2016-17 Record: 43-39 (took the Spurs to six games in the opening round)
Players Added: Tyreke Evans (FA), Ben McLemore (FA), Mario Chalmers (FA), Kobi Simmons (FA), Dillon Brooks (draft), Ivan Rabb (draft),
Players Lost: Zach Randolph (FA), Vince Carter (FA), Tony Allen (FA)
Projected Team MVP: Mike Conley
Conley is the league’s most underrated point guard and a sort of darling among his peers, not to mention a perennial All-Star snub, but he finally got some long-overdue recognition in Sports Illustrated‘s always controversial Top 100 players countdown, where at No. 18 he earned the nod over consensus top-tier floor generals like Kyrie Irving and Kyle Lowry.
He’s improved some facet of his game every year he’s been in the league, and last season, at the behest of new coach David Fizdale, he was much more aggressive offensively while converting more efficiently from long-range than he ever has before.
Marc Gasol is in many ways the anchor for this squad on both ends of the floor with his defense, court awareness, and increasingly versatile offensive game, but Conley is the V8 engine that makes it go. They’ll lean on his basketball savvy even more next season as they try to integrate a roster that is nearly unrecognizable from the Grit-N-Grind Grizzlies of years past.
Team X-Factor: Chandler Parsons
Faith in Parsons’ ability to regain form is rapidly dwindling, but the Grizzlies have no choice (for the moment) to believe that he can eventually live up his potential as a productive swing-man. Lingering injuries have been the primary culprit in Parsons’ considerable decline the past few years, but he added very little to the mix even when was relatively healthy and on the court last season.
At his best, Parsons was an explosive slasher and long-range threat who was capable of stretching opposing defenses and ostensibly offering the Grizzlies both the scoring punch and the spacing that had been so desperately missing from the equation during even their most successful seasons.
The hope is that a full summer of recovery will reap rewards heading into the upcoming season. But if he doesn’t show signs of significant progress, the organization may have to go in a different direction, which will be no easy task given both his outsized contract and his plummeting stock value.
Best Case Scenario:
Nearly a year-and-a-half removed from a devastating Achilles injury, the Grizzlies are optimistic that Mario Chalmers can step back into a role as a quality backup point guard, which is another area they’ve been sorely lacking in the past few years. Tyreke Evans could prove to be another x-factor if he can bring some consistency as a scoring threat either as a starter or as a sixth man.
Memphis is in a strange sort of no-man’s land after losing some of their key figures while retaining just enough firepower to remain competitive. If things go well, the best they can hope for is a playoff seed somewhere between the five through eight slots, ideally a No. 5 seed that might give them a more favorable first-round match-up that would avoid having to face one of the top teams like the Warriors, Spurs, or Rockets.
Even still, a Western Conference Finals appearance is a moonshot, but a good competitive showing in the post-season is really the best these Grizzlies could ever ask for and is probably enough to keep their devoted fan-base placated.
Worst Case Scenario:
Existing in that limbo between competing and rebuilding, the danger is always that things awry and the Grizzlies play badly enough to miss the playoffs – which isn’t out of the question given that both the Pelicans and Timberwolves will be clamoring for one of those remaining spots – yet not badly enough to secure a high lottery pick in next summer’s draft.
That sort of outcome might be just the catalyst management needs to embark on a full-fledged rebuild and part ways with one of their remaining stars – likely Gasol given that Conley is younger – and once and for all spell the end of the fabled Grit-N-Grind era.
