Summer League

[VCfor3]

I feel like our team is going to be fun. Ziaire isn't make the crazy Bane leap, but he was making more advanced passing reads than before so I like it. His handle still needs work but that's fine. I just like that he is developing and improving. The rookie are fun too.

[esvl]

I am impressed with Laravia’s shooting stroke. That’s what people call smooth.

Ken’s block and then winning steal were something special.

Roddy needs time.

[jman3134]

I liked Laravia's stroke. As expected, Lofton is my favorite rookie on the roster and we got him in UDFA. Williams is a hard nosed role player and a good pickup. I still don't understand the Roddy pick beyond him being a quality guy.

There's no universe where I would draft Roddy over Gui Santos.

Really liked how Dakota Mathias played in the 2nd.

[VCfor3]

Not a good game for us. Tillman is looking rough considering he was starting in the playoffs mere months ago.

[jman3134]

I know it is only one game, but we were soft, with the exception of Kenny Lofton Jr, who looked like the best player on our summer league team. 18 pts on 8/9 shooting and he was physical. He struggled a bit in the first half, turning it over, but he fought hard with extended minutes.

Ziaire and Kennedy were extremely weak with the ball, which was the reason we got into such a big hole. This is expected for Chandler, who is still finding his footing in the NBA. For Williams, he is not a primary ball handler and it doesn't look like we will be using him in this capacity, unlike Bane and what he showed in summer league last year. While I didn't like the Ziaire pick initially (because there were better players available), he grew on me over the course of the season and I see the upside case. He needs to develop physically and I am not sure what we are doing with our strength development staff. Williams has not added any weight to his frame and Aldama looks to be the same size as he was in college.

Aldama has done well cleaning up basketball, but has not demonstrated that he can hit shots from the perimeter. He was always a project to me, but the more concerning thing is his inability to defend on the perimeter as it stands now. He should continue to get chances, as he was always a 3-4 year project. But, I don't see him cracking the rotation.

LaRavia can shoot and he has pretty good court vision. This is going to probably look like a good pick once the season starts. He should fill in as a decent role player off the bench.

With all of this said, I still can't wrap my head around some of the moves this offseason. Our Grizzlies team is notoriously tough and physical. But, our bench/young prospects really aren't with the exception of maybe Roddy/Lofton. We got rid of Kyle Anderson, who is a high IQ guy and a savvy defender. Is LaRavia taking his place? And this is optimal because he can shoot? If we didn't like Anderson because of his slow deliberate style, why did we draft David Roddy in the first round and pick up Lofton in UDFA? I can't wait to see LaRavia in the rotation. I just can't understand the logic to some of these moves. And, Konchar got extended for basically the same money as Anderson, when we did not even play him for most of the playoffs.

[esvl]

Roddy is noticeably more mobile than Kyle and shoot three quite well. I don’t see any inconsistency in the plan of replacing one with the other, at least on paper.

[esvl]

KC is a project. It was quite a wise decision to retain Tyus.

PS I have officially given up on Santi. I am not blaming FO for the pick though - the rationale and potential was there.

[esvl]

I don’t see much chemistry or fun among our summer league fellows, to be honest. Have XT and ZW lacked leadership? Is there a …k in that squad? Lofton? Santi?

[VCfor3]

KC is a project. It was quite a wise decision to retain Tyus.

PS I have officially given up on Santi. I am not blaming FO for the pick though - the rationale and potential was there.

Agree with you on all counts.

Yeah I wish XT had a bit more leadership but I'm not worried about it. Him and ZW aren't supposed to be leaders on our team. I'm interested in seeing how Roddy and Lofton do over the next few years. ZW is taking some lumps but I think overall it'll be good even though it kills the flow of our summer league team.

[jman3134]

Roddy is noticeably more mobile than Kyle and shoot three quite well. I don’t see any inconsistency in the plan of replacing one with the other, at least on paper.

I don't see where he is more mobile at 255. Unless he starts to guard, I imagine he won't crack the rotation. He played well overall yesterday and looked fluid with his stroke on one sequence, but has limited upside imo and is a liability defensively.

The upside case has always been that he is portable enough to guard bigs due to his size, strength, and wingspan. Besides one sequence where he stripped Kofi vs Utah, he really hasn't done that. Hunter Dickinson destroyed him in the first round of the NCAAs. I know that post work seems like a thing of the past, but I don't think he would handle big rotation guys well. Time will tell.

Kyle wasn't all as bad laterally as you are suggesting though. He is 6'10 and held his own being switched on to just about everyone.

[esvl]

Roddy is noticeably more mobile than Kyle and shoot three quite well. I don’t see any inconsistency in the plan of replacing one with the other, at least on paper.

I don't see where he is more mobile at 255. Unless he starts to guard, I imagine he won't crack the rotation. He played well overall yesterday and looked fluid with his stroke on one sequence, but has limited upside imo and is a liability defensively.

The upside case has always been that he is portable enough to guard bigs due to his size, strength, and wingspan. Besides one sequence where he stripped Kofi vs Utah, he really hasn't done that. Hunter Dickinson destroyed him in the first round of the NCAAs. I know that post work seems like a thing of the past, but I don't think he would handle big rotation guys well. Time will tell.

Kyle wasn't all as bad laterally as you are suggesting though. He is 6'10 and held his own being switched on to just about everyone.

I love Kyle for the record. Especially for 9m/y. I am trying to clarify the rationale. Kyle is a way better defender at this point of time, I agree. Roddy is a legit stretcher and possesses a unique combination of fluidity-mobility/weight-strength. Overall, Kyle is better for now, no doubts. Long term? We will see.

[jman3134]

Absolutely fair and I agree with your assessment. My thinking is only that certain areas we can't go backwards in, especially with the D if we have Bane and Ja with high usage on the other end. Roddy is an intelligent workhorse of a player. I had Colorado St as a Final Four darkhorse preseason. I hope he puts it together. I just am a bit concerned with JJJ out and us not upgrading during this year's competition window. I hope Lofton surprises and is the new ZBo.

[vanjulio]

Is not replacing SloMo. But real good we kept Tyus. Jones. It will be a different team this year . #2 seed no one will expect. Always Memphis has to climb a hill. I look forward to how the pieces may come together. Junior looks like he may be starting this season at the 3.he reminds me of my all time favorite- Sir Charles

[VCfor3]

Santi went off tonight! Roddy too. Z8 looked good and LaRavia was contributing beyond just scoring. Always fun to win 120-84.

[esvl]

Santi went off tonight! Roddy too. Z8 looked good and LaRavia was contributing beyond just scoring. Always fun to win 120-84.

The team looked perfect. It was a pure Grizzlies-type of beauty.

[jman3134]

Yesterday, we were playing the best team basketball of summer league. Ball movement was so crisp. Tied the NBA summer league record with 120 pts.

[esvl]

It looks for now that JJJ gonna be replaced with … Aldama… at least at the start of the season, doesn’t it?

[jman3134]

Lofton!

[esvl]

Lofton!

Lofton can play next to Aldama or JJJ, but not Adams.

[jman3134]

I was kind of joking. Think Laravia/Williams fill in.