The Memphis Grizzlies’ offseason is still unfolding, but the shape of it is already clear: the front office has attacked the roster, the draft has brought in size, and the biggest headline of all is the one nobody in Memphis can ignore.
Ja Morant is gone.
That alone makes this summer impossible to judge as anything but seismic. The Grizzlies traded the two-time NBA All-Star to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, and even if the move was something that needed to happen, it still lands like a gut punch for a fan base that once looked at Morant and the rest of GrzNxtGen as the start of something huge. Four years later, that core is broken up, and the sting is real.
At the same time, Memphis has spent the rest of the summer building around what comes next. And there are reasons to like the direction.
Tuomas Iisalo, in particular, has to be feeling better about the pieces in front of him. The Grizzlies’ head coach lit up when talking about Cameron Boozer at the rookie introductory press conference, and it was easy to see why.
Iisalo said, "He does everything, basically, on the court," Iisalo said. "He can create mismatches in the post.
He scores out of transition. He's an excellent shooter and mover without the ball.
He can screen. He can handle himself."
That kind of player fits a coach who wants to get inventive with offense. Iisalo’s reputation is built on his basketball brain, and Boozer looks like the sort of versatile piece who can unlock it.
Last season, though, Iisalo’s first as head coach came with a major limitation: his rotations. He leaned on short bursts to keep players fresh, but the result was that Memphis’ best players often logged fewer minutes than stars on other teams.
It was also hard to get a clean read on him with so many key players missing. Ja Morant, Ty Jerome and Scotty Pippen Jr. were out of the point guard mix for much of the year, while Zach Edey and Brandon Clarke were also unavailable for long stretches. With a healthier guard group, more size up front and Boozer as a point forward, Iisalo finally has the tools to show what he can do.
The frontcourt was the obvious place to start, and Memphis has addressed it aggressively.
Landing the No. 3 pick in the draft lottery gave the Grizzlies a major break, and they used it on Boozer to slot next to Edey at the four. They also took 6-9 wing Karim Lopez at No. 21, giving the roster even more length on the perimeter. Then came Isaiah Stewart in a second-round trade with the Detroit Pistons, a player who, by the look of it, fits Memphis’ identity as well as almost anyone in the league.
The Grizzlies kept going after that. They signed Warriors center Quentin Post to a three-year, $30 million offer sheet, with only the first year guaranteed and about $1.3 million tied to incentives.
Golden State declined to match, giving Memphis another big body. After a season in which Jahmai Mashack, at 6-4, even soaked up center minutes at times, the message from the front office has been obvious: size and length matter now.
There’s been a lot of movement around the edges, too, and Memphis has done a nice job turning draft position into more value. The Grizzlies traded No. 16 to Oklahoma City for No. 17 and two second-round picks, then flipped No. 17 to Detroit for No. 21 and three second-rounders. Those same three seconds were later used to bring in Stewart, while the No. 21 pick became Lopez.
That sequence was part of a bigger web, one that eventually folded into a six-team deal involving the Grizzlies, Pistons, Mavericks, Clippers, Bucks and Wizards. Memphis ended up with Isaiah Stewart, D'Angelo Russell, AJ Johnson, a first-round pick that is top-20 protected via Dallas, three second-round picks and more future draft capital after the separate trade that sent Santi Aldama and the draft rights to Tarik Biberovic to Dallas. The Grizzlies also picked up Russell, a future second-rounder and a second-round swap from Washington without giving up anything extra.
That’s the kind of summer front offices dream about: add talent, add flexibility, add more swings for later.
And if there’s a winner beyond the rookies and the new faces, it might be the process itself. Memphis’ front office will always be judged by results, and that’s fair.
But this summer has been about making smart, layered moves while opening up room for younger players and bringing in a useful veteran in Jerami Grant. The draft capital stash is even richer now.
There is still one big concern hanging over all of it, though, and it’s the same one that has haunted Memphis in two of the past three seasons: health. The injury reports in 2023-24 and 2025-26 were packed with OUT tags for important players, and that history is impossible to ignore.
Lopez and Walter Clayton Jr. have not played in Summer League because of injury, and Edey is working back from surgery. He is expected to be ready for opening night, but that’s not the kind of note Grizzlies fans love hearing.
So yes, the offseason has winners and losers already. Memphis has added size, added assets and added options. But it also said goodbye to Morant, and that’s the kind of move that changes the feel of an entire summer.
In Other News...
Tony Allen Sees Something In Isaiah Stewart Grizzlies Fans Will Love
Isaiah Stewarts arrival in Memphis has already drawn a familiar kind of attention, the sort that usually comes when a team adds a player whose edge shows up as much in the defensive end as anywhere else. Former Grizzlies standout Tony Allen liked what he sees, pointing to Stewart as the kind of tough, physical presence who can fit right into a franchise that has long valued effort, resistance and a willingness to make every possession uncomfortable.
For Memphis fans, the appeal is obvious: Stewart is not arriving as just another frontcourt piece, but as someone who could help shape the tone of the roster. Allens view is that Stewart has the ingredients to matter in a way that goes beyond box scores, with the chance to become part of a new defensive identity and revive some of the spirit that once defined this team. [Read more 🡒]
One Tight Grizzlies Win Put The Spotlight On Their Young Core
A one-point Summer League win does not usually carry much weight in July, but Memphis got a useful look at several pieces that could matter down the line in a 97-96 escape over Chicago in Las Vegas. Cameron Boozer showed why the Grizzlies are interested in his all-around game, finishing with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists while affecting both ends, and Cedric Coward added another steady showing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
The bigger takeaway for Memphis was the way the young group kept finding answers in a tight game, with Boozer and Coward helping set the tone around the perimeter and on the glass. Caleb Wilson was the headline performer, and the Grizzlies will want to see whether that kind of shot-making can translate beyond a single night as the summer schedule continues. [Read more 🡒]
Beloved Former Grizzlies Guard Just Landed Another NBA Opportunity
A familiar name is getting another shot in the league, and for Grizzlies fans it is easy to see why this one still carries some weight. Mike Conley Jr. has been around the NBA long enough to become one of the most respected guards of his era, with a career that has stretched across Memphis, Utah and Minnesota and made him a steady presence wherever he has landed.
Even as his on-court production has dipped in recent seasons, Conley still brings the kind of leadership and experience teams value when the games get bigger and the margins get tighter. He is also closing in on a rare career milestone, one that would put him among a very small group in NBA history, and it adds another layer to a run that has already lasted nearly two decades. [Read more 🡒]