deal and faces an uphill climb to make the roster. Trey Peavy, acquired from New Orleans with Jordan Hawkins, has a better shot than Murray, but he is still far from a safe bet to be on the opening-night roster.
In Other News...
Grizzlies Young Jaren Jackson Trade Piece Suddenly Facing A Camp Fight
The Grizzlies roster picture has changed quickly after the recent trade of Taj Gibson and AJ Johnson to the Pelicans, and now Memphis has to get from 19 players down to the regular-season limit of 15. That kind of cut always puts pressure on the back end of the roster, especially when a team is trying to balance short-term flexibility with keeping young talent in the pipeline.
Walter Clayton Jr., a recent first-round pick, is suddenly right in the middle of that conversation as training camp and preseason open up. Memphis management has already talked about him as a possible building block, but his spot is not secure, and the next few weeks will decide whether he sticks around or becomes part of the Grizzlies roster math. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Camp Opens With One Huge Question About Zach Edey
The Grizzlies are set to open training camp at Belmont University in Nashville, a four-day stretch that will give Tuomas Iisalo his first real chance to start molding a reshaped roster. Memphis has already spent the offseason turning over major pieces, leaving a different-looking group than the one fans got used to, and the early days of camp should offer a first look at how the new mix fits together under a new coaching voice.
Zach Edey is the biggest question hanging over it all after ankle issues interrupted his development and limited his availability last season, leaving Memphis unsure how much it can count on its young center right away. Rookie Cam Boozer will also draw attention as he adjusts to the NBA, but the bigger picture in Nashville is whether the Grizzlies can begin answering health and rotation questions while Iisalo installs his ideas with a roster still very much in transition. [Read more 🡒]